'WONDERBOOM' Speaker From Ultimate Ears Offers Big Sound in a Small Package

[MacRumors]

Ultimate Ears today announced the latest addition to its lineup of portable speakers, debuting the palm-sized $99 WONDERBOOM. The WONDERBOOM fits right in with its bigger siblings the UE Boom 2 and the MEGABOOM, offering 360 degree sound in a smaller, more affordable package.

Design wise, the WONDERBOOM looks a lot like the UE Boom 2, but it's half as tall and a bit thicker. It's 10.2cm tall with a diameter of 9.4cm, while the UE Boom 2 is 18cm tall with a diameter of 6.5cm.

The front of the WONDERBOOM features the iconic Ultimate Ears volume control buttons, denoted by a "+" and a "-", and at the top, there's a power button and a Bluetooth button for pairing the WONDERBOOM to an iPhone. A UE button, also at the top of the speaker, pauses and unpauses music that's playing. A double tap on the UE button will skip to the next song.

The WONDERBOOM connects to a device through a standard Bluetooth connection and it is designed to maintain its connection up to 100 feet away.

All of the Ultimate Ears products offer surprisingly great sound for both their size and price point, and the WONDERBOOM is no exception. In our testing, it wasn't far off from the sound of the UE Boom 2 and it was louder and carried more than the sound from a UE Roll. Sound was clear, even at high volume, and the bass was impressive for a small speaker.

Two WONDERBOOMs can be paired together (a long press on the UE button puts them into pairing mode) for larger spaces and louder sound, and there's also a feature that allows two Bluetooth devices to connect to WONDERBOOM so multiple people can control the music.

A loop on the back of the WONDERBOOM allows it to hang anywhere, and it's also waterproof (IPX7) and able to float, making it ideal for use at the pool, the beach, or in the bath. It can withstand immersion in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes. It's also rugged, making it an ideal outdoor speaker -- it's drop proof from up to five feet.

WONDERBOOM charges using an included micro-USB cable, and it offers 10 hours of battery life per charge, long enough to last for a full day.

WONDERBOOM is priced at $99 and it is available in six colors: Stone (gray), Phantom (black), Fireball (red), SubZero (blue), Cashmere (pink), and Lilac (light purple). Ultimate Ears will begin selling the WONDERBOOM on its website in April of 2017.

Article Link: 'WONDERBOOM' Speaker From Ultimate Ears Offers Big Sound in a Small Package

 

[rudychidiac]

Too much crosses for one article...
Also the colours are very ugly

 

[Kajje]

Beautiful designed and well priced like many of their products.

 

[44267547]

I would say the biggest advantages for this product in a portable speaker world where there are loads of portable speaker options, this has a decent range with 100 feet and then IPX7 waterproofing is a advantage as well.

 

[adamneer]

Kind of hard to call a design "iconic" when (presumably) few people have ever heard of the company. Perhaps "signature" would better suit their button design—which I would like a lot more if it didn't resemble a crucifix. Altogether though, I have to say they've come up with one of the better looking BT speakers in recent years.

 

[UltimaKilo]

They have great products. I hope Apple updates its Beats Pill lineup.

 

[wozmatic]

Looks like a creepy futuristic cross.

Based on the design alone I wouldn't use this even if it was given to me for free.

 

[unsaltedrhino]

UE Boom is one of the best tech products I ever bought - this looks cute!

 

[honglong1976]

Finally, a speaker designed for Christians.

 

[fitshaced]

This speaker can walk on water. I mean work under water.

 

[BJMRamage]

the Volume controls as a "cross" is nothing new.
check out the bigger brother/sister to these from a few years back.

 

[zohaali146]

Beautiful design and colors. Its good they have reduced the size considerably, increased the portable factor

 

[dmylrea]

Bass is the result of pushing large amounts of air. "BOOM" is the last word I would use to describe the sound from a tiny speaker, let alone use it in the name, unless, of course, it leaves people WONDERing where the BOOM is?

 

[Dewey911]

I never post but I'm on this site several times a day. I just had to say something this time. Seriously? All people want to talk about is the volume buttons on this speaker? They've used the same design for years. It just goes to show people just love a cause and have to have something to complain about...... Don't like it? Don't buy it, but please don't bore us with complete useless opinions about the volume buttons...... PLEASE!!!

 

[Scarpad]

And Handy in case a Vampire shows up at the party

 

[stu-bim]

''WONDERBOOM charges using an included micro-USB cable, and it offers 10 hours of battery life per charge, long enough to last for a full day. ''

I thought a day was 24 hours

 

[allenvanhellen]

It kinda bugs me that they don't make docks for their speakers. If you want to use these on your desk a lot of the time, you're probably gonna have to lay them on their sides and have wires poking out the ends.

 

[usarioclave]

Party up mode is pretty great! I wish thissupported it.

 

[BenTrovato]

Product seems fantastic. The volume buttons look like it's a cross at the front of a church. Too spooky for me.

 

[WhollySchmidt]

It kinda bugs me that they don't make docks for their speakers. If you want to use these on your desk a lot of the time, you're probably gonna have to lay them on their sides and have wires poking out the ends.

If you just want a speaker for your desk, you're better off looking at other options. These are really positioned for their rugged portability, situations where you'll be running off the battery, and you probably don't want wires poking out anywhere.

Of course you can still use it at your desk comfortably for a full day of work on a single battery charge, and I think you can still stand these up while they're plugged in if you need to charge them--I have two UE BOOMs and a MEGABOOM, all of which you can charge while upright. They look a little silly with the cords sticking out of the "top" in that situation, but again, these aren't designed primarily to use at a desk.

 

[kyjaotkb]

Too bad it uses Bluetooth... I have a UE Boom (1st gen) that I love... when it's actually managing to connect to my iPhone. When will Apple release a BT speaker with a W1 chip? I'd buy it in a heartbeat...

Also:
- is the wonderboom compatible with Siri like the Boom2 is?
- have they ditched the jack input? Was pretty handy to have it on the Boom to save power.
- can it charge a phone from its battery via a master USB port?
- can it charge from a 5W charger? there is no way to charge the BOOM from a standard phone charger, you need a 10W or 12W charger (e.g. the one they put in the box, or an iPad one)
- does one have to wait at least 3 hours of charging to use it, like the BOOM? fast charging would be great to keep the party going...

PS: glad to see they are "ressuscitating" the MiniBOOM, in a way (released in 2013 but discontinued), with a better product at the $99 price point.
PPS: colours are not great imho...

 

[simonmet]

I'm atheist so I think I'll pass on this one.

 

[WhollySchmidt]

I can't tell how many of you are kidding about this "cross" thing, but I hope...all of you?

 

[BeefCake 15]

How does it compare to Cambridge Sound Oontz Angle 3 Plus for almost 1/3 the price?

 

[WhollySchmidt]

How does it compare to Cambridge Sound Oontz Angle 3 Plus for almost 1/3 the price?

I don't know how it compares on sound quality, but the Oontz looks like it's only rated IPX5 when it comes to water resistance, the WONDERBOOM is IPX7. You can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code but very roughly summarized, that's the difference between "will survive being caught in the rain" and "will survive being dropped in the pool". The Oontz also advertises Bluetooth range of 30 feet, and the WONDERBOOM advertises 100 feet.

Sound quality would still be a huge factor for me, so I'd wait to read some reviews (I like The Wirecutter) if I was considering this, but at a glance, those are some "objective" differences.