UE BOOM

Pros: decent sound quality, pairs & connects easily, pleasant drumming audio feedback, good wireless range, good battery life, out power down, auto-reconnect to last device on power up Cons: volume down minus button can be hard to find, micro USB charging on bottom of speaker I got this on clearance since version 2 is out. And version 2 adds water resistance and longer range, but doesn’t improve audio quality so this is a steal. After reading a ton of review and returning JBL’s flip, I was skeptical it would sound as good as reviewers said. I was happy that it does sound very good for its size. It uses bluetooth’s sub-band coding, which is a lossy codec. However the UE Boom is too small to take advantage of higher quality anyway. The overall balance and tonality of this is excellent for a speaker this size. Sure the audio is not audiophile grade—the fidelity is good, but lacking in fullness & nuances only present in larger home speaker systems—but such is physics of sound. But for portable applications, it is great. In fact it is the best portable speaker I’ve used to date. I can find room for it in my go bag (where my computer, tablet & electronics live while I’m on the road), and have a way to play small room filling audio for friends without having to apologize for “crappy” phone or tablet speakers. The bluetooth range is good too. I can leave this in my room & have walked into the kitchen (~35') and only when 4 walls AND a metal water heater or the fridge are in the way does it drop out. So, the stated range of 50' is probably accurate. The speaker’s audio feedback is pleasant: when you power it on a hand drum pattern greets you instead of beeping that’s common in most bluetooth audio devices. Then is connects, enters pairing mode and powers down other hand drum patterns play to give you distinctive feedback so you don’t need to guess what state the speaker is in. The battery seems to last the advertised time. I used it heavily for 2 days before running out of power. When the battery is low a quick female voice annnounces “the battery is low…please charge…” (paraphrased) and then within a minute it powers down. But you can avoid running out of power if you pay attention to the battery indicator that shows up on tablets and phones that are connected via bluetooth. There are only 2 minor things that bug me about this: First, the + and minus symbol for volume up and down, are elegant. The volume up button is under the intersection of lines and easy to hit reliably, however but the volume down minus sign button is difficult to find on first or even second press. Note: the “target” button is feels like it is about he size of a pinky finger tip, so easy to miss under that large minus sign. Second, the micro-b USB charging port is on the bottom next to the D-Ring. I’m not a fan of micro-b usb sockets because they wear out sooner than mini-b USB sockets and being on the bottom means you have to flip it over to charge, and if you want to listen to it while charging the on/off controls and pairing are on the bottom. Because these are both minor, I didn’t deduct any stars since the core functionality (the quality of the sound) is beyond what Beats, JBL and others are offering. Bottom Line: I would buy it again. (& I might buy another to pair them together using the free app)

So first off this really would be a 4.5 star review but figured I'd give UE a 5 star on Amazon because they are really, really close with this. Like many I did some research on portable Bluetooth speakers and didn't stumble upon the UE Boom until late and I'm glad I did. I had originally bought a Soundfreaq and had it for an hour before returning it. While I'm not expecting much bass out of a small Bluetooth speaker, you need a little kick. I listen to mostly electronic, bass-heavy music so the Sounfreaq was out straight away. Yes it's half the price, but buy cheap, buy twice. If you're reading this and are considering a BT speaker in the $200 range, by now you've probably figured out it's really down to the Boom and the Soundlink Mini. If you haven't yet, you will soon. While I haven't listened to the Mini, I have an old Bose Sound Dock and listening to the Soundlink in the store, I'm sure the Mini delivers good sound, probably better than the Boom, at least bass-wise which is what I'm after. Now, I have the old Bose dock which sounds good, but it's 2013 and Bluetooth tech has made strides and let's face it I can't be having my phone docked in a Bose when I'm at a party, those things were made for iPods. Many of you are probably like me and in a similar boat. And like me you were used to the nice solid bass the dock produced. But whenever making a decision like this you have to figure out what your needs are and what you're willing to sacrifice. For me, the reason I was in the market was I'm going on a vacation and wanted something portable with a small footprint that could still deliver sound. I knew I'd have to sacrifice some low-end bass and that was that. I was planning on purchasing a Mini to compare, but honestly, the Boom is so good I don't even have to bother. Here's my list of pros: Form Factor Very small footprint. I almost thought the package was wrong when it arrived as I had listened to it at Best Buy (sorry you didn't have any in stock, guys; your loss is Bezos's gain!) and in my mind it was larger (I was probably just remembering the sound!). While I've only had