Second encounter : Sony Xperia X Performance hands-on

Introduction

If you were upset that the Xperia X "only has a Snapdragon 650" and "the Xperia X isn't water resistant anymore", as many of our readers have, fear no more. The Sony Xperia X Performance is here to cover all of these bases in the same compact footprint.

Sony Xperia X Performance at a glance:

• 5-inch LCD 1080p display at 443ppi
• Snapdragon 820 chipset with 3GB of RAM
• 32GB of internal storage expandable with a microSD card
• Front camera: 13MP, f/2.0, 1080p video
• Rear camera: 23MP sensor, LED flash, Predictive Hybrid Autofocus, Quick Launch
• No 4K video recording in any configuration
• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
• Qnovo adaptive charging for longer battery lifetime
• Quick Charge 2.0, Sony STAMINA Mode
• Graphite Black, White, Lime Gold, and Rose Gold color options
• No fingerprint sensor on US model

Competing with other flagship devices, the Xperia X Performance is equipped with the latest Snapdragon 820 chipset, which is sure to compete with any of the other 2016 flagships that have already been released thus far.

This article is based on our brief encounter with the phone, which is getting ready to launch in mid-July on the US market where it would retail for $699. Our impressions follow on the next page.

Sony Xperia X Performance hands-on

Comparisons are inevitable when new phones come around, and the Sony Xperia X Performance looks like the true successor to the Xperia Z5. It's the top-tier device within the new X-series lineup with a Snapdragon 820 chipset, a hefty 3GB of RAM, IP68 certification for water resistance, and it is the only Xperia X model to feature a brushed aluminum backside.
The X Performance looks very similar to the Sony Xperia X. Even the button layouts and design are essentially the same. The differences lie in the actual dimensions and weight, as the Xperia X Performance is slightly bigger in every dimension and weight, so we think it's safe to say Xperia X and X Performance cases won't be very interchangeable even though both have 5-inch screens.
The right side on the X Performance is where all the buttons are, including the power button, volume rocker, and dedicated camera button with two-stage focus and shutter for a great camera experience.

Camera button positioned for right index finger operation

It's worth noting that while the X Performance (the Xperia X included) was announced with a fingerprint reader for unlocking the device, the feature won't make it to the US version of either model.
Continuing our tour of the Xperia X Performance, we come to the SIM tray. Rather than using a pin-ejected tray, Sony is using a flap that pulls out the tray that holds both the nanoSIM and microSD card as well. This is on the left side of the device and we really like the convenience of no longer needing to carry a SIM-eject tool around to access the microSD card slot.

Tab houses card tray for SIM and microSD card

The backside showcases Sony's Xperia branding alongside the brushed metal finish, which looks beautiful when held against the light. The Xperia X (non-Performance) which also features a metal backside, is of a matte, anodized finish instead of brushed aluminum. Both the Xperia X and X Performance used polycarbonate to craft the rounded-edge borders all the way around. If you've held any Sony Xperia phone in the past few years, you'll feel right at home.

Holding the Xperia X Performance: bottom view • right side view

Right at the corner, you can see the camera setup. Sony's got its 23MP camera sensor with LED flash, object tracking, and Sony's new Predictive Hybrid Autofocus. Meanwhile in the front, there is a 13MP sensor that also features Sony's SteadyShot electronic image stabilization to allow for shake-free still images.

Xperia X Performance rear-camera setup

The front of the device has Sony's 5-inch LCD screen, which is 1080p in resolution. While many other high-end devices are already past 1080p and are sitting well in QHD territory, Sony doesn't think you need any more than 1080p for a screen of this size. While this may sound like marketing talk at first, they may actually be right as in our experience the difference is really hard to spot from a foot's worth of distance by a naked eye on this screen size. What we wish the phone had though, is a slightly bigger screen.
At least, on either side of the screen there are front facing speakers. The top speaker also doubles as the handset's earpiece during phone calls.

