 Here's the deal. Your computer's speakers are terrible. So are your phones. It's time to upgrade to a Bluetooth speaker. They sound good, they work as speaker phones, and you don't have to put them upside down in a bowl just to hear them. But in order to buy the right one, you need to make sure you buy a Bluetooth speaker that sounds great, that's easy to carry around, that has long range and good battery life, and maybe even comes with a cool extra feature or two. Luckily that's all totally possible. It'll cost you somewhere between $80 and $200 and you won't regret the purchase. At least not if you buy the right one. Portable Bluetooth speakers look like they're a dime a dozen, but they're not. And the best one, by a pretty wide margin, is the Logitech UE Boom. It's everything I'd want it to be. It's cool looking, a colorful mesh cylinder that comes in a bunch of eye-catching colors. It has good range, about 35 feet before the signal starts to drop. That's pretty normal for a Bluetooth speaker. Its battery lasted more than 16 hours. And best of all, it sounds really good. It has loud 360-degree sound pumping out of its round body. It's full and clear so you can hear the resonance in the strings of a classical song or catch every word Kanye says. If the sound's not loud enough, you can chain two booms together and listen even louder. There are other speakers with slightly better battery or slightly better sound or a slightly smaller body, but the UE Boom is a virtually perfect mix of everything a Bluetooth speaker should be. If you're okay with its slightly expensive price, look no further. The Soul Republic Deck is another of my favorite portable Bluetooth speakers. Its only problem is it doesn't sound quite as good as the UE Boom. It doesn't have the same clarity or the thumping bass, and you get a little of that shallow tin can effect you hear on your computer speakers. But it sounds good enough for most uses and is definitely loud enough, and it has some really fantastic extra features. Its range is ridiculous, 200 feet or more. Its battery life is ridiculous. It took 22 and a half hours to die. And it has this cool heist mode feature that lets you connect up to five people at once and have everyone DJ. Of course, ultimately you might just want something that sounds amazing. That's the Bose SoundLink Mini, a heavy metallic silver speaker that just sounds fantastic. It's clear and crisp and natural through almost any kind of music. And it has strong battery life too, more than 14 hours. But its Bluetooth range was strangely bad, only about 15 feet, and it often had trouble connecting at all. It also has a proprietary charging port, and it doesn't have any nifty extra features. And man does it sound good. All of my favorite portable Bluetooth speakers are on the expensive side of the market. If you're looking for something cheaper, the Logitech UE Mini Boom, the smaller cousin of the UE Boom, is definitely the way to go. It's tiny and plastic and nice looking and will easily fit into your jacket pocket. Its audio does only go in one direction without any real stereo effect, and its sound isn't great, though it is much better than anything else in its price range. But in terms of bang for your very few bucks, the Mini Boom is a pretty great choice. Logitech does know what it's doing with Bluetooth speakers. After those four, there's a pretty big drop off. You could buy one of the three Jambox sizes, sure, but none of them are really worth it. The big Jambox sounds great, but is humongous, and the Jambox and Mini Jambox both just don't sound good. At all. They're some of the worst sounding Bluetooth speakers I tested, and among the most expensive. You can do better without trying very hard. There are a couple of Bluetooth speakers that sound really good, but they're just too big to be considered portable. The Bose SoundLink is one, and it's too expensive, too, but it does sound good. It'd be a great desk speaker if that's what you're looking for. The Soundfreak Soundkick gets a little closer to the right size, and it sounds great, too, but it's just not something you'd toss into a backpack and take to the beach. There are a couple you could absolutely take to the beach, like the Panasonic SCNT10. It's a waterproof hockey puck looking speaker that sounds good for a cheap speaker, but its battery life is pretty weak and it's also really ugly. The Braven BRVX is a little better sounding and also waterproof, but it's only a good choice if someone else is carrying your gear. It's huge. The JBL Flip 2 is another solid choice for cheap speakers. It has that same cone, round design as the UE Boom. It's loud and sounds okay, but it's a little bit complex to set up and connect, and its sound just isn't as good as even the UE Mini Boom. Same for the Aira Pure, the smallest speaker I tested. It sounds better than it seems like it ought to, but it's only a little better than your computer speakers. It's worth upgrading to get something better. Last and certainly least is the Beats Pill. It just sounds bad. That bassy Beats sound doesn't work on a portable Bluetooth speaker, not by a long shot. In addition to everything else, you should make sure that whatever you buy has an input for plugging in a music source directly, plus easy to use controls on the box itself. Luckily most of these do. And if you buy the Logitech UE Boom, the best all-around Bluetooth speaker on the market, you'll get all that and much more. I bought two.
 Here's the deal.
 Your computer's speakers are terrible.
 So are your phones.
 It's time to upgrade to a Bluetooth speaker.
 They sound good, they work as speaker phones, and you don't have to put them upside down
 in a bowl just to hear them.
