Review: Ultimate Ears Boom wireless speaker

JOE has found our new favourite wireless speaker, and it's the UE Boom

From the first minute when we opened the packaging (which we must note was also very slick) on this bad boy, we knew we were holding a very impressive piece of equipment, and the UE Boom hasn't let us down. The size of a large beer can, this thing is perfect for any room in the house, out in the garden or wherever you want to bring your sound to life. Shape & Sound Thanks to its distinctive cylindrical shape, the quality here is extra impressive as it gives the effect of 360° sound, and deep rich bass tones without getting too much distortion, even when playing at loud volumes. And it can get loud, so no need to worry about In terms of looks, this is also a beautiful piece of kit that comes in a variety of colour combinations, all of which look very cool. This shape also makes it easy to carry around, and it really does feel no heavier than an average can of beer, so you can sling it in your bag or even attach it to something with the nifty little clip at the top. Connecting A small touch is the little notification noises you get when you turn the device on or off, and when you connect another device to it. It's not anything that will make or break the decision to get this, but we really like it and thought it was quite cool. It was simple and problem free to hook this up from day one, something which can't be said for every wireless device we've tried. Simply turn the bluetooth on your phone or device on, press the bluetooth button on the UE Boom, and you're done. Most of the time after that, the devices will automatically see each other and you're set to go. Where to use it If you're heading out with your friends for an evening and meeting up in their flat or house first, this will be perfect for slapping down on the table and playing your tunes. It's also water and stain resistant so you don't need to worry about using it in the kitchen when you're catching up with your favourite podcasts and cooking a bit of dinner, and would withstand a bit of spillage, but not too much. While we didn't have two of them, you can connect two together and increase the sound for a full stereo effect, which we imagine would be pretty awesome, but even on its own it was more than enough to fill a room. We've replaced the radio in the bathroom with this, we've got wireless sound in our bedroom and it fills the space, which is the most important thing about it. The battery life is around 15 hours, and we must admit that despite regular use, we very rarely had to charge it so we found this was pretty accurate. Ultimate Ears have made the ultimate product when it comes to wireless sound, packing a huge amount into a tiny , good-looking package and we can't recommend this highly enough. While the price tag isn't cheap at €199, this is a durable and useful piece of kit, and we think it's worth the investment for both style and substance. The UE Boom is available from Apple Retail Stores, Apple Online Stores and from the Ultimate Ears website