Dragging party music to the park or patio doesn't have to involve so much actual dragging. More party, more easy! You've got a gazillion songs on your phone already. And little, portable Bluetooth speakers are getting so cheap. Now, for $100, you can blast your jams to high heaven—or, at least, a 10-meter radius—without any hassles.
Testing Methodology
We tested four Bluetooth speakers, listed at less than $100, to find out which one packs the perfect combination of portability, sound quality, and volume. Basically, these speakers should deliver easy wireless audio to go. So their mobility matters.
Beaming audio over Bluetooth involves an inherent sacrifice in audio quality. And, chances are, this little speaker isn't going to be your primary sound system. So rather than expecting it to deliver perfect sound, it was more critical to measure whether you could hear the speaker over gusty wind, the din of traffic, or the noise of a nearby soccer game.
Most phones and computers now support A2DP Bluetooth streaming. And pairing isn't the disaster it was a few years ago. So we tested each speaker to make sure they'd play nicely with an iPhone, a MacBook, and a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Bonus points for any additional features.
