Why You Can Trust CNET Get an Urge Basics portable Bluetooth speaker for $33.99
Available in your choice of four colors, this top-rated Jambox clone doubles as a speakerphone. And it's new, not refurbished.
Headed to the beach? The campground? The shower? Gotta love a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker for those and other destinations.
But which one? Jawbone's Jambox is arguably the best-known, but at $129.99 (down from $179.99), it feels a little pricey. Thankfully, there are more affordable alternatives.
Like this one: Today only, and while supplies last, Tanga has the Urge Basics Soundbrick portable Bluetooth speaker for $33.99, plus $2.99 for shipping. It's available in your choice of colors: white, blue, red, and pink.
Urge Basics? Nope, I never heard of 'em either. But check this out: the Soundbrick sells for $60 over at Amazon, where some 50 users rated it an average 4.4 stars out of 5. And many of the reviews are positively gushing.
True to its name, the speaker resembles, well, a brick. It measures 6x2.2x2.2 inches, almost exactly the dimensions of the aforementioned Jambox. In fact, let's be blunt: save for slight curves at the corners, the Soundbrick is virtually identical to the Jambox.
Interestingly, if you watch the accompanying promo video, the Soundbrick even appears to have the same patterned, textured grille, though that aspect definitely doesn't come through in photos. Hard to say for sure what you'll end up with, at least from a design standpoint.
Like the Jambox, the Soundbrick doubles as a speakerphone (and has much-easier-to-identify buttons up top for answering and ending a call and adjusting volume). It also has line-in and line-out jacks at the rear, plus a Micro-USB port for charging.
Alas, although the Soundbrick comes with a charging cable, it lacks an AC adapter -- so you'll have to charge it via something like your computer's USB port, or whatever USB wall-wart you might have for your phone or tablet. (Cheap fix: DailySteals has a pair of Motorola USB dual-port wall chargers for $7 shipped. Fate!)
That's the only downside I can see to this deal, other than the fact that the black version isn't available. Based on the user reviews alone, I'd say this would make an excellent dad/grad gift. Your thoughts?
Bonus deal: Big monitors rock. Big monitor prices? Not so much. But for a limited time, TigerDirect has the AOC E2460SD 24-inch LED monitor for $129.99, plus around $9 for shipping. That's one of the better prices I've ever seen for a screen on this size, especially one with five-star user reviews almost across the board. It's a DVI/VGA monitor with 1080p resolution, a 5ms response time, and a three-year warranty.
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