Solemate
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Jabra launches Solemate Mini speaker and Sport+ Bluetooth audio gear
Jabra's Solemate was a sneaker-themed alternative to Jawbone's Jambox, and now the company wants to hoover up those customers who want a slightly smaller Bluetooth speaker. The Solemate Mini promises all of the usual acoustic bells-and-whistles despite only being the size of a coke can, packing an eight-hour battery as well as a line-in, Bluetooth and NFC connections. Users will able to pick one up in a choice of red, yellow blue or black -- color choices that'll also come to the bigger model in short order. At the same time, the company is upgrading its Sport headphones with a shock-and-sweat-proof design as well as an FM radio. The Solemate Mini will launch globally for £99 (we expect dollar prices to be in the same ballpark), while the Sport+ earphones will retail for $79.99 with three months' free subscription to Endomondo Premium thrown in as a happy little extra. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Jabra Solemate Bluetooth speaker hands-on, soles off
Hey, it's a shoe-themed Bluetooth speaker -- because, hey, why not, right? Jabra announced the punnily named Solemate yesterday, and we happened to run into one on the floor of this year's IFA. It's a small, solid little speaker with a hearty rubber sole that sits on the bottom, protecting the device from shocks and the like. The heel actually peels off, so you can replace it with different colors. Jabra had a slew of brightly colored options aside from the basic black and white, though apparently those won't be widely available at launch. The pairing process is quite easy -- just flip the Bluetooth button on the side of the device and a glowing blue light will turn on -- not only that, but a friendly device will walk you through the process. Find the speaker on your device's drop down menu and you're good to go. As for the sound, it's surprisingly loud (120dB, to be exact). We walked off the show floor for a second to demo it, but it turned out we didn't need to. Oh, and when you're using a non-Bluetooth device, there's a wired connection that lives on the bottom of the sole that you can pull out. All in all, it's a really solid and nicely built speaker -- and for its $200 asking price, we'd certainly hope so. The speaker has big volume buttons on the top and a carrying loop on its side. It also comes with a small black bag, which it can actually play through without dampening the sound too much. It'll hit the US on September 2nd, but you can pre-order it now, if you're eager.%Gallery-163896%
Jabra's $200 Solemate portable Bluetooth speaker wants to kick the Jambox aside
If you looked at the photo above thinking Dr. Martens got into the portable speaker game, you're not so far off. Jabra's taken its Bluetooth headset know-how and blended it with a footwear-inspired design to create its first portable speaker, the $200 Solemate. At first glance the shoe theme does seem a bit silly, but don't let that fool you as this Bluetooth 3.0 speaker packs some notable specs -- especially pitted against the Jawbone Jambox. Available in black or white, the features rubberized casing that's shock- and water-resistant, and can be supplemented with an included waterproof soundbag (similar to the Braven 625). Taking it a step further, the unit actually has a "heel tab" for carrying purposes and a replaceable sole, which also serves as a storage point for a handy 3.5mm cable. %Gallery-163767% Moving on to its less quirky features, at the front you'll find a duo of acoustic tweeters separated by a subwoofer with a passive bass radiator on the back -- all together they pump out up to a whopping 120dB of volume. On top are two volume buttons, along with a multifunction button for commanding calls and enabling its Voice Guidance feature. Lastly, the right side houses two indicator lights (battery and Bluetooth), a power and pairing switch, a 3.5mm jack and a micro-USB input for charging and direct digital audio connection. According to Jabra the unit is "about the size and weight of a water bottle," and you can expect to get around eight to ten hours of use per charge. We'll be giving you our in-depth impressions of the speaker before long, however, the Solemate will be up for pre-order today at the likes of Best Buy and Amazon, and set to release on September 2nd if you're already interested. Check out the press release after the break for more details in the meantime.