this for the night, I'm sure I'll have no problem tucking it in a backpack or sticking in a water bottle holder and being on my way. One negative it's marketed as being able to stand vertical or horizontal, but laying flat it kind of rolls, not optimal. Big, Big Sound What the Boom lacks in true booming bass, it more than makes up for in sheer volume. I mean, this is LOUD. When I was listening at Best Buy, I had to have it only at 50% and even that felt way too loud. And as far as bass, certain songs sound better than others. If I'm listening to some super low end trap like RL Grime or crazy bass heavy stuff like James Blake or Jamie XX, yeah there is no way this thing can hit those frequencies. But listening some 4/4 techno or dance with standard dance music bass kick drum, it has enough that you know it's there. But man, it just fills out the room. You honestly have to hear this to believe the sound is coming out of this little tiny thing. It does sound a little harsh when it gets up past 70%, I can't imagine listening at that level unless there is a lot of background noise, but it will get a party started. I think I saw someone else here refer to it as a sound bomb or sound grenade, and that's an apt description. This thing is the thermal detonator of Bluetooth speakers. Simplicity but with Attention to Design Dead simple. Easy sync. Only two big volume buttons. Micro USB. A little hook if you need to hang it. Line in for non-BT devices. A battery meter shows up in your iPhone info bar at the top of the phone when you connect. It's the little things. No bloat here, but also nothing I find missing. Personality Looking at the color schemes and marketing photos, it's obvious the market UE is going after here, they want the mobile party crowd and they hit their mark. Just little details like pressing the buttons gives you a cool volume announcement. You get your choice of colors. The app lets you name the device, which while stupid is fun. And it makes neat little drum sounds when pairing. The USB is an easy-to-spot yellow and flat cord, again with portability and practicality in mind. Little things. Rugged While I haven't taken it on the road yet, I can already tell by the build that this will be a rugged piece of tech. You can get it wet, and it just has a solid feel that you won't worry about it knocking about in a bag or getting kicked over at a party or getting sand on it at the beach. That was a deciding factor against the Mini: it just looks too nice. I'd want it just sitting on my deck or in my office, I wouldn't want it on a boat or a on the beach or who knows where else. Battery Life Haven't put this to the test yet but I'm going to charge fully in morning and go to work and leave my iPad at half volume (which is plenty loud!) and we'll see where it is at the end of the day. Everything I hear though is you can get near the 15 hours if you aren't cranked. Now as far as the cons: Limited Low End This has been addressed. But also, I find it does get harsh and shrilly at higher volumes but you'll probably only need to go that high at a party with competing noise. If you really need serious bass, you're just going to have to give up size and portability and go with a bigger player. Missed Opportunity with Case The case it comes in comes sooo close to doubling as a carrying case, but ultimately the cap doesn't fit right and it's too cheap looking. I'd gladly have paid an extra $10 if they made a slightly upgraded version that had a better case. As it is there is nothing on the market to carry it in, I'll probably have to get a bottle holder. Honestly, those are the only negatives I can think of. End of the day, this is the device for you if you're looking for a speaker that: -Is Portable and easy to fit somewhere -You might get it wet or bump it -You'll be taking it on the road or to parties -Delivers loud sound without booming base -Will allow you to listen to music all day when you're away from a charge I'd look elsewhere if you: -Won't be taking a speaker on the road and just want something for the deck or office. Mini is probably for you. -Need bigger bass sound. You probably want a bigger speaker. Honestly, I had only thought I needed a speaker for the occasional trip or pool side party, but I have a feeling the Boom will be so easy to carry around I'll take it everywhere I might possibly use it. I used to debate if I was going somewhere if I was going to lug my Bose dock with me, but not anymore. Without a second thought I'll grab the Boom and that'll be that. I haven't been this happy with a tech purchase in a long, long time, and I buy a lot of stupid crap. :)

