WOWee ONE Classic Portable Speaker

March 27, 2011 - Laptops and smartphones are more compact and more capable than ever, but the built-in sound from these mobile devices hasn't, in general, improved. If you need better audio quality on the go (whether for work or personal reasons), the WOWee ONE Classic portable speaker, with its impressive (and innovative) bass production is a great choice.

The WOWee ONE Classic portable speaker transforms any flat surface into a speaker, using an innovative gel pad on the bottom of the device to remarkably boost low bass frequencies. The result is a richer and warmer audio experience than you might expect from such a compact, portable device.

Although it's not the smallest or most lightweight portable speaker around, the WOWee ONE is one of the most satisfying and fun to use for gadget geeks and audiophiles (and, perhaps, engineering/physics majors as well). The WOWee ONE is cleverly designed to vibrate and transform the surfaces it's placed on into a makeshift subwoofer. Experimenting with the WOWee ONE is part of the fun: how does a song sound when the portable speaker is placed against a glass surface versus on a wooden one? Which materials brought out the best sound?

The WOWee ONE got lots of real-life testing in my household in the last few months. It can provide rich, loud sound on the go and also when entertaining groups of friends at home. We placed the speaker on an antique piano, hardwood floor, glass window, wooden coffee table with hollow drawers, and also held the speaker up against a thin wall (which sounded the best to us). WOWee makes a mount to secure the speaker to a wall or another favorite surface, so you can optimize the sound coming out of the speakers.

Whichever surface it was placed on, the sound coming out of the WOWee ONE was stunning--not tinny or weak like other portable speaker options. The unit is rechargeable via mini-USB port or power adapter and it can also last an incredible 20 hours or more on a charge.

At $79.99 MSRP at the time of this writing, the WOWee ONE is targeted for those mobile users who really care about the quality of the sound from their mobile devices. My only criticism of the speaker is that it's a bit heavy and thick for mobile users who want to travel light, but WOWee is coming out with a SLIM version that sacrifices some battery life (10 hours vs. 20) in exchange for being thinner and lighter.

Pick up a WOWee ONE and start experimenting with the sound transmission from various surfaces, and you should find that the portable speaker really delivers.

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