Lower quarter view • Top half of the Xperia X Performance

Peculiarly, the Xperia X Performance and Xperia X both have the NFC antenna placement in the front of the device, just to the left of the front-facing camera. This is how Sony was able to make its phone with metal all over the back. Otherwise, antenna line inserts would have to be used in order to let NFC stay on the backside.

Conclusion

Sony's had a chance to regroup and reevaluate its own smartphone strategy and their newly found focus on the US market is more than welcome.
Sony has taken everything it has learned about making phones since the Xperia Z and applied it to the Xperia X lineup. Sony's main model in the lineup is the Xperia X, which means Sony doesn't think every phone needs the highest-end hardware to perform well. But if any customer still does want the high end stuff, they can reach for the Xperia X Performance.
The Xperia X Performance is designed to compete with the high-end flagships, and as such, it carries the highest price of all the other Xperia X models. It will be released in the US on July 17 with a price of $700 and will be available in 4 colors: Black, Rose Gold, Gold, and White.

Sony Xperia X Performance

However, we're not quite sure whether Sony has come up with the right flagship feature mix this year. The industry has long become a spec race and those who refuse to participate in this race rarely succeed even when they enjoy formidable brand loyalty (HTC can agree for sure).
The steep pricing of the Xperia X Performance won't help its case either and the fact that Sony won't be selling through carriers but only through retail outlets like Best Buy and Amazon, may not be enough to secure a strong foothold in the US mobile market.
Sony however may actually be fine with that. They are approaching it differently. It's not an all-out effort to win the market but it's rather about taking small but deliberate steps to establishing a presence in the mobile segment. So from this point of view, their plan might actually make sense as we are more than certainly underestimating the challenges they may be facing there.
Other than that, the Xperia X Performance is an excellent example of the compact flagship category that represents a rare breed of devices, which may as well experience a comeback in markets outside Asia.
We are excited to see how the Xperia X faces off with this year's flagship contenders. It's still early and we aren't working on a review yet, but this should be an interesting year for Sony from the US' point of view.

Conclusion

Sony's had a chance to regroup and reevaluate its own smartphone strategy and their newly found focus on the US market is more than welcome.
Sony has taken everything it has learned about making phones since the Xperia Z and applied it to the Xperia X lineup. Sony's main model in the lineup is the Xperia X, which means Sony doesn't think every phone needs the highest-end hardware to perform well. But if any customer still does want the high end stuff, they can reach for the Xperia X Performance.
The Xperia X Performance is designed to compete with the high-end flagships, and as such, it carries the highest price of all the other Xperia X models. It will be released in the US on July 17 with a price of $700 and will be available in 4 colors: Black, Rose Gold, Gold, and White.

Sony Xperia X Performance

However, we're not quite sure whether Sony has come up with the right flagship feature mix this year. The industry has long become a spec race and those who refuse to participate in this race rarely succeed even when they enjoy formidable brand loyalty (HTC can agree for sure).
The steep pricing of the Xperia X Performance won't help its case either and the fact that Sony won't be selling through carriers but only through retail outlets like Best Buy and Amazon, may not be enough to secure a strong foothold in the US mobile market.
Sony however may actually be fine with that. They are approaching it differently. It's not an all-out effort to win the market but it's rather about taking small but deliberate steps to establishing a presence in the mobile segment. So from this point of view, their plan might actually make sense as we are more than certainly underestimating the challenges they may be facing there.
Other than that, the Xperia X Performance is an excellent example of the compact flagship category that represents a rare breed of devices, which may as well experience a comeback in markets outside Asia.
We are excited to see how the Xperia X faces off with this year's flagship contenders. It's still early and we aren't working on a review yet, but this should be an interesting year for Sony from the US' point of view.

 gsmarena.com

[Review 5/12] HTC 10 Cases: Spigen, Incipio, Diztronic, Spigen Ultra Hybrid and more!

[Review 5/12] HTC 10 Cases

I'm what they call a casaholic, so I tend to accumulate a plethora of cases. I will post reviews of my cases below (some of you may have seen my other OP's in the S7 Edge and Nexus 6P forums). I will keep this OP updated with plenty of details over time.