 But in order to buy the right one, you need to make sure you buy a Bluetooth speaker that
 sounds great, that's easy to carry around, that has long range and good battery life,
 and maybe even comes with a cool extra feature or two.
 Luckily that's all totally possible.
 It'll cost you somewhere between $80 and $200 and you won't regret the purchase.
 At least not if you buy the right one.
 Portable Bluetooth speakers look like they're a dime a dozen, but they're not.
 And the best one, by a pretty wide margin, is the Logitech UE Boom.
 It's everything I'd want it to be.
 It's cool looking, a colorful mesh cylinder that comes in a bunch of eye-catching colors.
 It has good range, about 35 feet before the signal starts to drop.
 That's pretty normal for a Bluetooth speaker.
 Its battery lasted more than 16 hours.
 And best of all, it sounds really good.
 It has loud 360-degree sound pumping out of its round body.
 It's full and clear so you can hear the resonance in the strings of a classical song or catch
 every word Kanye says.
 If the sound's not loud enough, you can chain two booms together and listen even louder.
 There are other speakers with slightly better battery or slightly better sound or a slightly
 smaller body, but the UE Boom is a virtually perfect mix of everything a Bluetooth speaker
 should be.
 If you're okay with its slightly expensive price, look no further.
 The Soul Republic Deck is another of my favorite portable Bluetooth speakers.
 Its only problem is it doesn't sound quite as good as the UE Boom.
 It doesn't have the same clarity or the thumping bass, and you get a little of that shallow
 tin can effect you hear on your computer speakers.
 But it sounds good enough for most uses and is definitely loud enough, and it has some
 really fantastic extra features.
 Its range is ridiculous, 200 feet or more.
 Its battery life is ridiculous.
 It took 22 and a half hours to die.
 And it has this cool heist mode feature that lets you connect up to five people at once
 and have everyone DJ.
 Of course, ultimately you might just want something that sounds amazing.
 That's the Bose SoundLink Mini, a heavy metallic silver speaker that just sounds fantastic.
 It's clear and crisp and natural through almost any kind of music.
 And it has strong battery life too, more than 14 hours.
 But its Bluetooth range was strangely bad, only about 15 feet, and it often had trouble
 connecting at all.
 It also has a proprietary charging port, and it doesn't have any nifty extra features.
 And man does it sound good.
 All of my favorite portable Bluetooth speakers are on the expensive side of the market.
 If you're looking for something cheaper, the Logitech UE Mini Boom, the smaller cousin
 of the UE Boom, is definitely the way to go.
 It's tiny and plastic and nice looking and will easily fit into your jacket pocket.
 Its audio does only go in one direction without any real stereo effect, and its sound isn't
 great, though it is much better than anything else in its price range.
 But in terms of bang for your very few bucks, the Mini Boom is a pretty great choice.
 Logitech does know what it's doing with Bluetooth speakers.
 After those four, there's a pretty big drop off.
 You could buy one of the three Jambox sizes, sure, but none of them are really worth it.
 The big Jambox sounds great, but is humongous, and the Jambox and Mini Jambox both just don't
 sound good.
 At all.
 They're some of the worst sounding Bluetooth speakers I tested, and among the most expensive.
 You can do better without trying very hard.
 There are a couple of Bluetooth speakers that sound really good, but they're just too big
 to be considered portable.
 The Bose SoundLink is one, and it's too expensive, too, but it does sound good.
 It'd be a great desk speaker if that's what you're looking for.
 The Soundfreak Soundkick gets a little closer to the right size, and it sounds great, too,
 but it's just not something you'd toss into a backpack and take to the beach.
 There are a couple you could absolutely take to the beach, like the Panasonic SCNT10.
 It's a waterproof hockey puck looking speaker that sounds good for a cheap speaker, but
 its battery life is pretty weak and it's also really ugly.
 The Braven BRVX is a little better sounding and also waterproof, but it's only a good
 choice if someone else is carrying your gear.
 It's huge.
 The JBL Flip 2 is another solid choice for cheap speakers.
 It has that same cone, round design as the UE Boom.
 It's loud and sounds okay, but it's a little bit complex to set up and connect, and its
 sound just isn't as good as even the UE Mini Boom.
 Same for the Aira Pure, the smallest speaker I tested.
 It sounds better than it seems like it ought to, but it's only a little better than your
 computer speakers.
 It's worth upgrading to get something better.
 Last and certainly least is the Beats Pill.
 It just sounds bad.
 That bassy Beats sound doesn't work on a portable Bluetooth speaker, not by a long shot.
 In addition to everything else, you should make sure that whatever you buy has an input
 for plugging in a music source directly, plus easy to use controls on the box itself.
 Luckily most of these do.
 And if you buy the Logitech UE Boom, the best all-around Bluetooth speaker on the market,
 you'll get all that and much more.
 I bought two.