I will throw out my disclaimer and just say that I do not consider myself an "audiophile" or tech junkie. I'm just your average music lover. I was looking for a wireless speaker for toting around the house in the rooms that don't have surround sound, as well as to take when traveling and/or camping. Wow! When I first turned it on, it was at full volume and it made me jump. This baby is LOUD! I tried a few different genres of music, from bluegrass to hip hop to hard rock, and they all sound great. Better than my car stereo, in fact. :) I love the construction; it seems really durable. The design is nice and sleek. It's a tad heavier than expected, but that just means (to me) that it's really sturdy. I plan to take this camping with me, and the water resistant feature was what made me choose this over the Bose Soundlink Mini. I love the fact it has a hook to hang from a tent or canopy, and while I doubt I'd attach it to a tripod, it's a nice little feature. I've only had it one day but it's evident that this is a high quality speaker with really well balanced sound. I'm pretty happy with my choice, and feel like it's probably worth what I paid for it, though time of course will tell. **EDIT: 09/30 - So I have used it a lot these last few days. I have about a solid 8-9 hours of use at the upper mid level volume, and it says I still have a 60% charge on it. Not bad! **EDIT: 10/07/13 - I took this camping with me last week and everyone was asking where I got it, and three people went out and bought one the next day. Battery life is pretty amazing - not really sure why there are some reviews toward the opposite because my experience has been really great. I am incredibly happy with this purchase, and feel like it is well worth the money. **EDIT: 12/31/13 - After having this for a few months, I am still really impressed with this speaker. Side by side with the Bose Sound Link Mini, in my opinion this has the better overall sound (though yes, they are quite comparable). The quality of the sound on this speaker means that anywhere I take it, someone will ask me where I got it. I took it on a backpacking trip and, while it performed great (batter life doesn't seem to be affected by the cold at all and was able to use it three consecutive days on the trail), it is a tad heavy for that application. Enter the UE MINI BOOM. Yes, I love this original Boom so much that I bought the smaller version. (see separate review) I was pleasantly surprised to find that with the UE Boom app, I was able to double up both the large and small version. I knew you could pair each one with its same version, but when we tried (just for kicks) to put both the Boom and Mini Boom together it was super easy. Very cool! To sum up, if you are the sort that would be likely to travel with a speaker and want to be able to toss it around a bit, this won't let you down. Very sturdy, great sound, love the battery indicator too. ***UPDATE 08/11/17 - So I have had this for four years now and it's still going strong. It sounds as good as ever, holds a charge as well as it ever did, and has taken some hard knocks over the years. I've taken it rafting with me a few times - this thing has gotten drenched in the boat, plus I left it out one night in the rain... still going. It seems virtually indestructible. Still pairs well with the mini-boom as well. I know that since I bought this speaker, others have come out that are waterproof, (insert element)-proof, etc. but I have no desire to buy a new speaker as long as this one keeps performing as it has. No regrets whatsoever and it has more than paid for itself over the years. HIGHLY recommend!! ***UPDATE 04/10/18 - I keep adding updates because this thing continues to amaze me. It has been nibbled on by a dog, left out in a two day torrential thunderstorm (battery port side up and open), soaked in a raft, dropped from 20', run over by a golf cart.... It has a lot of character by now, being a little battered and bruised. And still it's going. I feel like eventually it is going to stop working but so far nothing seems to affect it. Still sounds great, too. I'd like to see Bose perform so well for so long.

I'll start out by saying that I'm a 20-something male that enjoys traveling and I wanted something that I could bring with me to various places including friends' houses, the beach, the mountains, etc. Essentially, I wanted a bluetooth speaker that is rugged and can take a little moisture and a decent level of bruising (for accidents), but also sounds great at all sound levels with any genre. I've owned this for approximately 4 weeks now, so I'll address a few common concerns first among people in the same boat that I was: Battery Life: Absolutely this has the longevity that it claims. I haven't measured to exactly 15 hours at half volume because I'm not a tester. I do use it about 1 hour daily at half volume (the range is 0-15, so I used '7'), as well as about 5-6 hours/night when I sleep at a lower volume. Normally I will charge it about once every 10-14 days. Charging from < 10% takes approximately 2.5-3 hours. Volume: Half volume (7-8) is plenty, unless you plan to rig the sound system at Dallas Cowboy's stadium. This speaker produces a surprising volume. I use 7 when I'm by myself in my apartment and it pretty much fills the place (in all honesty, it's sometimes too loud, depending on what I'm listening to). In more open environments, even 8 is generally plenty, but it still performs well at louder sound levels. Sound: I split this up into volume/sound because they're different things. Let's transition this by discussing sound distortion at higher sound levels: to be honest, I only tried to max out the volume a handful of times, and during those times, no distortion was noticeable at very high volume. Otherwise, the sound seems to be very full and rich. It delivers great highs, mids, and lows. Its lower threshold is probably around 50Hz, if I had to take a guess. All-around great sound for any kind of music. Ruggedness: I've dropped it a few times on my carpeted floor and tossed it around a bit. It's been at a blazing hot worksite and at the beach twice and at the pool twice. It also was in my checked baggage on two connecting