Diztronic TPU:
I am a long time Diztronic fan dating back to my LG G3. I always enjoyed Diztronic’s simple, yet appealing design that never tried to be anything other than a great case. For starters, Diztronic cases are made from TPU and feature a plain back without any visible logo which is a big plus considering how some companies use the Verizon branding standard plastering them everywhere. On this case you will only find the logo along the side discretely hiding in plain site; I’ve noticed Spigen starting to do the same, except some of their cases still sport a back logo as well. Inside the case Diztronic decided to put their main logo in a rather large in your face way. The placement of the interior logo is fine because you will never see it unless you take your phone out of the case.

Along the back of the case, the camera cutout is larger than the ones you will find on my Spigen cases. I can appreciate this design given how TPU flexes as you place your phone in it. For example if someone puts their phone in sideways and the TPU is unevenly tensioned, a more precise cutout might not be perfectly aligned (this happens all of the time if you look at the alignment while installing the case various ways). One thing I don’t particularly like is how the camera almost sits flush with the case given its width.

Now, as for the case’s feel you will find a nice soft-touch like TPU. I think Diztronic has one of the best feeling TPU’s out there with Spigen coming in second. Since Diztronic only makes a TPU case, and their Voyeur Hybrid for some phones, they do an excellent job making what’s arguably the best TPU case out there.

I’m going to repeat some things here because there is only so much you can say about the port/headphone cutouts

Ports: 
The stock cable does fit, but it will push the TPU upward slightly due to the connectors size. I haven’t found any issues fitting the stock cable, or any of my other Type-C cables that I use for my Nexus 6P, so don’t let that discourage you. If you have large ‘studio’ style headphones with a massive aux cable you shouldn’t have any issues given the relatively large cutout on this case. It works fine with my Bose QC 20’s, Freestyles, OE’s, Samsung headphones, and some others I’ve tried. All microphone cutouts are also present.

Volume/Power buttons:
All of the buttons click exceptionally well as I would expect from a Diztronic case.
Overall: 9/10 
Diztronic makes excellent TPU cases that are my personal favorite. I appreciate the work that goes into the simple, yet elegant design along with their excellent feel. My one issue with this case is how the camera sits almost flush with the TPU, other than that small personal nitpick you won’t find a better TPU case out there.

Diztronic TPU

Incipio Octane: 

Incipio has a rather slim offering for the HTC 10, but they are making some of their best cases for it. I’m bringing back a favorite from my S7 Edge: the Incipio Octane. This case is a hybrid with a harder TPU bumper and what I believe to be an acrylic frosted back.

First lets talk about the build of this case; I think Incipio has a nice unique design given the tire tread styled bumper region that contrasts the frosted clear back. The frame doesn’t provide a whole lot of grip, but it doesn’t need to because unlike the Spigen Ultra Hybrid this case is not slippery, nor does it attract fingerprints. Incipio paid particular attention to detail by having a black border around the camera/flash cutouts which will prevent the ghosting issues seen on other cases. One thing I wish they changed was their logo placement; I think it interferes with the nice look of the HTC 10 with not only it’s size, but also the depth, and sheer in your face look it has once you see it. 

I’m going to repeat some things here because there is only so much you can say about the port/headphone cutouts

Ports: All of the ports are aligned properly, and Incipio didn’t use the seemingly dumb cutout that Spigen has on their cases. Up top the headphone cutout isn’t large, but it will get the job done nonetheless. I haven’t experienced any issues fitting the stock cable, or any of my other USB-C ones that I have.

Volume/Power buttons: Incipio never has issues with their buttons, so I was happy to feel the ones on this case. All of the buttons are slightly raised giving them a easy to find feel. I don’t think anyone will have any issues with the buttons on this case. 

Overall: 9/10 I love every part of this case with the exception of Incipio’s logo placement. It features great buttons, a nice frosted back section, and a unique style that makes it worth the ~$20-25 you will pay for it online or direct from Incipio. 

