There’s no shortage of compact wireless speakers on the market right now, and JBL figures the best way to differentiate its new SoundFly is to forgo the one key feature that makes these worth carrying around: a rechargeable battery. Instead, it’s designed to permanently hang off an outlet, blocking other devices from accessing it.
JBL boasts that the SoundFly doesn’t require any shelf space, but odds are you’ve got more room for it on a desk or a table than available outlets not blocked by furniture. The lack of a built-in battery at least leaves more room for the 20W speaker which in theory could improve its sound, and the SoundFly is available in Bluetooth or AirPlay versions with a free accompanying app for Android users. So Apple fans should at least have a reason to consider it.
However, at $US180 for the Bluetooth model and $US200 for the AirPlay, it’s going to have a hard time competing against the similarly priced and highly portable Jambox. [JBL via TechCrunch]