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Jambox has got the
sound, size and style

THE JAMBOX wireless speaker is one of the coolest products I’ve ever tried as well as one of the most overpriced ones.

Jawbone has taken what its best known for, sound and Bluetooth technology, and applied it to speakers, about the size of a brick.

My first impression of the Jambox was that it was very stylish to the point of me wondering whether it was really a speaker. You can choose from black, blue, grey, and red, and they’re all very stylish. I had the red, which is my favourite, and the most stunning of the colours, I think. I say it’s about the size of a brick, but it’s actually quite a bit smaller, and you can easily carry the Jambox around with you in a bag.

On each side of the Jambox there’s a metal grille with a pattern in it (different for each colour). On the top and the bottom there’s a thick and soft rubber coating, which helps the Jambox stand still on almost any surface when playing even heavy bass. It also makes the Jambox durable, and it can take quite a bit of knocking around without being damaged.

The sound that comes out of the Jambox is shockingly good. There’s depth, separation, clarity, and bass like you wouldn’t believe. I strongly suspect that even the toughest audiophile would be very content with the Jambox. On the top you find buttons for volume and talk. The talk button comes into play when you partner the Jambox with a smartphone. Once partnered, you can then answer and hang up calls with the talk button. On the side of the Jambox you find a 3.5 mm audio jack, micro-USB port, and power switch.

As a speakerphone the Jambox also does well, although in my testing it clearly came across to the other caller that I was on a speakerphone and some reported that the sound was a bit thin. I also found the volume much lower when taking calls so I had to crank up the volume on the Jambox. If I then forgot to turn it down again when I resumed the music, it was blasting away very loudly. That’s something that I hope can be fixed.

Charging the Jambox happens through the micro-USB port and the AC adapter that comes in the box. Expect to get to a full charge in about 2.5 to 3 hours. That will let you then run the Jambox for up to 7 to 8 hours, more than enough for the average working day or weekend party.

My conclusion is that I’ve rarely enjoyed speakers for iPhone as much as the Jawbone Jambox. If you can stomach the Dh850 price tag, get a Jambox and jam away. You can find speakers that sound as good or better, but they won’t come in the size and the style of the Jambox, most likely.

Magnus Nystedt, @mnystedt

• UAE