Hasta La Gadget!

I do wonder sometimes when a particular device such as a speaker is waterproof, how would it affect the way that you use other devices connected to it? Case in point, CES 2013 saw the announcement of the NUU Splash Bluetooth speaker that is clearly waterproof, helping you enjoy your favorite tunes the next time there is a poolside or beach party, but have you ever gave thought to the device streaming music to it? Is your smartphone or portable media player waterproof? Sure, this would mean additional expenditure on your part to purchase a waterproof case, but surely there are no waterproof notebooks out there – at least, not yet.

I guess this means I will just concentrate on sharing with you what the NUU Splash portable waterproof wireless speaker offers, and you will have to make the decision as to whether to bring one home or not when available. It has an integrated microphone and will work with all Bluetooth devices, manufactured using aircraft-grade aluminum for lightweight toughness and is IP55 certified against dust and low pressure water jets. Accessing volume and track selection controls are a snap, and it even functions as a speakerphone if you desire it to. The NUU Splash has been rated to last for up to 10 hours of continuous playback, or 240 hours on standby. You can choose from green, blue, gray, red and black colors at $99 a pop.

Press Release
[ NUU Splash, the waterproof Bluetooth speaker copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The past few days we’ve seen countless little Bluetooth speakers, JAMBOX look alikes, and various speakers but the new SoundMatters Dash 7 packs a powerful punch for such a small speaker. First mentioned earlier this year their ultra portable Bluetooth speaker was on display here at CES 2013 for ShowStoppers so we snagged a few photos.

The speaker boasts pristine omnidirectional sound for such a small device. It’s also bundled with an angled stand for directional listening. The stands design mimics an Apple smart case too. It weighs just over 7 ounces so is extremely lightweight, and stands only 0.75-inches tall. Essentially, it’s designed to be nestled below your smartphone or tablet without restricting the view.

As you can see from our images below, the device is impressively sleek and we can confirm it’s rather light and ultra portable. Being able to lightly toss it nearly anywhere your smartphone or iPad goes without wasting much more space makes it quite versatile compared to some of their competition. The front face has the power button and led, along with a volume up/down dedicated button for ease of use. Around to the side is a 3.5mm audio out if you opt not to use Bluetooth, as well as a sub out feature if you really want to push out some bass.

Just like the Jawbone JAMBOX the Dash 7 uses a woofer/tweeter setup for sound, as well as a floating and moving battery to improve bass response. This makes the sound much better, louder, and crisper than you’d expect from such a tiny little speaker. Colors include red, white, black, and silver and the SoundMatters Dash 7 will hit the streets in February for around $219. Pretty big price, but that brings big performance in a small package.

SoundMatters Dash 7 portable Bluetooth speaker hands-on is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Here at CES, we stumbled upon a smaller company that’s notorious for all sorts of wireless and wired portable speakers that come in different shapes and sizes, as well as a bevy of bright colors. HDMX had some of their new products for 2013 out on display, and we ended up getting some hands-on time with their Jam Plus wireless Bluetooth speaker and the Burst wired portable speaker.

The Jam Plus is what you see above. It’s a wireless Bluetooth portable speaker and it works with devices from up to 30 feet away. It also uses the company’s Jam2 technology so that you can pair up a second Jam Plus speaker for true stereo sound — perfect for putting a speaker on either side of your bed for the ultimate stereo alarm clock.

HMDX claims that the battery lasts 4 hours of wireless audio playing, but if you feel like saving a bit on battery and don’t mind being tethered, the Jam Plus provides a line-in port to connect your device directly to the speaker. The Jam Plus will be available sometime this spring at a price of $59.99.

The Burst is another one of the company’s newest products (pictured above), and it’s even smaller than the Jam Plus. It doesn’t have any wireless options, but it does have a retractable 3.5mm headphone jack so that you can plug directly into the speaker. What’s most impressive is its size — it’s extremely tiny, but it packs a huge punch. Testing it out on the show floor proved to be successful. Even with the noise level of all the people around us, the Burst speaker gets loud, and all this will provide around 8 hours of listening time. The Burst will be priced at just $24.99 and will be available this spring.

