Jabra's $200 Solemate portable Bluetooth speaker wants to kick the Jambox aside

If you looked at the photo above thinking Dr. Martens got into the portable speaker game, you're not so far off. Jabra's taken its Bluetooth headset know-how and blended it with a footwear-inspired design to create its first portable speaker, the $200 Solemate. At first glance the shoe theme does seem a bit silly, but don't let that fool you as this Bluetooth 3.0 speaker packs some notable specs -- especially pitted against the Jawbone Jambox. Available inblack or white, the features rubberized casing that's shock- and water-resistant, and can be supplemented with an included waterproof soundbag (similar to the Braven 625). Taking it a step further, the unit actually has a "heel tab" for carrying purposes and a replaceable sole, which also serves as a storage point for a handy 3.5mm cable.

Gallery: Jabra Solemate press photos

Moving onto to its less quirky features, at the front you'll find a duo of acoustic tweeters separated by a subwoofer with a passive bass radiator on the back -- all together they pump out up to a whopping 120dB of volume. On top are two volume buttons, along with a multifunction button for commanding calls and enabling its Voice Guidance feature. Lastly, the right side houses two indicator lights (battery and Bluetooth), a power and pairing switch, a 3.5mm jack and a micro-USB input for charging and direct digital audio connection. According to Jabra the unit is "about the the size and weight of a water bottle," and you can expect to get around eight to ten hours of use per charge. We'll be giving you our in-depth impressions of the speaker before long, however, the Solemate will be up for pre-order today at the likes of Best Buy and Amazon, and set to release on September 2nd if you're already interested. Check out the press release after the break for more details in the meantime.

Continue reading Jabra's $200 Solemate portable Bluetooth speaker wants to kick the Jamboxaside

Filed under: Misc, Portable Audio/Video

Jabra's $200 Solemate portable Bluetooth speaker wants to kick the Jambox aside originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.