INTRODUCTION

   During the past 2 years I’ve seen many companies release wireless speakers for use with smartphones and tablets by using the typical Bluetooth connection (and rarely via Wi-Fi). However in most occasions these "speakers" are not to be taken seriously due to the fact they most of them have but a single speaker (monophonic) and their audio levels are not much better than those of your smartphone/tablet. Sure there are quite a few exceptions out there in the market including the very good Audyssey Dock Air (Wi-Fi) and several other high quality ones by JBL and Klipsch but the price range of those is way far from what most people can afford for a portable wireless speaker. Well according to Jabra their latest SOLEMATE wireless portable speaker hits the sweet spot between performance and price and so we've been using it for a period of almost 20 days to see whether or not their claims have any base at all.

   GN Netcom, led by the Jabra brand, continues to build on its standing as one of the world’s leading and fastest growing suppliers of hands-free communications solutions. With approximately 875 employees and sales offices around the world, GN Netcom develops manufactures and markets a broad range of wireless headsets for mobile users and both wireless and corded headsets for contact center and office-based users. GN Netcom’s business activities also include its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) business to a wide range of global customers including mobile phone, PC and PDA manufacturers.

   The thing that really makes the SOLEMATE stand out from all the other low/mid-cost wireless portable speakers is that it actually features not 1 but 3 separate drivers, namely a center subwoofer and two smaller tweeters in its main body. Certainly the distance between the two tweeters is not enough to produce a solid stereo separation but still compared to most of the single-drive monophonic wireless speakers out there this is a huge improvement. On top of that the SOLEMATE also offers a nice looking rugged housing (white/black versions) which is sweat, splash and dust resistant something that once again we don't see much if at all with similar devices. As always however we can't judge a product solely based on its specifications sheet (impressive or not) and so the time has come to put the latest Jabra SOLEMATE wireless speaker to the test.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The box in which Jabra ships the SOLEMATE is not very different from what we've seen from them to date and so the top end is made by clear plastic which naturally allows you to see the product.

Both at the lower end of the front and the rear Jabra have listed the main speaker features and bundle contents.

Aside the SOLEMATE Ultimate Portable Speaker you will also get an AC power adapter, USB charging cable, quickstart guide, registration paper, warranty information papers and a small carbon-like carrying bag.

THE SOLEMATE

The Jabra SOLEMATE is a medium-sized wireless speaker housed inside an rugged rubber enclosure, comes in black and white colors, measures 172mm in length, 65mm in width and 69mm in height and weighs just 600g.

To get a better idea on the size of the SOLEMATE i placed it right next to the SandBerg portable wireless speaker and the LG Optimus 2x smartphone.

At the top of the SOLEMATE Jabra has placed the volume up/down keys and the answer call/end call/battery level button.

The right side (depends on how you look at it) has the Bluetooth/Battery LEDs, the pairing/on/off switch, an 3.5mm port (for connection with devices that have an 3.5mm audio output) and the micro-USB charging port.

On the other side there’s a rather large carrying handle.

Now this may seem a bit weird but i never like to rely on marketing pictures (aside the intro/outro pages i never use them) so i decided to open the front of the unit to take a look on the subwoofer and the two tweeters (quality could be better but still it’s much better than most wireless speakers I’ve ever seen).

Once you turn the SOLEMATE over you finally realize why they gave that name to it since the bottom is just like the sole of a shoe (more like the sole of a hiking boot) while in the middle there's something that looks like a shoelace, at least at first glance.

Well it turns out that this "shoelace" is actually a 3.5mm mini-jack connector (luckily since i thought they didn't provide one in the bundle).

The carrying case is made by synthetic fiber and although it's not as "soft" as i'd like it to be it looks nice.

The SOLEMATE version used in this review was the 1.27.0 so i have a feeling Jabra will be releasing firmware updates in the future.

CONCLUSION

   As mentioned in the beginning we used the SOLEMATE for just over 20 days both during a trip to the countryside and while writing other reviews since that's pretty much the only time when there's no external noise. Of course aside the normal Bluetooth connection which we used with the Optimus 2X by LG, an iPhone 4S and 2 android tablets i also decided to connect it via the 3.5" mini-jack with the Logitech Squeezebox Touch which has been my favorite music tool for the past year. So as expected from such small drivers the SOLEMATE excelled in midrange and highs but things were not as good in the bass area. More specifically when you push the SOLEMATE to its highest audio levels it begins to distort anything with lots of bass in it (worked surprisingly well with rock/metal/jazz tracks up to 80% of power). Now for all of you who plan on using the SOLEMATE as a speakerphone things here are also very good since not only you can listen to the caller with extreme clarity but the microphone is also very good (still not flawless) in transmitting whatever you say to the other end. Worth mentioning is that Jawbone also manufacturers a rather similar wireless speaker (design-wise) called the Jambox which i had the chance to use (not really test) for a couple of days when a friend of mine bought it at launch roughly 2 years ago. However aside the less rugged housing it also doesn't output the same audio quality and levels as the SOLEMATE something which I’m quite certain is also the reason as to why Jawbone later on launched the Big Jambox wireless speaker (still not perfect but as powerful as the SOLEMATE) which replaced my friends Jambox soon afterwards (and he still has it). Finally although Jabra claims that you can use the SOLEMATE for a total of 10 hours before it runs out of juice this is not really the case if you use it at maximum volume since we did many times and the maximum time fell to 8 hours (not that 8 hours is not impressive as well).

   Since most single-driver wireless portable speakers carrying the names of the known manufacturers cost at around USD60/50Euros i was quite certain that the Jabra SOLEMATE would cost at least twice as much and in a way i was right on the spot since currently you can find it at around USD199 inside the USA (Amazon/BestBuy) and at around 160Euros inside the EU. Of course although the SOLEMATE is a solid wireless portable speaker with a subwoofer, two tweeters and a passive radiator (other side) all in a very compact size this price tag is a bit heavier than what i was expecting and that's pretty much also the only drawback i can think of. Bottom line if you really want a portable wireless speaker with good audio levels, very good audio clarity, both Bluetooth and 3.5mm outputs that can also be used as a speakerphone and you don't want to spend more for one of the more high-end/quality solutions in the market then look no further than the Jabra SOLEMATE which clearly receives our Golden award. 

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Audio Quality
- Volume Level
- Rugged Housing
- 3.5mm Output
- Speakerphone
- Voice Guidance
- Battery Life

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Bass Distortion At High Volume Levels