In preparation for the Hundred Island trip, I got a JBL Micro Wireless mobile speaker. It’s a small UFO-shaped speaker. The speaker grille is black and body is silver which makes it, from an aesthetic perspective, compatible with most mobile devices. It looks great whether beside my MacBook Pro, my black iPhone 4S, or even Jeanne’s iPad mini rugged OtterBox armor and all. Under the speaker grille is a status LED which glows blue when powered on, blinks blue during pairing, and glows red when low on power.
Along the silver body you will find a power/Bluetooth pairing button, volume dial, a micro USB port, and a 3.5mm audio output port. A short cable for a 3.5mm plug is discreetly wrapped around the body and the 3.5mm plug itself is nestled in cutouts at the bottom. Very elegant as you can see in the photo.
The Micro Wireless supports both Bluetooth and 3.5mm audio input. Audio output is a 40mm speaker. The output is mono but it has relatively good volume and bass. It is nowhere near as good as a serious speaker system but it’s definitely better than the tinny built-in speakers of any mobile device, or at least any of the mobile device I have. In addition, the 3.5mm audio output jack that you can use to daisy chain two or more JBL Micro Wireless units. The audio will still be mono but the volume and reach will be improved.
The Micro Wireless is a powered speaker. But as it is a true mobile speaker, takes its power from a built-in lithium ion battery which lasts 5 hours give or take. The battery is charged via the micro USB port.
Rating: 4/5