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The Jawbone Mini Jambox shrinks the Jambox form factor, but you wouldn't know it from the impressive sound it can produce. You can preorder it today for $179.99.
The solid aluminum enclosure of the Mini Jambox comes in nine colors and five "textures."
The Mini Jambox is about half as thick as the original Jambox.
At 0.96 inch, the Mini Jambox is about as thick as three iPhone 5 phones.
The Mini Jambox is much more pocketable than previous Jamboxes, making it a natural companion to your phone.
Jawbone is launching an app to go with the Mini Jambox that aggregates your playlists from iTunes, Rdio and Spotify. You can also change Jambox settings with it.
Controls for Play/Pause and volume are on the top.
The side has the power and pairing buttons as well as the USB port.
The aluminum enclosure makes the Jambox feel very durable.
Jawbone is selling a leather carrying case to go with the Mini Jambox.
Jawbone did a lot to establish the wireless-speaker category with its Jambox, capturing tons of market share in a short amount of time. Since then, though, the category has gotten massively competitive, with impressive offerings from the likes of Beats and Bose. The Jambox is having a tougher and tougher time standing out.
But now it doesn't have to, with the introduction of the Mini Jambox. As the name implies, the new product is a smaller version of the boxy, colorful Jambox. What isn't obvious is that the Mini Jambox actually produces sound that's just as good — if not better — than the original. The company is still offering the old Jambox, but the price officially drops to $149.99 as of Wednesday to make way for the Mini at $179.99.
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The Mini is a bit more portable than the original Jambox: Although it's about the same weight, the profile is about half as thick at 0.96 inches. Put side by side, the difference appears slight, but the slim design lets you stash the Mini away in any number of places the Jambox can't fit. I actually managed to slip it into my shirt's breast pocket. It comes in nine colors and five different patterns for the speaker grille.
When you turn it on, the Mini Jambox emanates Jawbone's "power up" noise. Pairing is as simple as you'd expect from a Bluetooth in 2013 — just activate Bluetooth on your phone, and select the speaker. The Mini even has the ability to pair with two different users simultaneously, and can remember the last eight devices (that's no Sol Republic Deck, but it's a perk). There's a dedicated button to enable quick pairing of new sources.
The sound is surprisingly good for such a small device . I took the Mini with me for a family visit to the Catskills in upstate New York, using it to play music in our hotel room, as well as while we played games outside. The speaker was most impressive in the midrange, playing multi-layered music with lots of different vocals very clearly. But I was taken aback by the bass response, which hit punches harder than you'd expect from such a small device. It's not magic — you're not getting subwoofer-level pow, here — but it'll deliver.
One of my favorite aspects of the design is the aluminum "box" that serves as the exterior on the four largest sides. It gives the speaker a nice, solid feel — I was never worried I was going to scratch or break it (though Jambox doesn't promise it's shock-proof). The thinner design also encourages you to place it facing upward, which can give something closer to a 360-degree sound experience.
With the debut of the Mini, Jawbone is also launching a Jambox app, which aggregates playlists from many different music services, including iTunes, Spotify, Rdio and Deezer. However, I couldn't test the app before launch.
Like other Jamboxes, the Mini Jambox has a Live Audio sound-processing feature that supposedly gives a more immersive experience for sound with lots of spatial information, such as movie soundtracks — and it does, but it's barely noticeable. For spatial separation, you'd do much better with a stereo-enabled model like the UE Boom.
Nonetheless, I have to admire what Jawbone has done here. While other companies have stood out among wireless speakers with software tricks and larger designs, Jawbone has leveled-up the category by going back to basics: Put as much sound as possible in the smallest form factor possible. Good sound on the go has never been more pocketable.
What's Good:
Unexpectedly large sound
Portable to the extreme
Sturdy aluminum enclosure
What's Bad:
Doesn't play as loud as some other speakers
Mediocre sound processing
Bottom Line: The Mini Jambox's small footprint belies its powerful, clean sound, and the aluminum enclosure gives it a solid, high-end feel.
Images: Mashable, Emil Lendof