It’s been a while since I bothered with any Bluetooth accessories, but this year’s Christmas gift of a Jawbone Jambox has me back on the bandwagon. The portable speaker pairs via Bluetooth or connector cable to any phone, computer, tablet, etc. I tried mine out this evening with my smartphone, and the wireless connection was a cinch to configure. Once I set my phone to discover the Jambox, and clicked the speaker’s side switch to the up position, the two devices were ready to pair. One more button push on top of the Jambox, and speaker and smartphone were automatically hitched.
As Dave has written before, the Jambox is convenient both for playing tunes, and as a speakerphone for conference calls. Given how often I do both, it’s the perfect accessory for my work-at-home life. My personal Jambox is blue, but the speaker also comes in black, grey and red. Amazon has the Jambox on sale now for $150.
From the spec sheet:
- Dimensions: 5.95 x 2.25 x 1.6 inches
- Weight: 12 ounces
- Output capacity: 85 decibels
- Battery life: about 10 hours of continuous play
- USB: microUSB for charging
- Stereo input: standard 3.5mm jack
Although I’ve always been a big proponent of the all-in-one Squeezebox, the fact that the Jambox pairs wirelessly with virtually any device makes it incredibly useful. Jawbone also has an online platform for downloading apps and software upgrades. I’ve yet to try out the MyTalk platform, but I’m happy any time my hardware is capable of auto-updating.
Hope you use your Jambox more than I use mine… ;)
And what lovely lovely person gave you such a lovely gift?
Newegg has it for $130 today with code “EMCJHHG53”.
I was thinking about picking one up, but many reviews say that it’s not actually much louder than the iPad’s integrated speaker and strongly recommend the “Big Jambox” instead. But that’s over twice the price (and obviously, bigger).
So I just didn’t buy anything, and use Shairplay4w on my desktop to pipe the ipad’s audio out through my computer speakers.
Typo above, the name of the program is “shairport4w”.
FYI I use it when traveling and it’s a lot louder than my iPhone 5 built-in speaker. BTW the Big one is way to big to pack in my bag.
Ditto, carry it pretty much only when traveling though I have used it to DJ some parties in the back yard in a pinch. Its *much* louder than the iPhone 5 or iPad speaker, not sure what whack job said it wasn’t. The Big JamBox I’m sure has much better/louder sound but not interested as its just too big. The little jambox is PERFECT in every way except of course price…
I love the Jambox after 24 hours of use. Works great for conference calls, and I can definitely see carrying the speaker outside in warm weather. At $130 with the coupon code Rodalpho listed above, the price point isn’t too bad either.
Way, way louder (and richer) than an iPad. And all this talk of the Jambox makes me want to take mine out. Maybe I’ll bring it into the office. Hm.
Oh, OK, you convinced me. I kicked in the $130.
The list price of $200 is ridiculous, though.
Just got it today and you’re right, it’s WAY louder and higher quality than the iPad speaker. I don’t know how anyone could say otherwise. It would actually make a fine computer speaker for a desktop.