Windows Phone Thoughts: Not Quite "Waking Up the Neighbours" -- ThinkOutside's Boomtube H2O1 review

Product Category: Hardware - Sound Accessories
Manufacturer: ThinkOutside
Where to Buy: Various retail outlets. PriceGrabber (affiliate)
Price: From $140 to $176 USD
System Requirements:Any audio source with a 2.5 or 3.5mm stereo output jack
Specifications: 40W RMS delivered to four 56mm (2 inch) drivers. 50Hz to 20KHz response with >70db signal to noise ratio. Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. A full set of specifications can be found here.

Pros:

• Compact, rugged, portable design;
• Better than average sound (for the size of drivers), especially with ability to separate the speakers;
  
• Good quality carrying case, with room for cables and ac adapter as well;
  
• Can handle almost any type of audio device as input;
  
• Headphone jack;
  
• Standard RCA speaker jacks, so you can attach your own (bigger) speakers, if desired.

Cons:

• Not exactly ‘rattle’ the windows volume, but reasonable for personal listening;
  
• Small drivers mean listening position is important, especially at higher frequencies;
  
• A little mushy in parts of the mid-range;
  
• Battery lasts about 3 to 4 hours at higher volumes;
  
• Batteries are rechargeable, but not replaceable;
  
• A little pricy, compared to other small amplifiers and boomboxes.

Summary: The Boomtube from ThinkOutside (which shares its name and specifications with a similar product from Virgin Electronics) is a medium-powered portable sound amplifier for any audio producing device – from an iPod to Pocket PC to Smartphone. Boasting total power output of over 40W RMS and a volume control that “...goes to 11”, it provides reasonably good sound from a small, compact package. Its big advantage over other such systems is its portability and the ability to separate the speakers to provide a better stereo image.

Read On for the full review!