CES 2014

Okay, there are lots of portable Bluetooth speakers. LOTS. But sometimes you need one that has special capabilities, or at least looks cooler than all the others. Enter the NYNE Aqua speaker.

It has the following attributes: portable, waterproof, Bluetooth 4.0 and, it floats. My first question to NYNE was: Is it really waterproof, or is it merely splash resistant or something? They reassured me that it is fully 100% waterproof. It floats, and if it wasn't waterproof it would slowly sink. The Aqua floats. I live in Florida. The state has 3,300 miles of coastline. Speakers that float are high on my list. If you live in North Dakota, maybe not so much.

In particular, the Aqua meets the IPX7 ratings. This means it can be fully submersed in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. An errant splash from the sink, a bit of rain, a dunk in the pool – no problem. A detachable silicon band doubles as a hanging (and drying) or carrying strap. The speaker is also shock resistant.

Other important facts: Waterproof microphone, 2200mAh battery, mini-jack input, built-in speakerphone, “almost” 10 watts of power, four EQ presets, rated at 10 hours of playback time, 33-foot Bluetooth range, measures 9.5 x 5.2 x 1.6 inches. Comes in blue or gray.

Sound quality: I probably won't mix a platinum album on this speaker. And it probably wouldn't be my first choice to listen through the entire Ring cycle. But, for splashing around the poof, goofing around on the beach, or just chilling on the patio, this would do just fine. Highs and mids are clean and volume is certainly adequate, even for outdoor playback. Yes, in a totally practical world, the Aqua would have used its entire footprint for enclosed volume; theoretically that could be used to augment bass response. As it is, its funky shape limits enclosed volume, and thus bass. Still, there was a little bit of boom. Sometimes funky is better than practical.

MSRP is $130. It will be available early second quarter 2014.