Jawbone Jambox BLACKDIAMOND Bluetooth Speaker/Speakerphone - Retail Packaging - Black

I like to watch movies on my iPad and I was looking for a bluetooth speaker because I did not want to deal with wires, sometimes I do not like using headphones, and the iPad's own speaker is simply not loud or good enough. With a certain amount of trepidation I went with this Jambox with the fear that this was just another "computer speaker." Instead I have found that the Jambox is exactly what I have been looking for. I'll begin with the end: the Jambox is quite loud and features pretty decent quality sound. No, not the same as a big set of stereo speakers, but pretty good quality including decent bass. My ears are no longer what they were when I was twenty, and I need speakers that can provide decent volume. The Jambox does. It can fill my den with sound. It does the job. I was surprised. Incidentally the Jambox paired with my iPad quickly with no hassle. The second excellent attribute of the Jambox is the hardware. The unit itself is built very nicely, and it is small, which is appropriate if you are using it for portability along with an iPad or similar device. It has a built-in battery that charges with the same Micro-USB cable that works on a Kindle Fire, which charger and cable is provided with the Jambox. Further, the Jambox "talks to you" when you start trying to use it. When you first turn it on it tells you that it is trying to acquire a bluetooth device. There is a button on the top which, when pressed will tell you the status of the battery charge, i.e. "the battery is three-fourths charged" or "charging" if indeed you are charging, or "charging is complete" when done. This takes all of the hassle and guesswork out of using the Jambox. The first thing a new user will want to do is to update the firmware in the Jambox on the Jambox website. Naturally, I expected a hassle. I was delighted that the process went perfectly with no problem. You go to the website, turn the Jambox "off" but hook it up to your computer's USB port with the supplied USB cable. Download the Jambox software, and the software immediately recognized my Jambox and asked if I wanted to update the firmware. Click "yes" and that is that--everything went perfectly. There are nifty little apps and things on the website such as different voices for your Jambox and whatnot. Overall I am very satisfied with the Jambox and I rate it five stars. It is pretty close to ideal for movies or music on a small bluetooth device such as an iPad, Kindle Fire, or the like. RJB.

There are many times when I just want my background music to follow me to the patio, on the road, in the kitchen, at meetings -- even at the beach. We used to cart around jam boxes with mix tapes, but now our computers, smart phones, tablets and just about any internet connected device can access our online music library. The speakers on these devices are just horrible and sometimes, I don't want to have headphones on. I wanted a nice sounding small unit that would allow me to enjoy music anywhere from just about any device. The JAMBOX is small, easy to use, sounds very good for background music, is an excellent design and even runs on batteries. SIZE: this thing is very small, you can take it anywhere and tuck it away in a place where it almost disappears. All you get is music. DESIGN: These folks included a simple interface that uses only four buttons and voice feedback to tell you how to pair a device, charging status and much more. It comes with a manual, but honestly, you can set this up with no trouble out of the box. It is well constructed with a nice feel. It even looks good. BLUETOOTH CALLING: The bluetooth implementation works for sound and as a speakerphone. I was not purchasing this as a speakerphone but WOW, this things is great for conferencing as long as everyone is in front of it. Yes it has an integrated microphone. Rejection is very good, we could all clearly hear the caller and they could hear us as well. SOUND: The sound is actually very good for background music. You won't get big stereo sound field, excellent imaging, thumping bass or dance party volume levels -- but what you do get is actually quite impressive. The sound is balanced from top to bottom and is actually very natural. Acoustic music with vocals like James Taylor, Nora Jones or Shane Jackman are reproduced with excellent balance and clarity. Electronic pop music can lack the dynamics and extended bass, but the bass you do get is not boomy and sounds very natural. One more thing about the bass, it is actually amazing this little thing puts out as much bass as it does for the size. If you are worried the JAMBOX will not play loud, it will, just not THUMPING loud. Because of the smooth high end and good tonal response, you can listen to this thing for a long time with almost no fatigue. BLUETOOTH MUSIC: As most devices, the BlueTooth audio is not as good as if you use the 1/8 audio jack. If you want the best sound plug your phone or computer into this thing. It will amaze you. You may need to turn your headphone output down some so as not to overdrive the unit. It will get a little distorted. The BlueTooth sound is very good, just not as good as when using the plug. Jawbone does something very interesting with the BlueTooth audio. Some devices with BlueTooth audio can be overdriven with the audio output from the source and will distort in at the higher levels. I play guitar and some distortion is good, but not on prerecorded music. NO! The folks at JamBox know then and use something called compression to dynamically limit the amount of sound from your device to the JAMBOX when your BlueTooth level is to high. This compression can sound like 70's pop radio where all the dynamics form the music are taken out. if this bothers you, turn your device (phone/iPod/computer) BlueTooth volume down until the compression is eliminated then use the volume on the JAMBOX to adjust the sound. BUGE IMPROVEMENT. In summary, of the BT Speakers out, this one is the best value for me. Smaller than the Bose, sounds about as good, super easy to use and has MUCH better sound than the sub $100 solutions. If Steve Jobs were to design a BlueTooth portable music device, it would look like the JAMBOX.