Everyone has a battery-based Bluetooth speaker, but now we’re seeing a greater push to turn those into karaoke systems to go.
Finding wireless speakers to take with you isn’t hard, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you have one or two laying around. Everyone makes them, and whether you have something cylindrical, cubic, rectangular, flat and friendly, or something that just looks like a proper speaker or boom box, there’s a strong chance you have them, as these get the sound out from our phones in a noticeably bigger way than our mobiles can do by themselves.
But they don’t serve all the purposes of speakers in our lives, and if you live to sing those songs with friends during a party, shouting them out over the tunes, a microphone might end up being a better idea. Singing during our favourite tracks is part of how many of us get into our tunes, but finding a speaker wth a microphone is more likely to lead you to a karaoke system at home, rather than out and about.
However times are changing, and lately speaker-makers are getting into Bluetooth speakers with batteries that can also work with microphones. We saw the move to make a wire- and cord-free recently as Australia’s BlueAnt opted to do the same thing, launching its own take in the X5 just last month, and now JBL’s own push has arrived, and it’s a little bit different.
JBL’s take is the PartyBox On-The-Go, a IPX4 splash-resistant wireless and cordless speaker sporting a padded shoulder strap and 100 watts of power, complete with two wireless microphones to sing on top of the sound.
Being a sound company, JBL is looking to add to the audio capabilities, providing fine tuning with bass, treble, and echo sounds, and while it supports two microphones, JBL says its PartyBox On-The-Go sports an instrument input as well, making it possible plug a guitar in and play along with tunes. There’s also a USB port to plug in a thumb drive and just play music that way, plus some lighting found in the speaker, as well.
“Building on JBL’s heritage in professional live sound, it has been fantastic developing the JBL PartyBox speaker using our wealth of expertise in big, bold audio,” said Marcus Fry, Brand Activation Director for Harman in Australia and New Zealand, the company that owns JBL.
Perhaps the most compelling part of the package is the battery, which delivers up to six hours for the speaker, providing those 100 watts for a party to go, which given the name and design is largely the point.
Price-wise, you’ll find the JBL PartyBox On-The-Go in Australia for a recommended retail price of $579.95, with availability expected some time in the month.
