Ultimate Ears UE Boom Wireless Portable Speaker Has It All

Can't get enough of these portable Bluetooth speakers? You're in for quite a treat if you're shopping around for that awesome package of portable audio goodness because Ultimate Ears has recently come out with the UE Boom, a powerful wireless Bluetooth speaker capable of pushing out loud 360-degree sound to liven up your boring party wherever it may be. Marketed as a versatile speaker with speakerphone features and oversized on-board volume controls, the UE Boom is also built to withstand a splash of water thanks to its unique acoustic protective skin that makes it water and stain-resistant.

Its got dual 1.5-inch performance audio drivers as well as two 2-inch passive radiators to help separate bass from mids and highs, which we think is going to make the UE Boom a very compelling portable speaker at its $200 price. Other features include NFC for easy touch pairing with Android NFC enabled devices, ability to join a second UE Boom to a single audio source for a stereo sound using an iOS or Android device, and last but not least the UE Boom packs a 15-hour rechargeable battery housed inside an attractively designed body no less. You can pick one up now in 6 different colors.

Nixon Blaster Portable Speaker Announced

Nixon bro! The totally rad brand of sporting goods has a new portable speaker up its sleeve that like a bunch of others, wants to win your wallet over Jawbone's Big Jambox. Nixon's new Blaster is a durable, and powerful portable Bluetooth speaker built to withstand the elements of weather and shock-inducing mishaps with its shock-resistant silicone clad construction of which Nixon claims is "nearly indestructible". Hardware wise, the Blaster encases custom-tuned drivers of unknown specification, and an impressive 18-hour rechargeable battery for all-day tune cranking at the skate park. We don't know any specific details other than a slated May release.

IK Announces iLoud, A Portable Speaker With Studio Monitor Sound

Mobile speakers tend to invoke feelings of sound or build quality questions. IK Multimedia has built their entire business on high quality multimedia equipment for musicians. Today they announced their latest products in the iLoud and iLoud MINI, both being mobile speakers with studio monitor quality.

The iLoud comes powered with 40W RMS of power while the MINI comes with 12W. They are designed to produce accurate reproduction of all genres of music ranging from rock and hip-hop to classical and acoustic. Not only can you use it to listen to music, you can use it to play music as well by connecting a guitar, bass, or microphone. It can also work in conjunction with their AmpliTube and VocaLive apps for realtime vocal effects.

The iLoud is about the size of an iPad while the MINI is roughly the size of an iPad mini and can fit easily in a laptop bag. Both come with a Li-Ion rechargeable battery and work via Bluetooth along with a stereo 1/8” mini-jack. The iLoud will be priced at $299.99 and the iLoud MINI $199.99 with both being available in the second quarter of this year.

OYO Ballo Ping-Pong Sized Portable Speaker

Portable speakers literally come in all shapes and sizes from the looks of OYO's Swiss designed Ballo portable wired speaker. The Ballo is a tiny, ping-pong-sized ball of a mono speaker that delivers 360 degree sound that's "massive for its size". And when placed on a flat surface, it enhances its bass performance while a colored rubber band provides the traction and vibration reduction. The Ballo is equipped with a built-in rechargeable lithium battery and a 3.5mm audio input making it compatible with all smartphones and tablets. When connecting the Ballo to any audio source, the speaker turns on automatically. If mono sounding audio isn't going to cut if for you, at $30 a piece - stereo sound can be achieved when two Ballo speakers are connected using an audio splitter. 

Mobee Goes Double Wireless With Inductive Magic Tunes Speaker, Magic Juice Backup Battery

Mobee Technology is in the news today for their latest additions to the Mobee collection of wireless inductive products that aim to set the standard for green and innovative gadgetry at CES 2013. Announcing three new products, the Magic Juice, Magic Tunes, and Magic Link giving a new definition to green power solutions.

The aluminum constructed Magic Juice keeps your iDevices alive after a long day of work, acting as a backup battery that is portable and easy-to-store. Just plug your iPad in for a full charge or your iPhone in for two. This is perfect for the traveler who can't always find an electrical outlet when on-the-move constantly. In addition to charging your iDevice, the Magic Juice can wirelessly charge itself with any of Mobee's flat inductive charging stations. It'll go on sale for $79. 

The Magic Tunes is an aluminum-made wireless Bluetooth capable compact speaker that is designed to be used in tandem with your mobile device. This small speaker is also equipped with an integrated microphone which makes it ideal for conference calls. Just like the Magic Juice, the Magic Tunes can be wirelessly charged when put on one of Mobee's inductive charging platforms. The Magic Tunes will retail for $99.

Lastly, the Magic Link is an unique charging cable that automatically turns itself off and stops sucking more power and hiking up your electricity bill. The cable itself illuminates a green color when it is on. While the cable is blinking, you know your device is charging. When the cable isn't showing any color, you know it's off. The Magic Link is compatible with the Lightning port, the 30 pin port, and mini and micro USB ports. The Magic Link will be available for $49. 

JBL Outs Charge Portable Speaker, OnBeat Rumble Lightning Speaker Dock

JBL has announced of two new portable speakers to further enhance its industry leading offerings. JBL's new Charge is a $150 cylindrical portable Bluetooth stereo speaker that is very much like the company's award-winning Flip speaker, albeit more ruggedized and with a much larger built-in rechargeable battery for up to 12 hours of playback. The Charge can be placed either horizontally or vertically, and features a built-in bass port, digital sound processing for room-filling lows combined with accentuated highs. The JBL Charge is a stereo speaker with two 40mm full-range drivers and a 2 x 5-watt amplifier, same as the Flip. It will be available in several colors, including black, blue and green when it is released in the first quarter of this year.

Next in line is JBL's new OnBeat Rumble, a slightly more expensive and highly versatile $400 wireless Bluetooth Lightning speaker dock made for Apple's iPhone 5, iPad mini, iPad 4 and iPod touch 5. The OnBeat Rumble's 50-watts of power, down-firing 4-1/2” subwoofer with proprietary Slipstream port technology and two 2.5” full-range drivers deliver pounding bass with low distortion, and powerful room-filling sound. JBL's OnBeat Rumble is compatible with all Bluetooth enabled audio devices, and it'll charge any of Apple's Lightning connector equipped devices while docked. The OnBeat Rumble will be available in the spring.

Soundmatters' foxL Dash 7 Pocketable Speaker Lays Low

The foxL Dash 7 by Soundmatters is a rather peculiar portable speaker designed as a flat soundbar so it can keep a low profile in order to seamlessly be put in front of your tablet or laptop without hindering your viewing pleasure, whilst maximizing the audio experience with powerful omnidirectional sound. The foxL Dash 7 may be much slimmer than Soundmatter's foxL V2 series of portable speakers, yet it should perform just as well. It features an angled stand for adjusting the direction of the audio output, extended-range wireless Bluetooth audio streaming, a dual passive radiator system, a noise-canceling microphone for use with the Dash 7's speakerphone functionality and a rechargeable battery for up to 12 hours of usage.

Soundmatter's foxL Dash 7 pocketable wireless speaker will become available later this month in four trim colors for $249. Expect many more portable speakers to spring about at this year's CES event.