flights across the country (we all know how gentle the kind airline staff are with our luggage). Of course, I've only had it for about four weeks, but it still sounds great and there's nothing noticeably different than the first day I bought it (cosmetically, audibly, or otherwise). As much as I'd like to test the limits of this device for testing purposes, I'd still like to see this speaker last a while. Connectivity: This is something that really impressed me. First of all, it pairs in literally under 5 seconds (including the first time it paired to my phone). With a clear line-of-sight, I've walked approximately 80 feet away before the sound dropped (they claim 50 feet). I've also walked around my apartment with my phone (player) in my pocket and it still played while in another room and through walls. However, I did notice that if it goes through too many walls, it seems to drop sporadically or altogether. All-around great connectivity, though. App: The UE Boom app is basic, which is great. You have four pre-set EQ settings and that's it. I'd much rather be able to choose which frequencies to amplify; the app doesn't even show you what is changing from setting-to-setting, and I generally can't tell much of a difference between any of them. In the end, your pairing device has specific EQ settings, too, so it's probably to change it on there anyways. You can double up with another UE boom (never tried this), check your battery (more on this below), and a few other misc things like alarms, etc. Speakerphone: This is something that I actually use frequently. My apartment doesn't have the best reception for phone service except near the windows. When I'm on the phone, I will often set my phone near the window and bring my speakerphone around my apartment so that I can have conversations while I'm walking around. This is one feature I truly enjoy, because my signal will drop completely about 15 feet away from my windows. Sound quality during calls sounds better than the speaker on my phone. Logitech claims dual microphones, but I don't know where they are (this would influence where I hold the speaker). Misc: You can check the battery by pressing the + and - symbols simultaneously. Power button and bluetooth pairing button top. Charging port, audio input (cable not included), and tripod hookup on bottom. Price is a bit much, but I would truly say that it's worth the price, as long as it continues to last for a few more years. ***** Conclusion: Has great volume, great sound, with a long-lasting battery, excellent build quality, and maintains connection with a reasonable distance from the paired device. In all honesty, I wasn't even considering this price range for bluetooth speakers, but I did a lot of research before purchasing this and chose this because of how well everyone had described the important factors listed above. While I haven't physically compared other devices, this speaker has met and exceeded my expectations in virtually all major areas. If you're in the market for a bluetooth speaker, and even if you've been thinking about buying a slightly less expensive one, I would definitely recommend this one. In the end, good luck with your shopping and decision!

Lots of reviews on this thing, with everyone focusing on some aspect (usually sound quality). So this review is for the people out there looking for a portable speaker for bike riding purposes. I own 2 of these. I use them as speakers for my bicycle. I use these every time I ride to provide music for myself and my friends. Headphones are dangerous on a bike, this lets me still enjoy my music, share it with my friends, and hear traffic / other ambient sounds. First, since everyone else focuses on this: SOUND: Highest quality out there? Beats every other speaker on the market? Who knows and who cares! For bike riders, we want sound that is clear, of good quality, and loud to overcome other ambient noise or city noises. That being said, yes the quality is very good, and except for audiophiles who obsess over these things, just know it's better than many other speakers, and great for bikers. The number one issue bikers will encounter is not the speaker itself, but the quality of the files you are playing if you use downloaded music. Some songs are quiet, some are loud, depends on your source and the quality of the music files themselves much more than the speaker. PORTABILITY: This things fits perfect in 95%+ of water bottle cages that come standard on many bikes. Even the fancy carbon ones. This works on my mountain bike with a cheap metal cage, on my fixie with a slightly fancier bottle cage, and on my road bike with a partial carbon cage. For metal cages, you can just flex/bend the cage if it's too loose or tight, however, I just use a tiny S shaped slide lock to hook it to the cage. Even better, I've started using a bendable Nite Ize Gear Tie set up (search on that term here on Amazon) to hold the speaker in place. Again, no need for these really, but some rides are bumpy and I like the extra security. DURABILITY: No problem! This thing is a little brick. I've ridden with them in a pouring rain, still pumping out the tunes. I've dropped one a couple of times, no issues. FEATURES: Here's where the UE Boom seriously disappoints us bikers... 