iHome Playglow IBT780B - Speaker - for portable use - wireless - Bluetooth - 4 Watt

Haven't used it yet...charging....so far so good

I was surprised to hear how loud and clear the audio was from such a small BT speaker. It's moderately heavy but feels well built so that's good. It connects fast and very easily and is simple to use and even has volume +/- and play/pause buttons so anyone can adjust what's playing without needing the device connected. Best feature: 24 hour battery-life!!! Really plays all day and well into the night with one full charge! All that being said, it does lack features some other BT speakers have like being able to connect to multiple devices at once. I also would have liked to have seen a built-in mic for when calls come in be able to answer without the need to turn off to disconnect and after call reconnect to the speaker. And though the lights are pretty cool, especially after dark, more variety in patterns would be nice or even be able to customize. Altogether, good product that is shy of luxury features but you will still find yourself using more than you thought.

I'm a bit of a Bluetooth speaker collector—not quite in the realm of Imelda Marcos with shoes, but I have more than the average person. I'm not sure why that is, exactly. Maybe it has to do with some subconscious quest to find the perfect speaker. . . In any case I was chosen to review the iHome iBT780 Play Glow speaker. This speaker is in the subcategory of speaker that not only connects to your audio device via Bluetooth to play music, but also has a built in lights that add to your music listening ambience. . . Luckily, I not only have two teenagers in my household who, I think, represent a group that are attracted to such a light-accentuated device (though I think they are cool, too, given the right occasion). . . Also luckily, I own a comparable unit made by another major manufacturer in my home with which I chose to compare the iHome unit—in the context of blind testing (blind for the sake of sound only; the lighting obviously had to be examined with our own eyes!). . So the kids and I rounded up three speakers, the iHome, another lighted speaker, and a third unlighted one, and did some testing.. . My results are as follows:. . The iHome iBT780 performed well, especially for its size and price point. In our blind tests, our “panelists” picked this Bluetooth speaker as the all-around most versatile choice, accounting for aspects such as cost in addition to performance. . . With clear vocal reproduction and a decent amount of sound for its size, it offers satisfying sound for small areas. The iHome certainly couldn't compete with our other lighted BT speaker, which is twice its size (and also twice its cost). The iHome lacked a solid bass response, focusing more on the midrange and treble ends of the spectrum. It did hold its on against our other BT speaker which was more on par with it on size and cost. The iHome was chosen as the second best on sound by two of the three of us. The third of us couldn't distinguish between the iHome and third speaker. . . Part of the reason the iHome doesn't thunder is because it is small, which can be a benefit for some users. It stands about 6 inches tall as a cylinder, and its speaker top-fires for a more Omni-directional sound. It has a pleated acrylic shell encircling the entire unit that nicely diffuses the lights, when activated, fixing light in a 360 degree arc. I wonder what might happen to this acrylic if this speaker were to take a tumble on, say, a concrete floor. . . We like the iHome's compact and dare I say elegant design; it really doesn't even look like a Bluetooth speaker and I can see it gracing a white clothed table at a dinner party as well as picnic table at a barbecue. The smallish size will certainly allow for portability. It even comes with a carrying strap for such purpose.. . The lights are definitely a plus to this unit and is not a throw-away feature like they can be for some speakers in this price range. There are five different light settings that offer a panoply of different colors (I would say the palette is more in the tropical range of colors than the circus range, if that makes sense). The settings range from blend to steady to beat (though my other speaker does a better job of pulsing the lights to the actual beat of the music than does the iHome). They are again bright enough for a small area. We had used them at a small socially-distanced gathering one evening which added nicely to the ambience (and incidentally the Bluetooth connection was superb at a distance of about 30 feet between the speaker and my phone). . . Not only was the Bluetooth connection solid, but there have been no problems linking this unit to any of our devices. The function buttons and operating LEDs are basically intuitive, especially if you own these types of speakers (red is for charge, blue for Bluetooth connecting, etc.) The button to cycle through the light programs also acts as a battery charge review as well, which is a nice feature. iHome claims that this unit will give you up to 24 hours of continuous playback; admittedly I haven't tested this to be true (as I do like my sleep), but I can say o have used it for a solid 8 hours (with lights) and then again it the next day as well without needing to recharge, suggesting that iHome's 24 hour rating is pretty close to the mark. The unit comes with a USB cable for when you eventually do run out of charge.. . The iHome iBT780 is not laden with tons of features such as stereo pairing, extra bass, waterproof ratings, etc., but you'd only get these features in more expensive units anyway. This unit, for its size and its price, fits the bill—it is a sharp-looking, ambience speaker that will provide your small area with quality sound and lighting. Though I am almost embarrassed by the many Bluetooth speakers I own, I am glad that I have this one in my arsenal. It is a fun speaker. I will definitely use this unit when the mood suits, knowing I can take it anywhere to give me a full day's worth of tunes (and lights) worth listening to (and seeing).

The rechargable iBT780 Bluetooth Lighted speaker looks like a sparkling gem with it's ability to change colors. The sound is surprisingly loud, crisp and the lows are deep considering its size. Battery life is excellent, it fits in one hand and it comes with a lanyard to carry it on your wrist or to hang in a convenient place.

The iBT780B came fully charged out of the case. The device is about the size of a 12 inch aluminum can with a sloped top. Setup was quite easy and my Galaxy Note 10 connected immediately via bluetooth. In the container was a charging cord and wrist strap, not sure how you would use the wrist strap since it connects on the lower/side of the device in an awkward spot. I started listening at medium sound and was quite impressed with the sound quality, it was crisp and clear. As the sound level got higher you could hear the tinny sound when the device reached maximum volume level, but at the maximum limit the sound was loud enough outdoors in my backyard to hear clearly. Listening indoors did not require reaching maximum volume which made listening much better. The lights are cool, but did not make any difference for me, might be more of a battery drain than useful. Overall,l was impressed with the sound from such a small speaker and the simplicity of connecting. I really liked that when you receive a call on your cellphone the speaker does not interfere with the call. What blew me away was the battery life, WOW! I was able to use the device for five days straight without a charge, about 6 to 7 hours per day. That is amazing for such a small device. I would have no problems making this purchase, it's worth it.