minijambox
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Jawbone now lets you link Mini Jamboxes -- if you happen to have two
As far as portable Bluetooth speakers go, Jawbone's Mini Jambox falls short of being our favorite; it's more expensive than the competition, without being significantly better. Given that, then, you might want to take this post with a grain of salt: The company just announced a new feature called Multiplay that allows you to turn the tiny Jambox into a stereo speaker. The catch? You need not one, but two of these $150 units to make it work (N.B.: They're priced at $130 right now, but only as a limited-time offer). Assuming you can pony up, or have a friend with the same speaker, you can send music from one to the other by holding down three buttons on the device. Or, you can play the same song through both at once, with the option to designate a right and left speaker, allowing for a wider soundstage. (The Mini already has a "LiveAudio" feature that does basically the same thing, except the effect is subtler.) Given the prohibitive cost, this is a fairly improbable setup for most folks. That said, if you happen to own the Mini, and have access to a second unit, you can enjoy the feature now through a free firmware update.
Jambox and Mini Jambox score a water-resistant option for an extra $50
Sure, you might shrug off peril when it comes to placing portable speakers near the tub or sink, but it wouldn't hurt to have an added line of defense. To that end, Jawbone is now giving folks who purchase a Mini Jambox or its normally-sized counterpart from their website the option to add Liquipel 2.0 protection for an extra $50. The coating bestows hardware with an IPX-5 rating, which lends it protection from water splashed upon it from all angles. It might not be the time of year to bust out your super soaker or dip into a pool, but you can prepare for summer by picking up one of the specially-treated gadgets at the bordering source link.
This week on gdgt: Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 Jawbone's Mini Jambox, and iMessage issues
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Jawbone Mini Jambox review
Jawbone's original Jambox made Bluetooth portable speakers a mass-market hit. Since then, though, Jawbone has started to lag behind as other companies have come out with better units that cost either the same price or less. Now, the $180 Mini Jambox is here with an even more portable design to help Jawbone keep its edge. Now that we've gotten the chance to live with it for a few weeks, it's time to answer the big questions you might have before placing a pre-order. Does the Mini Jambox offer marked improvements over the original? Is it enough to compete with all the other options in this space? And, most importantly, is the price right? Read on for the Engadget take.
Jawbone intros Mini Jambox Bluetooth speaker and a music-streaming app (hands-on)
When Jawbone came out with the Jambox back in 2010, the sales pitch was simple: here was a really loud Bluetooth speaker that was small enough to stuff inside a backpack when you wanted to have a dance party at the beach. (Okay, we're paraphrasing a little bit.) Three years later, though, "small enough to stuff in a backpack" isn't quite small enough. What about small enough to fit inside a suit pocket? Or a purse? That's the promise of the Mini Jambox, a $180 speaker announced today that's -- you guessed it -- even tinier than the original. If the idea of another Jambox seems redundant (as it did to us at first), Travis Bogard, VP of Product Management and Strategy, says you should think of it like a camera: "It's kind of like 'the best camera is the one you have with you." The idea is that you'll carry the Mini Jambox at all times, in the event you're, say, hanging out with a friend and decide to watch a movie together on a tablet. But if you mainly want something for home use, the Big Jambox will be the better choice. That leaves the original Jambox in a strange place: Bogard expects you'll use that at home too, even if you do occasionally trot it out for picnics in the park. You just wouldn't keep it on your person at all times; it's a little too large for that.
