Review - JBL Charge
Background
I'm a podcast junkie. I remember when it all started: my friend Zac recommended I listen to Back to Work and I was hooked. Back to Work is still my favorite podcast. It's embarassing how many other podcasts I now listen to on a regular basis. I won't get into that now, but let's just say it's a lot.
The Need
I finally decided to buy a portable bluetooth speaker to use in lieu of my Apple earpods. My satisfaction with the earpods while doing projects in the garages or chores around the house had grown stale. The cord kept snagging on the cuff of my shorts when I bent over to pick something up or on various things in the garage or wherever. Sometimes a neighbor would walk up and totally surprise me while I was working in a flower bed unaware. The bluetooth speaker solves all of these problems for me.
Reading Reviews On My iPhone In Best Buy
I went to my local Best Buy store and started pairing my phone to various portable speakers to test and compare the sound quality. I first started with the Jambox and the BIG Jambox, The BIG Jambox sounded better than the smaller version, but didn't seem to be worth the extra money. I tried a couple of the standard Jambox display models and there seemed to be some variance in the sound quality between the same model type. I moved on to the Jabra Solemate. I was blown away at how much better the Solemate sounded than the Jambox. I had always thought that the Jambox by Jawbone was the best mini bluetooth speaker available. Now I was questioning everything.
At this point a salesperson came up to ask me if I needed help. I asked him a few basic questions including which models have the most returns and which models were the most popular. I also pointed out that the Jambox models sounded different relative to each other. He said he wasn't surprised because they get frequent returns for blown out Jambox speakers. He suggested I look at the JBL Charge because it had better sound quality than the others in the same class. I paired my iPhone with it and played a few songs and was impressed enough to buy it.
In Summary
The Charge has 2 x 5 watt speakers and a built-in bass port. Tucked away within its shell is a 6000 mAh Li-ion battery that can be used to charge your cell phone or other device. This battery capacity also allows it to provide playback for 12 hours. It is charged by means of a micro USB cable and will allow playback while it charges. It can fill my entire 3-car garage with amazing sound or my outdoor patio. It's small enough that I can carry it back and forth to work in my bag with no fuss. I know this isn't your typical in-depth review of a piece of tech, but I'm happy enough with my purchase that I would gladly recommend it to any of my friends. It's well worth the money relative to the competition and the quality of sound it provides. I'm looking forward to using it for travel as a speaker for movies on my iPad, camping, and for the main reason I bought it, providing sound while I do projects around the house.