1. The UE Boom has a mobile app! Awesome! It even lets you remotely power on and off the device. For a biker, fantastic! It also shows your remaining battery life on the app, yes, yes, we're on a streak now! And the most important feature, remote volume control! Oh, no wait, they left that last one out... What the heck man?!? You can power this thing on an off without having to reach down and do it while riding, but you can't change the much more important volume remotely while riding? Shame on you logitech, like seriously shame on you, that's a major 'D'oh' and minus one star for you. I turn it on when I first get on the bike, remote power on is not even that useful. I turn it off when done riding, remote power off also not super useful. (Both features still appreciated though). But volume needs to be constantly adjusted while riding!!! Side story: I called Logitech about this since their website, user guide, and mobile app store page clearly advertise remote volume control as well. Man I tore them a new one over the phone about false advertising claims about this. Result of that call? They removed the feature highlight from their website, guide, and app page. Haha! So they listened to me, just not in the way I wanted. ADD THIS FEATURE LOGITECH!!! 2. You can press the up/down volume buttons together to get an accurate statement on remaining battery life, or use the app. Awesome. Now let me just reach down here and press the volume up button and it will tell me what % of total volume I am playing at... Oh wait, now it doesn't. What the heck?!? There is no way to know what % of total volume you are currently listening to! So for bikers, here is what you have to do every single time you ride with one of these. Turn it on, start playing a song, then press the volume up over and over to get to the max volume (beeps when you hit it), then press the volume down the correct number of times you have calculated so that you hit the sweet spot of loud enough but not battery draining super fast (for me that is 4 - 6 times pressing down after hitting max). Sure you can find your sweet spot and just leave it there, but then you end up riding with friends and they want it louder, and then later you're riding alone through a neighborhood at night and know that grumpy gramps on the corner doesn't like to listen to the Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mos Def, Daft Punk, or Snoop Dogg/Lion at a high volume after 10pm and you need to turn it down some. 3. Volume controls on the device are big and I can press them while riding without looking at the device. Perfect, thanks! However, a >> and << button on the device for forward and back would be a nice improvement for anyone not using the device with the app. It's like they can't decide to make the device fully remote or not. I can't do volume control with the app, but I can't control the track being played from the device. I've done QA and SD work before, c'mon logitech, you're better than this. 4. The last feature I will touch on is the ability to sync 2 of these speakers via the mobile app. Love this feature. As I stated above, I have 2 of these, and 2 bottle cages on my road bike. I double up these bad boys to really crank out the music for my larger social cycling night rides and it works perfect. Sometimes it's a little clunky getting them to double up properly, but I just pair each speaker with my phone individually first, then power them both down. Then turn on 1 and wait for it to connect to my phone, open the app, go to double up, then turn on the second. It works most of the time. Sometimes it has trouble for whatever reason, but I use these with 2 phones, a laptop, a tablet, etc, so it's a mess to begin with based on my use. Once it does double up once, it usually never forgets for subsequent needs. BATTERY LIFE: Ugh... not so great. 15 hours? Ha! No way, not possible unless you have the volume at 1%. However, all companies inflate their battery numbers, and yes Logitech you are inflating, as I do not care that you can get 15 hours with volume at 1%, no one would ever use it that way, and you know that you and every other company out there should be required to state total life at 1%, 50%, and 100% at a minimum, so consumers have the true info on real life usage of these products! Anyway, at 100% volume on the speaker and the cell phone, you're lucky to get an hour or two out of these. However, that's some loud music. Now, here's my solution. I double up my speakers usually, but it works single use also. I power them up, get the music going, and then adjust the volume to usually around 75% (guessing since logitech doesn't include a volume readout... see above). That volume will usually last for normal rides, but I do a lot of longer rides (multiple times per week I ride for 3 - 6 hours at a time). So, I use a Ravpower or Anker external battery to keep the speakers going as long as I need. I put the speakers in their cages on the bike, and connect a cable to the power port on the bottom of each. I wrap that cable around the frame of the bike and connect it to the external battery that I keep in a saddle bag under the seat of the bike, and then I have music that lasts as long as I need. Other notes: My road bike is 90% black with some red and white accents, so I have the dull black with red accents version of the speaker (seriously, please buy a colored version unless you are trying to be invisible with your setup like mine). My USB cables (for power) are also black, my saddle bag under my seat is black, etc. Also my RevoLights on my wheels are black and shine white or red light (front / back). So for me this whole setup is virtually invisible, especially at night. I've been stopped well over a hundred times now (use these daily for the past year) by people who are like, where is the music coming from, there's no way your cell phone (mounted to the front of the bike using a Koomus mount) is that loud. It sounds great, and with your light setup, man that's awesome! 