We’re stepping into the next era of wearable devices or at least Bose is. The sound specialist just unveiled an unusual but highly portable speaker called the SoundWear Companion which can be worn around the neck.
Music fans would normally go for a pair of headphones or earbuds, but if you’d like to be more aware of your surroundings, the SoundWear might be a better choice for you. Or you could just buy normal portable speaker (the one you can take with you at the pool or hang in the shower) instead.
Why would you need to buy a speaker that can be worn around your neck? We can’t think of any reasons why you wouldn’t be able to live without one, unless you’re really keen on impressing your co-workers or friends.
What does the Bose SoundWear Companion bring to the table besides a futuristic design? The speaker is said to be able to offer up to 12 hours of continuous playback. Once it runs out of power, you’ll be able to fully charge it in about 3 hours via a micro USB port. Bluetooth range is around 30-feet and you’ll be able to take phone calls if you pair the speaker with your smartphone.
Bose doesn’t offer any information about what kind of speakers are built into the SoundWear, but given that the company is an icon of the audio industry, sound quality shouldn’t be a concern here.
The SoundWear speaker is already available for purchase on Bose’s website and you can order yours for the pretty hefty price of $300. The speaker will ship out with a black cover, but blue, purple and gray options will be available in the future too.
While Bose’s speaker will certainly impress the audience with its atypical look, it might not be worth paying all that money for. After all there are plenty of other portable speakers that are a lot cheaper and can do what the SoundWear can do, although sound quality and playback times might not be as impressive as with Bose’s product. Also consider the fact that in the case of this wearable speaker people around you might find it annoying to hear your tunes out loud as you walk past them.
Anyway, Bose is not the only company offering a wearable speaker such as the SoundWear Companion, as LG also has the Stone Studio Wireless Wearable which costs $229.
