Bose is back with a second generation portable wireless Bluetooth speaker. The company calls its new product-line the Bose SoundLink Color.
Don’t confuse the Color with the high-quality aluminium-built SoundLink Mini.
The Bose SoundLink Color retails at an affordable price, is highly portable, and comes in black, white, and three other hip colors to match your outfit for the day.
The Bose SoundLink Color is quirky, but not Wes Anderson quirky. It has an original design, and approximately 8 hours of battery life-time. Did I mention that it just yells – I love life?
The portable Bluetooth speaker from Bose has a built-in dual passive bass radiator, and it also features dual dynamic drivers, which the company notes are capable of producing a crystal clear balanced audio. Check our review down below.
The packaging isn’t complex, or over-the-top. It’s simple, and to the point, achieving an utilitarian style – unlike the SoundLink Mini which is more design oriented.
Once you open its box, you’ll find a Bose USB wall power adapter, exactly like the one paired with the SoundLink Mini. Unfortunately, Bose didn’t include a charging dock with the Color, but the company offers their proprietary micro-USB to USB charging cable – it’s also detachable. It can be used with the wall charger, or any other USB port.
Inside its box you’ll find a manual that goes through the basic instructions that outlines what a user should know about the Bose SoundLink Color’s features, battery status, and how to start using the product.
It’s always recommended you read a product’s manual before tinkering with it. The Bose SoundLink Color needs to be fully charged first, as it doesn’t come pre-charged.
Accessory wise, you’re out of luck. Bose didn’t manufacture anything for the Color like the colorful silicone sleeves they have available for the SoundLink Mini. Instead, their SoundLink Color comes already packed with a built-in protective case which is durable, and quite colorful.
However, Bose offers their in-house neoprene carry case which sports two brand new looks specially designed for the SoundLink Color.
The carry case doesn’t have any space for the charging adapter, nor the cable – you would think that the company that made the product would know to add these must-have slots…
The Bose SoundLink is exceptionally well designed. It looks just fantastic, and it manages to pull off its quirkiness in a unique way. I’m reluctant of calling it original, because I haven’t seen something truly authentic in ages.
But I might just.
It has large holes on the front of its grille which gives the speaker a vintage walkie-talkie vibe when compared to other modern speakers on the market.
When powered for the first time, the Bose SoundLink Color will ask you to select your native language – it actually voices this question through its speaker. It’s not that needed, and non-English speaking owners will have no problem connecting the speaker to their wireless device, but it’s a nice little gimmick.
Pairing is done in a matter of seconds, intuitive, and easy. You just need to open your Bluetooth settings, tap on the screen where you see the SoundLink Color brand, and that’s just about it.
The speaker will automatically connect to your device in a blink of an eye.
I didn’t encounter no connectivity issues, even when pairing with Apple’s latest devices.
Battery-life for the Bose SoundLink Color is neither exceptional, nor lackluster. It reaches the 8 hour mark, that’s one hour more than the SoundLink Mini.
The battery indicator is located just right above the power button, and it turns green when it’s fully charged, an amber color when the battery has reached the half-charged mark. Red means that it’s out of juice, and it will power-down soon.
Press, and hold, the power button when the speaker is turned on so it displays the device’s battery status.
It features a built-in micro-USB charging port, and a 3.5mm audio input if you want to connect other non-Bluetooth audio sources.
It’s not shock proof, dirt proof, snow proof, nor waterproof. It’s built entirely out of high quality plastic, but still, it’s plastic. For a product that retails at the price of $130, I can’t say it’s not worth buying just because you can’t sprinkle water on it.
Sound-quality is exceptional, and toying with it by playing bass-filled songs doesn’t distort the sound in any way. I didn’t encounter no crackling noise whatsoever.
My verdict is that if you’re looking for a quirky, and small Bluetooth speaker, then the Bose SoundLink Color might be just the one for you.
The Bose SoundLink Color Price – $130.
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