90%+ of people love the setup, the music, etc. Again, I ride daily and frequently in groups. Also in weekly open to the public city rides with 1000's and 1000's of people around riding. I get stopped so often because people want to know what brand speaker I use and where I got it (also, I use like 10 different lights on my bike at night, so many times it's for my light setup as well, check out Nori lights, RevoLights, Monkey lights, etc). The best part is, my setup is minimal in size and look. Many people I ride with have louder music, but they have to use a hitch and trailer for their full size speakers, or a rack on the back to carry a large speaker, with my setup, you don't even see where the sound comes from because at night it's invisible, and even during the day when I come to a stop, my legs block the view of the speakers in their cages. Occassionally (less than a dozen times so far in a year) you get the Debbie Downers, Negative Nancy's, and Grumpy Gramps who don't like that the music is contributing to overall ambient noise (yeah my other option is headphones and not going to kill myself because you get upset that you hear my music for the less than 2 seconds that it takes me to fly by you like a blur). I pause my music when stopped at a red light with people around, because I get it, no one likes the stereotypical late teen / early 20's wannabe in the modified car with all 4 windows down and music blasting, etc... I try to fit in with my surroundings, but at the same time, screw you overly negative people, life is short, I'm on a bike not contributing to the pollution problem, while also getting exercise, and arriving at my destination frequently before car users even. I am a educated and polite cyclist (stop for people, lights, stop signs, signal my turns, follow rules of road, don't go on sidewalks, use bike lane if one exists), but I also am aggressive and defend my rights as a road vehicle (own the full lane when I have a right to, don't let you come over on top of me or turn in front of me from another lane or tailgate me, etc; don't do something illegal or dangerous around me, because I will confront you on it immediately, not in a road rage way, but I won't let you get away with endangering me, and you probably will be on video). Ok done with the soapbox speech! Ride smart bikers, but enjoy your rides and be aware of your surroundings (and polite to the people our there), this speaker is a great add-on for a bike! Final rating: 5 stars for general use; 3.5 stars for bike riders (Add remote volume control logitech!!! And add a volume readout, be more honest on battery life, and for V.2 of the speaker, add track controls to the device.)

I did a lot of research on the net and finally decided on the UE Boom. My primary use was to take to the beach, camping, golfing, whatever outdoor activity that would welcome music. I will tell you, I was very pleased by these small speakers. 1.) For being somewhat small, this thing is LOUD. I have had actual boom boxes that could not reach the levels of this speaker. 2.) Quality of sound was more than acceptable. It had great treble but also had overall good bass. I'll be honest. The bass was not thumping...but the quality was more than reasonable. The type of music I played were pop, hip hop, classical, jazz. All of them sounded great. Didn't have any tinsel or muffled sound like my iHome speakers. 3.) Small Size = easy comparison is about size of a 16.9 FL OZ drinking water bottle 4.) Battery power was good. They say 15 hours, however I did not get that far. I did have a good 4-5 hours of LOUD (almost at the highest level) music and I was around 40% battery after use. I am sure it could hit 15 hours easy if the volume was set lower. If you take this to the beach, all you need is a good full charge and it should last you thru the whole day of fun in the sun. If you take this camping for a few days, take along a solar power charger or alternative power charger if you plan on playing music all day/night. If you just want to play this in your back yard or inside your home, just have it plugged into the outlet and play to your hearts delight. Some cool side notes: 1.) you can buy another UE Boom and have them play together via phone app android or iphone (one as a left and other as the right speaker...or just have them play uniformed, one on each side of the surrounding area) 2.) can get splashed with water (not submerged) and it's all good. Will continue to play and not damage anything. 3.) Has lanyard holder. I used this and hung it up using a small carabiner under an umbrella and worked like a charm. Kept it off the dirty ground. 4.) Bluetooth connectivity was very easy. Use it for what it was intended for (outside portable speakers on the go) and you will not be disappointed. If you want speakers to compliment your 60" flat screen TV, then go get full blown surround sound speakers from Onkyo, Polk or something similar. Overall, I am very pleased with my new UE Boom! Cheers!