Readmore : Xda Forum 

HTC 10 ROMS [KERNEL] BETA ElementalX-HTC10-0.01

BETA ElementalX-HTC10-0.01

*Based on 1.21.617.3 source
*Tested on ROM base 1.53 (should work on all ROMs and bases, but may have problems on Sprint devices)
*Does not overwrite modules
*Does not modify system partition
*Uses anykernel install method

I will update EX Kernel Manager to work with HTC 10 sometime this week
I need to fix the big cluster settings, kernel backup and the vibrator settings and add the ElementalX updater screen. Sweep2sleep, fsync, backlight dimmer, min brightness, magnetic cover, i/o scheds, min performance level and everything else already works in the app.


Options:
-overclock/underclock
-sweep2sleep
-fsync
-backlight dimmer and minimum brightness
-disable magnetic cover
-adjust or disable vibration
-SIO, FIOPS and BFQ i/o schedulers
-NTFS rw support
-Advanced TCP congestion algorithms

Optimizations:
-performance and power optimizations to CPU, GPU, crypto, ZRAM, networking, disk, kernel scheduler, and interactive governor
-driver updates from Qualcomm
-less aggressive GPU throttling
-maintain thread migration to big cluster with high temperatures

ElementalX-HTC10, Kernel for the HTC 10

Download:
ElementalX-HTC10-0.01

Source Code: https://github.com/flar2/perfume

Kernel Special Features: 

Version Information
Status: Beta
Current Beta Version: 0.01
Beta Release Date: 2016-05-23

Created 2016-05-24
Last Updated 2016-05-25

Mac tip: [tutorial] preventing Login Items and Finder windows from opening when you log in

Mac tip: [tutorial]

Like Windows, OS X makes having apps, documents, folders or server connections launch automatically whenever you log in to your Mac as easy as dragging them to the System Preferences → Users & Groups → Login Items section.

Sometimes, one or more Login Items may cause software problems or prevent your computer from starting up properly.

Rather than remove all of your Login Items permanently, here’s how you can temporarily prevent them from opening automatically when you log in, without needing to adjust your settings.

Temporarily stopping Login Items from opening when you log in

1. Restart your Mac by selecting Restart in the Apple menu, or press the Power (⎋) key to turn on your computer if it’s already turned off.
2. Do one of the following:
    » If you see the login screen: If the Automatic Login option is disabled in System Preferences → Login Options, the login window will require you to enter a password for your Mac user account, as shown below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Make sure you hold the Shift (⇧) key when logging in, then release it when you see the Dock. This shall prevent your Login Items from loading.
   
   » If you don’t see the login screen: You’ll be taken straight to the desktop, bypassing the login screen, provided the Automatic Login option is enabled in System Preferences → Login Options.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   To prevent Login Items from loading when you restart or turn on your Mac, hold down the Shift (⇧) when OS X’s progress bar shows up on the startup screen. The startup screen appears after the startup chord plays. Release the key when the desktop shows up.
   
   
   
   And there you have it, this is how you prevent both Login Items and previously opened Finder windows from being launched when your Mac boots, without removing any entries from the Login Items preference pane.
   

Source: http://www.idownloadblog.com/

[Price] Xiaomi Mi Drone Unveiled, Begins At $380 Gadget

Price Xiaomi Begins At $380

Xiaomi held its official unveiling of the Mi Drone today and revealed the device will begin at only $380, which is much better than the $600 that had been reported. The Mi Drone supports 1080p recording at $380 and 4K recording at $460. Both versions use a 104-degree wide angle lens.

Since the Mi Drone has a three-axis gimbal that can stabilize the camera up to 2000 vibrations per second, the drone's video output should be pretty clear. Xiaomi says the Mi Drone uses an internal 5100 mAh battery that can provide 27 minute of fly time.

If the battery gets low and the drone is away from home, it'll return so that it doesn't drop out of the sky. The Mi Drone offers a few autopilot options, including automatic landing/departure and circling something on the ground.

