Bluetooth technology has opened up a world of new ideas, especially for transmitting music. Recently, these self-contained units have become fully waterproof, enabling you to take music with you where previous units would have gotten fried from moisture. Most of these products are intended to watersports users, but cyclists should be interested, since there would be no worry about using it if a sudden puddle or storm were to turn your ride into a wet one.
A lot of these players jumped into the market costing several hundred dollars, but like anything related to modern technology, costs are coming down. ECOXGEAR’s ECOPEBBLE being small and portable, and NUU’s Riptide both come in well under $100, and are IPX7 waterproof (or better).
Check them out after the jump…
ECOPEBBLE, is ECOXGEAR’s smallest speaker release to-date. The ECOPEBBLE name follows their scheme, since its larger siblings are called the ECOROX and ECOSTONE. Adhering to IPX7 standards, the unit is drop, dust and water-proof, so combined with the compact size, there should be no problem taking it on a ride. The integrated battery gives it a 7 hour run time, and best of all, it floats.
“When building out the ECOPEBBLE, our goal was to somehow fit the powerful sound of our larger products into the body of an extremely compact speaker,” said CEO of ECOXGEAR, Greg Fadul. “I wasn’t sure how we were going to do it, or if we could even do it at all. Certainly, this is an instance I was glad to be wrong. The ECOPEBBLE is everything we hoped it would be.”
The ECOPEBBLE retails for $59.99, and is available now at www.ecoxgear.com.
The Riptide by NUU is rated to IP57, differing from IPX7 by adding in a dust chamber test. It also floats, as it appears the primary customer target is watersports enthusiasts. Featuring 6 hours of run time, Bluetooth connectivity, and a built-in carabiner, it is also ready to take on the bike. The speaker features a 3W neodymium driver combined with a passive bass radiator to give the same rich sound as it’s larger siblings. Riptide also has a speakerphone feature and a built-in, waterproof and noise-cancelling microphone so you can make and receive phone calls, which begs the question, how to you bring your phone if it is not waterproof?
Riptide can also be used with its built-in AUX-IN and the 3.5mm input cable that comes included. MSRP is $49.99, and its available on Amazon.com, and other internet retailers
