The segment of small Bluetooth speaker has flourished since the release of the Jawbone Jambox that somehow defined this category. The famous speaker manufacturer and Bose audio players do not make a mistake and he has released his own version with the SoundLink Mini. The SoundLink Mini is barely larger than the Jambox and its dimensions are quite reasonable for a small Bluetooth speaker. The product forms a parallelepiped with rounded edges 20 cm long and a little less than 6 inches wide and a little over 5 inches tall.
The first thing that strikes you when you take the speaker in hand is its weight. We do not expect such a heavy object and in fact, the SoundLink Mini reached almost 700 grams on the scale, more than twice as much as its competitors. That's a lot and we are surprised the first time by the weight of the product.
About build quality, it should be noted that the manufacturer has done a great job. Compact, its enclosure is built around an aluminum strip that completely surrounds the SoundLink Mini and contributes the perceived quality, its weight and solidity of the whole. The aluminum is thick enough to withstand minor impacts, even if we avoid dropping the speaker too. SoundLink Mini has two perfectly symmetrical faces with, in both cases, form not quite right sides. The base of the enclosure is a little narrower than the top and form gives a slightly retro look to the product. Difficult, in general, to be choosy: The enclosure is extremely well finished and very elegant.
Bose has focused on control over all of its enclosure.
A block in a darker gray distinguishes between the space allocated to control the name of the speaker is there, and six buttons. From left to right and has an ON / OFF button, which mutes, two buttons for volume control and finally two buttons to select the operating mode of the SoundLink Mini.
The buttons are not aluminum, but in a soft and gray rubber. This provides a continuous strip of rubber and no spaces: one imagines that the enclosure will withstand a few drops of rain, even if it is not intended to be wet. These controls are fully assembled; they suffer no game and definitely participate in this general feeling of solidity.
The two volume buttons stand out in all, which is very convenient for the spot. The other four, grouped both sides are distinguished by a line cut into the rubber so that you can completely manipulate the SoundLink Mini in total darkness.
The black will not really be absolute if you use the speaker, since Bose has incorporated some of the LED device. Very discreet, these lights are first to know that the speaker is on: above the source (Bluetooth or auxiliary), a white LED appears continuously both to show the selected source and to indicate that the chamber works. The Bluetooth turns blue when the enclosure is configured to accept new connections.
Above the mute button, a white LED will flash when the function is active. Finally, a light shaped battery lights at startup above the ON / OFF button on the Sound Link Mini. It takes three different colors depending on the battery status from green to red when it is time to load and it can also be viewed at any time by pressing the ignition button pressed.
All is quiet and you can greet Bose effort to minimize the number of lights. The volume change for example is represented by a flashing LED associated with the source. The Mini also operates the SoundLink speaker to communicate with the user: there is thus a sound when the enclosure is connected to a Bluetooth source and another when it is (un) plugged in for recharging.
About recharging the manufacturer provides a charger that can be plugged into the side, but a charging cradle on which we simply ask the speaker.
This stand is a great idea and it is very pleasant in everyday life, even if it is designed with plastic poor quality and it is very light. It is far from the level of production of the Mini SoundLink itself, but this support has the merit to exist and it has done its job.
On the right side of the accessory, two inputs can both charge the SoundLink Mini comes without support, but also connect to any Bluetooth device with a mini-jack input.
Under his product, Bose arranged a wide rubber pad which serves both to protect the aluminum to keep the speaker in place and reduce vibration. A key point, as we shall see in the next section. The SoundLink Mini also has at this point the connector to the charging stand and a micro-USB connector used for any updates. Again, no cable is provided.
The SoundLink Mini may well be very well built and quite strong, you will want to protect a minimum if you plan to use in extreme conditions. Bose has thought of everything and enjoy features that are reminiscent of the bumpers for iPhone 4 and 4S. Three colors are available (green, blue and orange) and they cost € 25 each time.