Video Xiaomi Mi Drone Unveiled

You can control the drone with its included remote control and see what the drone's camera picks up using your smartphone.

Google Ends Sales Of Nexus Player

Nexus Player

Google is no longer selling the ASUS-made Nexus Player, an Android TV box that provided access to many streaming services. Now that the Nexus Player is gone from Google's store, you must buy a product like the Nvidia Shield if you still want an Android TV experience.

There are other streaming devices available from Google, such as the Chromecast, which effectively remove any reason for the Nexus Player to exist. And, there are third-party options for those who prefer Android TV to Chromecast.

Google hasn't said if it plans on there being another product in the Nexus Player line.

"Smart Speaker" Apple Is Also Making A Smart Speaker, Will Use Siri

Smart Speaker Apple

Apple is reportedly planning to join Google and Amazon in introducing a smart connected home speaker. Like the Google Home and Amazon Echo, Apple's device will play content, answer questions, and interact with other devices/services. For its personal assistant features, the device uses Siri.

Apple Is Also Making A Smart Speaker, Will Use Siri. 

The Information reports Apple could unveil the product as soon as WWDC next month. It'll be open to developers, making it's capabilities expandable.

With the launch of a Siri-based connected speaker, Microsoft's Cortana will be one of the only major personal assistant AIs left out of the growing market.

Samsung Adds Iris Scanner To Galaxy Tab For Indian Market

Samsung Galaxy Tab Iris

Samsung Adds Iris Scanner To Galaxy Tab For Indian Market. A new Samsung Galaxy Tab has been unveiled specifically for the Indian government and enterprise markets. The tablet, called the Galaxy Tab Iris, has a built-in iris scanner and it supports Aadhar authentication, a biometric identification program from the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The tablet will make authentication simpler for government and enterprise users. It comes with Android 5.0, a 7-inch WSVGA 1024 x 600 display, a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, and a 3600 mAh battery.

Samsung will sell the Galaxy Tab Iris for $200, though it's likely most orders won't be for individual units.

Specifications Review | Creative Sound Blaster Roar 2 Value and Conclusion

Introduction

Review Specifications Creative is well known for their different audio products, and today, we will take a look at their newest bluetooth speaker dubbed Roar 2. The new Roar is quite small and comes with all the features of the SoundBlaster 200Axx we tested a while back. Creative has taken the serious approach with its design as the Roar 2 is a black thing with very few details. We put it to the test to see how this no-fuss design performs in comparison to UE's more flamboyant-looking offerings.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 51.0 x 188.0 x 109.0 mm
• Play-time: 8 hours
• Charge time: 2.5 hours (with included adapter)
• Integrated MP3 and ACC playback capability via MicroSDHC
• Speaker-phone capability
• USB powerpack functionality

The Package

Creative kept the Roar 2's packaging simple. You get a small box that is stuffed with goodies.

Unlike many other portable speakers out there, Creative kept the option for quick-charging via a dedicated charger. This is semi-relevant for those on the go because such people are almost always in a hurry to get going again. The device can also be charged via USB, but at a far slower rate. 

You get a short USB cable with the Roar 2; it can be used to both charge the device and play music, which is a neat trick. This allows you to use the Roar 3 with your laptop, but without a bluetooth connection. The speaker's form factor is a little strange as it is basically a brick with round corners. This means you need a rather large flat surface for it to sit right despite its long and slim rubber feet. 

Closer Examination

The Roar 2 in all its glory is actually a pretty low-key looking device despite its loud name.

 
Creative's design department for wireless speakers has a thing for buttons as their products always feature a myriad of them. There is, of course, a reason for having all these buttons as Creative has always adhered to the philosophy of having one all-inclusive device. The Roar 2 can be fed via a multitude of things, including bluetooth, aux mini-jack in, USB in, and MicroSDHC. Beyond that, it can also record to the MicroSDHC card. As if that were not enough, Creative also included a USB 5V out should you want to charge your cellphone. This Swiss army-knife of a speaker also plays music well, but we will cover its sound-specific capabilities in more detail in a bit.


