Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III

I have both. Here is my thoughts:1. Appearance:SoundLink 3 has a old-timer classic look. The silver part of the box is paint sprayed mesh. the black parts around have a fine texture on it. The top is soft rubber. The whole thing feels like a old radio (in a good way) with a modern touch. I personally like it better than the jawbone box or UE style, which is way too future-ish young-kids looking. SoundLink 3 is also pretty heavy. Won't be a good choice to carry around. All in all, very solid build.SoundLine Mini reminds me the Iphone. It is a whole piece of Aluminum, as least looks like it. Also heavy for its size. but much more portable.2. Sound quality:Low Volume: SoundLink3 sounds better than SoundLink2 hands down. When played at same low volume, soundLink3 is MUCH better than soundLink2 in my opinion. The sound is much more clear, vocal really stands out. the high pitch is better, but still not quite there. The mini actually sounds the best at low volume. SoundLink 3 has a "deeper/wider/thicker" sound than the mini, but some how the mini sounds more "clear" at low volume and my ear find it very pleasing.When I say low volume, I mean put it on my office desk. close the door and listen to it when working.High Volume: SoundLink 3 can get really loud. I can not bear how loud it gets when I crank it up. but I never liked loud music so keep that in mind. For my life, I will never need that much noise. But you may want it. when turn the volume up, SoundLink 3 start to sounds better than the Mini. I am impressed it can go quite loud without much distortion. I am not saying mini is not loud. To me, Mini is good enough for my medium size room, I don't even need to turn it up that much for it starts to feel too loud. I don't know why I would ever need SoundLink 3's loud volume. Unless I want to throw a pool party.Base: The base on the Mini is just amazing. I still can not believe how such a small thing can pump out that much base. Very good. The main complain I have about UE boom box and Jawbone is they do have better high but the base is just lacking. But that again is a personal preference. My friend loves his UE box and complains every time when he hear my mini saying "too much base no high." But I like the base a lot, the music is "fuller". My opinion, UE & Jawbone sounds tin-can-ish. I don't want that much high with no base. But again "sound better" is your feeling, so listen to them and make your own decision.SoundLink 3 has good base, too. also it can maintain a clear layer of sound with that base. the base is not as heavy flavored as the mini. At low volume, I think mini has a more noticeable base. At high volume, soundLink 3 start to catch up.Conclusion:1. If you like full base like me, go for Bose, if you likes high pitch better UE boom may be better. it is cheaper than Mini, and has a microphone you can make call, also has a cool app. I totally don't care about those. I want better sound for music.2. For bose, SoundLink 3 can get much louder than Mini and it sounds better at high volume. If you want loud music so your office mate next door can go complain to the boss, chose soundLink3. If you only need to fill a medium office/living room with clear music, go for mini.3. don't forget mini is 100 less than SoundLink 3. For me, if I can only keep one, I will keep the mini, it is good for all my needs. But I will keep both, I may start a party in the hall way, you never know.--Update--One more thing:Do you know that the Bluetooth devices you use to connect to those speaker make a difference? I used Samsung Note phone, Iphone, Ipad & Kindle HDX to test the same song on SoundLink3, they actually sounds different form each device. Which is very strange. Isn't this suppose to be digital? Anyway, They are obviously different to me. The best sound actually comes from my Kindle HDX, Ipad and Iphone are OK, Samsung note sounds the worst. So if you have more than one bluetooth device, try pair them all and find out if they really sound different or I am just crazy.

I think Bosé most products have great sound quality. This particularly is not the best one, but I consider you should know that when you compare the price between most of them.Having said that, lest talk about good and bad things:Pros:- Its portability: Since it has a built-in rechargeable battery that last about 12 hours, you can easily carry it with you. Just be careful since it is not waterproof,- Lightweight: It is not the lighest portable speaker (about 3 pounds or 1350gr), but I consider it light enough to bring it easily in you backpack or even in a women purse (not complaining about the sizes of women purses LOL),- Easy of use: It took me about 4 minutes after I open the box to get it playing my iPhone's music. It is really user friendly device. My 5 years daughter also manipulate it with no problems at all,- Its design is great, despite its totally vertical shape, which in some cases could be a con due to the easiness to let if fall,- Bluetooth connect automatically, I didn't read about how many devices it stores, but in our daily basis, it pairs automatically with my iPhone and / or my wife's one like a charm,- I consider it volume is loud enough for listening to music at home, and even in exteriors, but it would no be loud enough for a party or a crowded place.- Comes with the required power cord just in case you either need to recharge the battery or just prefer to use it attached to the power outlet.- Quality: Bose is synonym of great quality, so I'm going to avoid bore you on this point.Cons:- Its totally vertical design doesn't provide enough support and if you trip it up, probably it would fall.- Like most Bosé, people would say it is louder due to its bass tune. I don't find it a con, but some relatives say so and I consider you would appreciate this feedback too.- The price: Yes, it is Bose, but I consider this is a little bit overpriced. Like this review if you consider the same.Anyway, I would recommend it if you really like to enjoy music at home o in exteriors, with the flexibility of bring your speaker and a great battery duration.

Most importantly: This thing rocks. I never bought a case or charging cradle for it and I don't think you need to. This thing is quite sturdy on its own. I've traveled around with it plenty, it holds up fine in a backpack. I didn't bring it camping or fishing or anything like that, but I've flown with it in my carry on plenty of times.Specifics:I ordered this speaker two years ago and think it is one of the best electronics purchases I've ever made. It sounds awesome at both high and low volumes, can get quite loud, the battery lasts forever, and the device never gives me trouble. I know the Bose brand is dissed as being a marketing-focused company, but this product is great. I don't use any other Bose products and have been disappointed when trying out Bose headphones, but this speaker is awesome. I use it daily by myself and when I have guests over. Even when having 15-20 people over in an apartment, this things gets plenty loud enough for a party.Two things that slightly bug me in light of using competing high-end bluetooth speakers:1) Only one device can be paired to this speaker at a time. I've seen other good bluetooth speakers that allow multiple simultaneous pairings which is really convenient. (The UE Boom can do this, is cheaper, and sounds 85% as good IMO)2) The Bose SL3 does not have any audio controls besides volume and mute. You can't pause or skip songs from the speaker, you must pause/skip on the phone or computer thats paired to it.Lastly, one word of note: This speaker doesn't sound nearly as great outdoors, but that is true for all portable speakers.