The Sony $129.99 SRS-BTS50 ships later this month and comes in multiple color options (click to enlarge).
Sarah Tew/CNET
Cylindrical portable Bluetooth speakers are all the rage these days, and Sony, not wanting to be left out of the action, has introduced the SRS-BTS50, a $129.99 splash-resistant wireless speaker.
At first glance, it looks similar to the $200 UE Boom -- and like that model, it comes in multiple colors (black, white, pink, blue, and red) -- but it isn't quite a perfect cylinder, and when you pick it up, it isn't as heavy as the UE Boom (by that I mean it doesn't feel like it has quite the build quality of the Boom).
Included in the speakers specs are built-in speaker phone capabilities and NFC tap-to-pair (for devices that support NFC). Battery life is rated at 10 hours.
I only spent a short time with the product, and the room was noisy and not conducive to a listening test, but it seems to compete favorably with the JBL Flip, which retails for $99.99. While the list price of SRS-BTS50 is $129.99, Amazon has it on preorder for $105.55. Sony says the speaker is available now, but Amazon says it isn't due to ship for three to four weeks. We'll have a full review once we get our hands on a review sample.
Discuss: Sony's new SRS-BTS50 portable Bluetooth speaker takes a splash (hands-on)
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Discuss: Sony's new SRS-BTS50 portable Bluetooth speaker takes a splash (hands-on)
Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.