Product Review: Logitech UE Boom

Whether they’re delivering free gigs to music lovers, supporting up n coming Australian artists or just creating constantly innovative new products, we’ve been admirers of Logitech UE’s dedication to music for a while now. So we were pretty excited to check out the newest release from the sound company. It’s called the UE Boom. Our Editor Bobby has been trying it out, fresh off the production line, and here’s the lowdown:

You know how sometimes, at a party, you stick your iPhone in a speaker dock and let your music loose on the world, only to then spend all night hovering nervously around the speakers, changing tracks, altering the volume, all the while embarrassingly desperate to pick the damn thing up and check your Facebook notifications? Well, a cool feature of the UE Boom is that it connects to your device through Bluetooth®, letting you switch songs, adjust volume and take phone calls from up to 50 feet away. And, if you wanna mix thing up a bit, you can even grab a friend and take turns sharing songs from different devices. Not too shabby. Also, the UE Boom’s 360-degree speaker means that clear and immersive sound is belted out in, well, every direction.

I was initially dubious about its claim to be splash-resistant. I once had a watch that was supposedly splash-proof too. Yet the first hint of water rendered the timepiece utterly useless. That’ll teach me not to buy a watch from a dodgy-looking bloke at a market stall, I guess. However, attacking the UE Boom with a water pistol proved that, indeed, it is splash-resistant. This impressive feature, along with its unique stain-resistant acoustic skin means you can party-hop, beach-hop, park-hop or simply be a klutz and spill wine/food all over it without a care in the world (if you’re like me, wine and food tolerance is always an important factor when shopping for electronics. Here, you can just wash it off).

When paired with a second UE Boom, the two can provide an even more thorough surround-sound experience. Via the UE Boom app you get the choice of having left & right stereo separation to fill a room, or run them as separate Booms playing the same music. This brings alive the mix of a song for its 15 hours of battery life (15 hours is longer than I can party for these days, to be honest). The UE Boom is also the right shape and size for cup holders in the car, for necessary partying on the go.

The UE Boom works with laptops, smartphones & tablets with Bluetooth including iOS, Mac, Windows & Android devices and, as well as belting out great* tunes (*this, of course, is entirely dependant on your music taste), it has a neat speakerphone function.

Great sound and excellent sociability, mobility and durability for a decent price (less than 200 bucks)? That’s more than enough for us to give the UE Boom our seal of approval.

Check the UE Boom out here and if you like what you hear, then you can buy a Logitech UE Boom speaker here.

Review by Bobby Townsend and Carol Bowditch