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Jawbone has had some success in the market with the Jambox, a small Bluetooth speaker with speakerphone capabilities. Designed to augment the sound of smartphones and tablets such the iPad, the nice thing about the Jambox is that it plays loud and takes up little room in your bag so it makes for an excellent traveling companion.
Logitech's Mini Boombox does exactly the same thing as the $175 Jambox, and while it doesn't do it quite as well--and isn't as slickly designed--it only costs half as much.
The Mini Boombox is smaller than the Jambox and about the same size and weight (1 pound) as the Monster iClarityHD, which also sells for around $100. The Mini Boombox has touch-sensitive buttons on the top of speaker and an auxiliary input for plugging in audio devices that aren't Bluetooth-enabled (optional cable not included).
The first word that comes to mind when you see this is "cute." Yes, this little guy has an understated but perky design that's sure to get some curious glances from onlookers. My only gripe is that the dark, glossy plastic finish on top of the unit seems prone to showing scratches and fingerprints, so you'll have to be careful to protect the speaker or else it may start to look a little beat up. Alas, Logitech doesn't include any sort of cheap pouch or cover for storing the device.
To recharge the battery, you use the provided USB cable, which you can either connect to a computer or the included power adapter.
Pairing the speaker was simple enough: you just tap the Bluetooth icon on top of the unit and search for Bluetooth devices on your phone or tablet from within the Bluetooth menu. Once it connects, you're ready to start streaming music or a movie soundtrack to the speaker.
