JBL Rumble, OnBeat Mini and Charge spotted at CES, we go ears on

One of the more colorful -- in the literal sense -- announcements during the CES build-up was the new line of Bluetooth speakers from JBL. Here at Pepcom we spotted them out in the wild, so thought we take the chance to go hands and ears on. The little guy, aka the Charge, was the first of the bunch we heard pumping out some tunes, and our inability to hear the company reps telling us more about it is testament to how loud it is for such a small device. The design of the Charge also looks -- objectively -- even better in real life. The modern design and materials work really well with the vibrant color schemes, and while we didn't have time to test out that 12 hour battery life, everything else looked pretty solid to us.

The middle baby of the trio -- the OnBeat Mini -- is much more demure, with the low profile unit sitting discreetly on the table top, just quietly -- or loudly, rather -- getting on with pumping out the jams from the iPad mini perched on top of it. This of course brings lightning connectivity is centre stage, and despite its diminutive form (the connector, not the iPad) Apple's mini tablet felt securely house within the dock itself.Our favorite of the bunch would possibly be the Rumble. Not just because the name sounds like it means business, but also the bold design and impressive weighty sound seem fitting of the name. The whole front of the unit has the classic speaker-grille style finish, and despite looking like a heavy set piece of kit, is surprisingly light, yet solid feeling. More pictures of the whole family can be found in out gallery.

Gallery: JBL docks CES 2013 - Hands on

Sean Cooper contributed to this report.

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