Creative added a handy little indicator on top, so you can instantly tell whether it is charged.

The Roar 2's driver setup is pretty special, with two rectangular passive-slave elements on its side. These make putting it on a crooked surface pretty hard, which also effects its sound quality.

Performance

1. Creative's design department is definitely more mature than UE's, which becomes clear once you put the two side by side. While the MEGABOOM's design is a more fresh take, the Roar 2's is by no means a dud; it is just slightly less flashy. In terms of sound quality, the two are quite close to each other when on top of a flat desk. The UE MEGABOOM does come out on top when it comes to projection and midrange fidelity, but the Roar 2 gets points for bass power. The Roar 2 is also severely lacking in battery life - don't expect more than around 8-10 hours at normal volume levels.
   
2. The new Roar's bass feature puts that part of the music above anything else, which severely compromises the sound quality in most environments. However, its bass qualities can come in handy when trying to get the party started outdoors because bass there is usually drowned out by ambient noise.
   
3. The two solutions are pretty close to each other in terms of volume throughput, but the MEGABOOM's form factor makes it look a lot larger. In terms of ruggedness, the MEGABOOM wins hands down as there are many things that can break on the Roar 2. You definitely have to make up your mind about whether you value durability or functionality more before deciding between these two, and whether you need the additional features Creative puts into their portable speaker devices. The MicroSDHC slot and its associated playback features are something I can see a use for in a device you lug around with you as it does not drain your phone. The microphone and voice-recording features are perhaps of interest if you plan on using it as a conference speaker.
   
4. Such core-performance aspects as the sound quality under ideal indoor conditions are better on the MEGABOOM on every parameter, and the MEGABOOM's battery lasts much longer as the Roar 2's with around 8-10 hours play time can perhaps even be described as somewhat marginal.

Value and Conclusion

The Creative Roar 2 sells for around $145.

• Solid build
• Loads of options
• Good bass
• Charger included
• Competitive price
• Aesthetics
• Exposed ports, and plenty of them
• Heavy

8.1 The Creative Roar 2 is quite the conundrum in terms of features. Its primary function is to be a portable Bluetooth speaker, and to our minds, the design should, as such, emphasize ease-of-use and simplicity. But the Roar 2 is anything but that with its wealth of buttons, jacks, and plugs all pretty exposed to the environment.

The recording feature is not really necessary, and the fact that it can be used as a conference call device is perhaps useful to some, but I would rather have dedicated devices for each of those tasks as it is not really something I would do on the go.

It is very competitively priced in comparison to the UE BOOM 2 and MEGABOOM, but the sound quality also isn't quite there. With that said, the Roar 2 still sounds very good for its price, especially if you need the extra features it boasts!

UE BOOM 2 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Ultimate Ears | Review

Introduction

UE BOOM 2 is the 360-degree wireless Bluetooth speaker that blasts loud, insanely great sound with deep, powerful bass. UE's mightily popular BOOM series of wireless speakers has just been updated to version 2. The UE BOOM 2 maintains the same form factor as the original BOOM that has been pacesetting on the portable wireless speaker scene for a while. The new BOOM 2 features tap control, where by giving it a light tap on top allows you to quickly pause or resume play and skip a track, and now comes in a variety of new colors, some more radical than the last time around and some more plain. I think it is pretty safe to say that you can find a color or color-and-graphics combination that suits your taste. The one we got for review is the rather funky "Tropical" variant in all its purple and orange goodness.

Specifications

• IPX7 waterproof - immersion in 1m for up to an hour
• Two 45mm drivers 
• Bluetooth connectivity (A2DP) with a range of up to 33m
• Passive enabled NFC 
• 15 hours play time with a recharge time of 2.5 hours for a full charge
• 67mm Ø x 180mm H

The Package

UE's styling extends all the way to the packaging. The big cylindrical boxes are somewhat of a trademark for BOOM speakers.