I'm not an audiophile but I do care considerably about sound and I always want the best sound from any device. That said, since the advent of mp3/iPod and the various expensive headphones and speakers produced to couple with these devices, I couldn't understand why people would spend hundreds of dollars to get the best sound out of highly compressed files? Well, these are the times we live in and it's how people listen to music. Then after discovering the UE BOOM, I finally feel there's a product out there that makes the investment worthwhile. That all said, I wan't in the market for a bluetooth speaker but I decided to give the JAMBOX a try - once they were on Groupon with a deep discount. It was good for what it was - portable audio around my house and it sounded fine for the price I paid. Things got a bit worse with it out in the yard but I was willing to accept the convenience of it - for when I travel, etc. I went into a store and was pairing my phone with other BT speakers (to compare with the Jambox I just purchased) and a salesperson suggested I try the UE BOOM. There was this funny, funky, tallboy style speaker - I was skeptical at first but after pairing, I was immediately blown away by how GREAT this speaker sounded! I played various genres of music - tracks with different compression schemes, etc. and everything sounded great. What was immediately noticeable was the rich and deep type of sound the UE BOOM produces. I compared it to the BIG JAMBOX and UE BOOM still sounded louder and better overall - even better then the JBL and BOSE speakers. What I also love about the device is that I can take it in my backyard, tuck it in a tree branch, stand it up on the end of something and I'm not afraid of it being damaged. I can put it in my garage when I have my tools out, take it to the beach, whatever. It's way more rugged then any of the BT speakers on the market. Now it weighs about 2 lbs. compared to devices weighing 1/4 of that, but that's a small trade off. When you hold it, it feels like your holding something of substance and that has to say something about the hardware inside. The only criticism I've been told/read is that it lacks some base but I disagree. If you update the software upon purchase you have will have access (via the app) to four EQ presets, one of which is supposed to address an increase in bass. After comparing, leave it on the default setting (LOUD), the base still sounds great and it sounds most natural in reproducing the music you're playing. There were some old school rap tracks that sounded base heavy and crisp in the default setting. The update also addresses more incremental volume adjustments. It's still impressive how great it sounds at a lower volume. So after two weeks of thinking about this device, I returned my JAMBOX and put the money toward this. I've never thought twice. It has massive sound, 15 hours of battery and 50ft. of range, great design, rugged and again, some of the best sound you could ask for in a bluetooth speaker. Even the marketing, packaging and branding are cool too. It shows Logitech and UE have put a lot of care into this device.

I bought two of these for ~$240. Initially, I was pleased with these, but I became progressively more dissatisfied with them that I was compelled to return them - and I am grateful that Amazon facilitated free return shipping. Sound quality is okay - if you're looking for bass, look elsewhere. These speakers do not feature passive bass radiators (something that is necessary to get deeper bass). If you like this size of speaker, I'd recommend the JBL Flip series. Battery life - this is what really upset me the most. Logitech rates these speakers at "up to 15 hours *depending on volume and content". Okay, fine, I figured at half volume this would be achievable. However, I played these speakers in unison at ~75% volume and to my dismay, the first speaker powered off due to low battery in less than 4 hours!!! That's not even a third of what they advertise!!! I spoke with Logitech support via phone and they wanted me to perform a factory reset, which I declined to perform because I'm pretty technically savvy and I knew that this was no software problem. The second battery read at a level of about 40%, which extrapolation forecasts it would last 6 hours, still under half of the advertised battery life... The only reason I'm giving this two stars is because of the 'surround sound' aspect of these speakers, however, it is not "360 degree sound" as advertised - it's really only 180 degrees. Update: I was originally going to give this speaker 2 stars, but there are just much better options out there for the money. I upgraded to the JBL Xtreme, which I was fortunate to have gotten under $240 on sale here on the great Amazon. Worlds better in sound quality and battery life. I've gotten numerous compliments on the sound quality, and this thing gets many times louder than the two UE Booms combined. I played the JBL Xtreme at about half volume during an afternoon (4 hours) of disc golf and the battery life indicator did not lose one light (there are five). All in all, take it from someone who tried to like these buy buying two, but was consequently let down in the end. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere.