Sony Ericsson MBS-100

Sony Ericsson's MBS-100 portable Bluetooth speaker has no problem being noticed. If you didn't know better, you'd swear the little $69 speaker orb might be an eyeball plucked from some giant alien crustacean, or a Venusian satellite that fell to earth. The softball-sized speaker stands 3.5 inches tall by 4 inches wide, with an all-black exterior and a speaker grille that looks like it's been stretched back after hurtling across the galaxy.

For better or worse, the reality of the MBS-100 is much less exciting than the design implies. Essentially, you have a single speaker coupled with a low-powered amplifier portable amplifier (actual amp specs are unknown). The speaker connects to Bluetooth-compatible devices or can be used with non-Bluetooth audio devices (MP3 player or CD player) through a 3.5-millimeter aux input jack found at the bottom of the speaker.

In addition to auxiliary audio input, the speaker's flat bottom also conceals its power button and a button for switching the device into Bluetooth pairing mode. Given the speaker's small size and light weight (about 7.9 ounces), we didn't find it especially inconvenient to flip the MBS-100 over to turn it on or off. A small socket for the speaker's power adapter is also found on the bottom of the speaker, positioned in such a way that the cable appropriately shoots out from the back. However, the included power adapter is a proprietary design, so take care not to lose it.

The Sony MBS-100 stands just 3.5 inches tall and has no need for wires. Unfortunately, wine glasses are not included.