Eton's Rukus Rugged: A nifty little solar-charging speaker

This compact $99 Bluetooth speaker has a splash-resistant design and fully charges in directly sunlight in around 5 hours.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews

Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.

Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials

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David Carnoy

Jan. 10, 2013 2:50 p.m. PT

LAS VEGAS--Eton has unveiled a few different solar charging Bluetooth speakers here in Las Vegas. Earlier we highlighted the Rokus XL, but here's a closer look at the Rugged Rukus, the company's more compact model, which is due to hit stores in the next few months for $99.99.

The lightweight Rugged Rukus has a splashproof rubberized exterior, a 20-square-inch solar panel and a USB port for charging cell phones.

The internal lithium ion battery gives you about 8 hours of audio streaming via its wireless Bluetooth connection and it takes about 5 hours to charge in full sun (you can charge it much more quickly with the included AC adapter).

You're not going to get a ton of bass with this speaker, but it's lightweight and quite portable, with loops for strapping it to a backpack. We'll have a full review when it ships later this year.