Bundle-wise, you get what is needed and nothing more. Just like the original, the BOOM 2 comes with a charger and cable.

App

When you first fire up the app, you are greeted by a clean-looking splash screen that allows you to quickly navigate to the most frequently used features, like double-up and the EQ. 

The good thing about the UE BOOM app is that you do not have to use it much as the speaker stores all its settings, even though a lot of thought and design has gone into it. Even the double-up feature can be set to automatic, which makes doubling speakers up when they are within each other's proximity totally painless. 

The EQ side of the app has been tweaked a few times since the BOOM was launched nearly three years ago, and it just works. The preset equalization options cover most scenarios, and you can even add your own custom option. 

Inside the "More" tab are the deeper settings tab and some general information about the device. There are quite a few how-tos, and you can directly update the BOOM 2's firmware here. Updating the firmware used to be a bit bothersome as you had to hook it up to a PC, but UE introduced firmware updating via the app a while ago, which works perfectly on our Android 6.0 device. 

You can fine-tune things in the app's settings tab, such as the name of the device and whether you want to burn some power in idle in favor of enabling power-on via Bluetooth (Bluetooth Smart).

The alarm is pretty standard, but useful. 

Performance

The basic recipe for the BOOM's success has not been strayed from with the BOOM 2. The speaker configuration is the same as with the original, and eversince UE introduced a more advanced EQ in the app, you are able to get it to sound really good in a wide variety of situations.

Sound-projection-wise, the BOOM 2 equals the older model, which puts it a bit behind the bigger and badder UE MEGABOOM that is also way less wieldy. For a unit you want to carry with you, the UE BOOM 2 is pretty perfect as it is smallish at just 67mm Ø and 180mm high, which makes it very bag friendly. 

Compared to the Creative Roar 2, the UE BOOM 2 is generally much better in terms of projection, and so is the MEGABOOM. The Roar 2 has the legs up in terms of how much deep bass it can pump out, but the benefits in projection and balance with the BOOM 2 make it a winner in all other categories. The midrange is less muddy on the BOOM 2 with even an odd EQ, and the fact that the BOOM 2 is largely unaffected by the shape and quality of the surface it stands on makes it a much better performer on the go. 

UE's BOOM series speakers only feature Bluetooth (A2DP) and a mini-jack in. Fortunately, performance between these is pretty balanced since using the mini-jack in gives you roughly the same sound quality as going with Bluetooth and normal quality source material. 

Another thing that is quite interesting with the BOOM 2 is that it will give you 15 hours of play time. In our tests with a full charge, we managed to do so with a normal mix of music at moderate in-door-type volume levels. With a charge time from completely empty to full of just 2.5 hours, it is pretty unlikely to run out of charge even when used for a full day. At a volume level that is more suitable for outdoor usage, you can expect around 10 hours of playtime depending on your EQ setting and type of music, which is really good.

Value & Conclusion

• The UE BOOM 2 sells for $199!
• Great design
• Lots of color and graphics options
• Good sound quality
• Portable and light weight
• Rugged
• Long play time (15 hours)
• IPX7 rated
• Expensive at $199

9.5 UE did a great job when updating the well-received BOOM to version 2. All the magic from the original is there and has been coupled with an app that has matured a lot since the launch of the original BOOM three years ago. The BOOM 2 is excellent at almost anything it does. It is light and has a size that makes it extremely practical while being rugged. The sound quality is more than good enough for both on-the-go use and for listening to radio and music while working around the house. The app allows you to tailor the sound to such an extent that it will work in pretty much any type of environment, be it in-doors or out.Since it is IPX7 (X is because it is not dust proof) certified, you can use it outside and in wet environments. It will survive submersion, but not much more than that. IPX7 should be more than good enough for handling the occasional heavy shower or drop into a pool, but do not forget to plug up its connectors at the bottom!Overall, the BOOM 2 is a brilliant little device that is available in a lot of good-looking colors.