We were admittedly somewhat skeptical about the Balloon Speaker. The first sound we expected to hear out of its spongey, 2" spherical surface was the word "novelty." Contrary to our preconceptions, this little fella has proven quite versatile while emitting a respectable sound. Like the Card Speaker, it's great for those moments when you want to share some music in casual settings: the dinner table, a picnic, the shower…

It comes in black, and includes a 3.5 mm connection plug and a USB battery charge cable. The speaker has an operating time of approximately four hours on a two-hour charge.