JBL Flip (black)

The good: The affordable JBL Flip is a compact portable Bluetooth speaker that is designed to be used horizontally or vertically. It sounds good and plays loudly for its size, has speakerphone capabilities, and ships with a neoprene carrying case.

The bad: The unit is powered by a generic, somewhat bulky AC adapter instead of USB. Doesn't handle bass-heavy material incredibly well. Five-hour battery life is only OK.

The bottom line: The JBL Flip's decent performance and attractive design make it a worthy Bluetooth speaker contender at $100.

JBL has been making a push into the portable speaker space with several products, including the Micro Wireless and Flip Bluetooth speaker. The larger Flip, which gets its name because you can set it up horizontally or vertically, retails for $99.99 and includes speakerphone capabilities.

At this price point, it sits between Jawbone's Jambox, the Beats Pill, and several other contenders in the $150-$200 price range, and smaller speakers such as the Micro and Philips' grenade-shaped SoundShooter SBT30ORG/37, which costs $50 and also has speakerphone functionality. The smaller Logitech UE Mobile Boombox, a direct competitor, retails for $99.95.

While the JBL has a couple of small drawbacks, in all I thought it sounded decent for the money and was a solid value.

Flip it
The cylindrical speaker goes both ways, so to speak -- you can lay it down or stand it up -- and it has rubberized parts in the right places so it stays in place whether you go horizontal or vertical. I can't say I noticed a difference in sound quality buy I ended up listening to it more oriented vertically than horizontally. It takes up a smaller footprint in this mode, and the physical buttons (power on/off, call end/answer, and volume) end up on top where they're a little easier to see and reach.

All the buttons, including the speakerphone call/end button, are in one location.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Its biggest shortcoming is that it doesn't charge via USB. Rather, you have to plug a somewhat ungainly AC adapter into the wall to power the Flip (when you're off battery power) or to charge it. I always think it's a shame when you have a well-designed, sleek looking speaker that's coupled with a generic charger, which is a little bit of pain to lug around. Also, if you lose it for some reason, it won't be so easy to find another. If you could charge via USB as you can with the Jambox, you could just swap in another micro USB cable and be good to go.

There's an auxiliary input for non-Bluetooth devices (optional cable required). Alas, the speaker doesn't charge via USB.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Yes, this is a stereo speaker, but the drivers are spaced so closely together you really have to be sitting two or three feet away from the speaker to get any sort of stereo separation. The speaker can play fairly loudly and fill a small room with sound, but it's probably best to listen to it at more moderate levels because it just doesn't sound quite good enough to really rock out to -- at least not if you're used listening to a decent pair of headphones or a larger set of speakers.

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Written by Dilusha

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