The tiny Bose Bluetooth speaker system we caught a whiff of last week went official today with a considerably less goofy name than “Chihuahua”. The Soundlink Mobile, as it’s actually called, is a portable Bluetooth speaker in an AirPlay world, but it looks like it might be pretty good anyway.
It’s also got an iPad-Smart-Cover-like lid that doubles as a stand and automatically shuts off the speaker when it’s covered. Specs-wise, it’s got four midrange drivers and two dual-opposing woofers. It remembers up to six Bluetooth devices, but you have to manually turn them off if you want to control which has precedence, which seems like it could be a bit of a pain.
Battery life is a reported three to four hours at “loud” levels, and up to eight at more reasonable levels. It’s more than a little bigger and heavier than competitors like the Jawbone Jambox, but it seems that its sound is also louder and better. So we’ll see.
It’s also slightly rugged, which is always appreciated. It’s apparently fairly resistant to drops and general abuse, and it’s “moisture-resistant”, for whatever that’s worth to you. The regular version is $US300, and there’s a “premium” version with chrome trim and a slightly-fancier leather cover for $US350. [This Is My Next, CNET]