Gear4 HouseParty Blu: Trendy Bluetooth iPod speakers
Gear4's HouseParty Blu lets you dock your iPod in its body and beam tunes to it via A2DP. For £79 it's a decent 30W speaker system offering, and the blue LEDs are just plain trendy
Gear4 visited us last week. Among an array of exciting iPod products was the company's HouseParty Blu. We've previously covered the HouseParty 3 speaker system, but the HouseParty Blu comes with a snazzier design and Bluetooth capabilities.
This iPod speaker system, however, isn't designed exclusively for the iPod. As mobile phones are getting higher and higher storage capacities, people are relying on them for their musical experiences, as well as their ability to put you in touch with your ex at 3am after a heavy night of binge drinking.
The HouseParty Blu caters for these wireless music-loving enthusiasts with A2DP (stereo Bluetooth), and is the flagship product in a range of Bluetooth-enabled gadgets from Gear4, the company that made that iPod-mobile phone thingummy we looked at last year.
So do you really need Bluetooth in a set of speakers if you have an iPod? Aha! Good question. But you never know when you might need to wirelessly stream that recording of yourself slapping your boss's smooth, meaty head. The crisp tones of palm on scalp will sound lovely on a loudspeaker and the HouseParty Blu will almost certainly make it even more hilarious and entertaining. Sadly, it won't get you your job back.
The £79 system's got a 30W speaker output from its twin speakers, glowing blue LED controls on the front and an auxiliary input if you're stupid enough to buy one of these without owning an iPod or a phone with Bluetooth. You could, of course, have it sat on your desk and have your PC transmit songs via a Bluetooth dongle. The possibilities are numerous... Expect a full review very soon. -Nate Lanxon