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This holiday season, my family got the chance to try out a JBL Flip portable wireless loudspeaker. I'm happy to report it's the perfect solution for compact, but loud sound!
At a mere 6.5" long x 2.5" in diameter, it's small enough to fit into a purse or outer pocket of a backpack. In my husband's case, he could tuck it at the corner of his desk at work without it being too obtrusive. And the sound quality -- oh my goodness, I can't believe what can come from such a compact speaker!
I want to make clear that I have not tested the Flip against other speakers in the same class, such as the Jawbone Jambox, or the Beats by Dr. Dre Pill. That would be a great goal, but for now I can compare the sound of this speaker with the qualities of my Bose wired and iHome wireless speaker systems.
What Comes in the Box
- Speaker
- A/C Power Cord
- Black Neoprene cylindrical case
- Owner's Manual
- Safety Information
- Warranty Information
AppearanceI was sent a white-colored speaker, although it also comes in black. It's just a little taller than a 12 oz. soda can, and it has rubbery surfaces placed so that you have the choice to sit it on one end, or else horizontally. The control buttons are on top, but the JBL logo on the speaker surface presents horizontally. The choice is yours.Setup
Very easy. The illustrated instructions easily guide you through how to plug in the power cord, how to plug in a wired apparatus (such as a non-Bluetooth-enabled iPod) to a line-in port, and how to sync your Bluetooth device.
Performance
We easily Bluetooth-synced the Flip with my iPhone 4S and turned on my Pandora app to an "LMFAO"-type channel, so we could hear some bass-intensive dance music. The family was immediately pleased with how clear the sound quality is.
We turned up the volume. Higher... higher... higher...
...and kitchen counter started vibrating! But the sound quality was unaffected. Wow! Then I went outside and stood in the street with the front door open (about 50 feet). I could hear the music clearly coming from my house.
Standing closer to the speaker, at maximum volume, it was a bit much for me, but I think that's more of a personal preference. For those who like it loud, you won't be disappointed.
You can go into iPhone/iPod settings and adjust your music bass and treble settings and the speaker will adapt to them.
The Flip also works as a microphone/speaker for your Bluetooth-enabled phones. You can control the pickup and hangup of the phone with the button with the telephone icon. You can also perform many other functions with the telephone button: manage multiple phone calls and use Siri. The instructions explains how to do this.
My sons enjoyed playing with Siri, talking to her through the JBL Flip.
Trying out the phone with the Flip proved to be more difficult. I called my husband at work using the Flip as the speaker and microphone. I could hear him very well, but he told me that when I talked to him through the Flip speaker, he could hear all background noise (my sons playing on the Wii and the sound of the dishwasher running in the next room). Switching to the iPhone speakerphone all-but eliminated that background noise.
The Flip has a Li-ion battery that can recharge when connected to A/C power. My husband did a test of the speaker battery with Pandora playing at a medium volume and got over five hours worth of play. It fully recharged in less than three hours. These seemed concurrent with the product's specifications.
The Bluetooth range seemed comparable to other products with Bluetooth connectivity. I can have my iPhone anywhere in my living room without losing the connection, but if I attempt to go from one end of the house to the other, it will drop. I'd assume a 30 foot range -- line of sight -- to be safe. Having physical barriers, such as walls or bodies, between the device and the speaker will shorten that range.
Portability
- I love how small this is! It can easily fit into a purse, backpack, or can be tucked into a quiet corner of a room for professional-quality sound.
- How about a trip to the beach or a picnic? You don't need to worry about a power source when you can toss a fully-charged Flip into the beach bag or picnic basket!
Conclusion
____The JBL Flip is a great last-minute stocking stuffer idea this Christmas (it will fit into most stockings when taken out of the package). After putting it in a stocking, have a little fun and control the speaker from across the room on Christmas morning -- hit your iPod or smartphone's "Play" button and make the stocking start playing Jingle Bells.
Where to Buy
The JBL Flip Wireless Bluetooth speaker retails for $99.99 and can be found at major big-box consumer electronics retailers such as Best Buy. It can also be found at major online retailers such as Amazon.
A complimentary sample of the JBL Flip speaker was provided for review purposes.