HMDX Jam Plus and Burst hands-on is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Surround sound is nice and all, but sometimes it can be a pain in the rear end to set up. Wireless speakers definitely help with that, if you want to quickly change things around, it can take some time. However, a Finnish company by the name of Unmonday has released what they claim to be “the first portable Dolby surround sound, ceramic AirPlay speaker.”

That’s right, it’s made out of ceramic (porcelain, to be exact) and is also compatible with AirPlay. Plus, the octagonal shape of the speaker serves a crucial feature. By simply rolling the speaker to one of its six sides, it’ll change the audio channel of the surround sound. For example, you can lay it on one side to use it as a right-rear speaker, or roll it to another side to change it to a center speaker.

Obviously, the speaker has six different audio channels in total. The other four are right speaker, left speaker, left-rear speaker, and mono mode. In order to accomplish the change in the audio channel with a roll of the speaker, it has built-in motion sensors on the inside that detect when the speaker is at what position, and then activates the appropriate audio channel.

Obviously, porcelain breaks fairly easily when dropped, so we’re not sure how durable the speaker is, but it’s nice to see products being made out of porcelain other than toilets and Chinese dolls. Plus, the speaker looks incredibly nice and it would definitely look good sitting on anyone’s speaker shelf.

The Unmonday 4.3L speaker has special pre-order price of $499, with an estimated regular price of $700. Currently, the speaker still has 7 days to go in its Kickstarter campaign, which is where you can pre-order it now for the special $499. While the speaker shows as not yet reaching its funding goals, the company has said it received $1 million from a private investor, so the project is a go.

Unmonday 4.3L speaker makes it easy to configure your surround sound is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve been following the surge of AirPlay speakers that started hitting the market in 2011, you’ve likely feasted your eyes on the spendy wool-clad systems by Libratone. While its larger Live and Lounge units have primarily been purposed for households, its new Zipp speaker is the being touted as the “first and only” portable AirPlay speaker. Make no mistake, unlike B&O Play’s portable AirPlay-equipped Beolit 12 ($800), the Zipp’s loaded with Libratone’s proprietary PlayDirect protocol, meaning it doesn’t require a separate wireless network / router for iDevices to connect to it over the air. The Zipp moniker is a play on the swappable wool grill which cozies around its vertically-standing tubular enclosures. Weighing four pounds and measuring in at 10.2 inches high by 4.8 inches in diameter, this “portable” unit is a good bit larger than the Blutooth-equipped Jawbone Big Jambox placed sideways, but it’ll certainly fit in a backpack — hey, it does have a leather carrying strap. Thankfully, that weight is partially due to its internal rechargeable battery, which should last up to eight hours.

As far as the speakers go, you’ll find a duo of 1-inch ribbon tweeters facing the sides for the left and right channels, along with a 4-inch up-firing woofer. The rig also features Libratone’s signature FullRoom design, which forces a 360-degree dispersion of the sound by way of deflectors in front of the tweeters. Beyond that, it’ll naturally work with Libratone’s existing iPhone app, allowing you to change the DSP on the fly for optimal output regardless of its placement in a room. The Zipp will hit Apple Stores later this October wrapped with a single red or grey zippered grill for $399, while other retailers will carry the $449 Classic Color and Funky Color editions, which each come with a trio of those wool grills (black, blue and red for the Classic, and black, pink and yellow for the Funky). Past that, a single grill by itself will cost you a relatively expensive $49 directly from Libratone. In the meantime, join us past the break for more details about the unit itself and PlayDirect, our initial impressions and a hands-on video overview.

Continue reading Libratone intros Zipp portable AirPlay speaker with DirectPlay, expectedly wrapped in wool (update)

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

Libratone intros Zipp portable AirPlay speaker with DirectPlay, expectedly wrapped in wool (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments