Mini Bluetooth boombox/speakerphone

WHAT IS IT: Anker Portable Bluetooth Speaker

NEW, FUTURE or RETRO: Very new

PREVIEW or REVIEW: review

HOW GOOD IT IS: I have an ever-growing arsenal of small Bluetooth speakers in every room of the house. Although my home entertainment system can get Bluetooth from my smartphone or iPad I prefer the Logitech speaker I keep on the endtable next to where I sit. Of all of my Bluetooth speakers it is the oldest one and still my favorite for playing quick audio clips for friends and family.

In my den I have an awesome Boston Acoustics speaker that I use often while I am reading Kindle books, watching You Tube videos, playing a spontaneous song I want to hear or dozens of other playback scenarios from my phone or iPad. Of course I have Bluetooth speakerphones in my cars.

But until I evaluated this speaker from Anker I hadn’t found anything to use on my home office desk that didn’t take up a lot of the precious little space I have that isn’t consumed by my 5 printers, 6 hard drives, 4 scanners and other paraphernalia. The Anker has that old school glossy black look like office speakerphones from the 70’s and it sounds great for quickie sound bites and also as my new preferred desk speakerphone.

There’s not much to it … a slide power switch on the bottom (I would have preferred it on the top), 3 momentary button switches along the bottom rim for volume +/- and one for taking a phone call. Pairing is easy and the device gets about 10 hours battery life on a charge. The only downside is that Anker chose to use the older non-standard mini-USB connector rather than the now standard ubiquitous micro-USB connector, which means you have to tote the cable they provided with you or you're out of luck trying to charge it. As a portable speaker that just means one more thing to remember to take with me. I asked Anker about that and they assured me that they would specify the standard USB connector on their products going forward.

It looks good, it sounds good and it is easy to use.  I like it.

SIMILAR TO: too many to mention, this is a major new product category and it seems every company imaginable is making a small portable Bluetooth speaker ranging in price from $20 to $200. At the low end of $20 (at Amazon) this one is a good value.

DO YOU NEED IT: Mini Bluetooth speakers are becoming a hot new market segment.  Why? Well, as smartphones and tablets get increasingly slimmer and lighter something’s got to give and due to the laws of physics one of the most obvious is how much loudspeaker can be packed into those tiny cases. And the answer is, not much.  Built-in speakers are adequate for watching a quick news video on CNN or maybe a phone call with your spouse or boss, but beyond that they’re merely adequate. Having a simple, small speaker on your desk is a game-changer.

HOW IT IMPACTS YOU: If you spend any time working at a desk or travel on business or pleasure, having a lightweight portable Bluetooth speaker can make a big difference over using the tiny speaker in your phone or iPad. Having both the capability of acting as a mini-boombox and a decent speakerphone is very useful. This is one of the smallest and lightest units of its type and produces very decent sound and has great battery life. For the price it falls into one of those "must have" gadgets.

COMMENTS: I have another similar speaker made by a lesser-known company. By comparison it looks like a toy but costs almost twice as much. The first time I charged it I used it for a few minutes and then didn't touch it for a couple of days, during which time the battery went dead. I gave it two more chances but it wouldn't hold a charge. A product like this has to be ready-to-go when I am, whether to play an audio clip or be used as a speakerphone. It's one of the reasons I like Anker products ... they cost less and work better.

TECH TOY WIZARD RATING:    5/5

WEBSITE:  Anker website

BUYING OPTIONS:  Buy it at Amazon

SEE IT IN MOTION:  Coming soon

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