LG MSB-100 Bluetooth Stereo Speakerphone review: LG MSB-100 Bluetooth Stereo Speakerphone

Bluetooth speakerphones are not anything new--we've seen it before with the BlueAnt Wireless Supertooth Light and the Tekkeon et6000 ezSpeak. But there aren't too many Bluetooth speakerphones that play music, too. Sony Ericsson has made a few though, like the MPS-70 speakers, as have LG, with the MSP-200 portable speakers. The LG MSB-100 takes a traditional speaker design approach, but in a completely compact and portable size. It has dedicated music player keys, plus it even comes with a visor clip so you can use it in your car as a hands-free speakerphone. Do note that you can only use this speakerphone with devices that have stereo Bluetooth. It's a tad pricey at $120, but you can get it cheaper if you shop around.

The LG MSB-100 has to be one of the cutest portable speakers we've ever seen. Measuring at 4.34 by 2.5 by 1.02 inches and weighing about 4 ounces, the MSB-100 is compact and designed almost like a mini boombox. It has smooth curves all the way around as well as a sleek piano-black finish. It has two round silver-plated speaker grilles and two small LED indicators for the battery and the status right on the front and a kick stand on the back (in case you want to prop it up). On the top is the Power/End button (it's also the multifunction button), a mute button, plus the music player controls. A hold switch and charger jack sits on the left spine while the volume rocker is on the right. There's also an optional visor clip that you can use to clip the MSB-100 to your car's visor.

We paired the LG MSB-100 with the Samsung Juke and it went very smoothly. You have to press the Power/End button down a few seconds for it to start the process, and then from there just follow the instructions on the phone's screen. Because the MSB-100 supports stereo Bluetooth as well as the AVRCP profile, we can control the music player right from the speaker thanks to the dedicated music player keys. Sound quality was definitely a lot better than the phone's own speakers, with loud and clear volume. However, it was still on the average side, with tinny and hollow sound, and not much bass at all. We still think the MSB-100 offers good performance, just don't expect rich stereo sound.

As for cell phone calls, the MSB-100 did pretty good. Callers heard us loud and clear, though they sometimes thought we sounded a little muffled. Volume was really nice and robust, and voices sounded natural. It worked especially well in the car as a hands-free speakerphone.

The LG MSB-100 has a rated talk time of 20 hours, a rated music play time of 8 hours, and a rated standby time of a whopping 37 days. It takes around 3 hours to charge it completely.