KAKKOii Wow Bling speaker

The basics

Good things come in small packages, right? That's what the KAKKOii Wow Bling speaker is promising, as it's a small Bluetooth speaker that not only aims to catch your eye with its brightly-hued, rubber shell, but it aims to pack in booming sound to boot too. Can it live up to its 'Wow' name and dazzle us with its sound quality, or is it just another Bluetooth speaker for the pile? We put one to the test to find out.

The good

KAKKOii, drawn from the Japanese word for 'cool', has created a very fun and funky speaker. It looks great, even though the vivid body can be a little harsh on the eyes - ours arrived in a bright orange that drew plenty of attention. It's a simple, single Bluetooth speaker that easily pairs with your smartphone or tablet with a few button taps, and it packs in a hefty amount of power for a speaker of its size, all thanks to its 4W, 1.4-inch driver. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the sound the Wow Bling produces, and it travels quite a distance too, meaning you could easily use it at the centre of your parties. You don't have to worry about staying close to the speaker either, as it's rated for a range of 10m - we never saw a drop, even when we strayed a little bit further away.

The Wow Bling has been designed to, well, look like an actual speaker with a horn design. It's a refreshing take that helps it stand out from the range of rectangular blocks and other odd Bluetooth speakers that, frankly, look the same. You can also face the speaker upwards for wider reaching, 360-degree audio, or you can plant it facing down to muffle out the noise when you fancy a softer sound around you. As it's made from rubber too, it's capable of taking plenty of drops, and thanks to its compact size, it can also survive being stuffed into the bottom of your bag, making it ideal for taking wherever you go. Handily, while some Bluetooth speakers can take your call, the Wow Bling will go on silent when you need to answer the phone, giving you a bit of privacy. We wouldn't have minded an inclusion of a microphone though.

The bad

Unfortunately, while it's designed for a life on the go, battery life just doesn't keep up with its worldly ambitions. It charges up via a standard microUSB cable but you'll only be able to squeeze out four hours of battery life at best, meaning you'd best pack a charger if you're heading to a festival or long camping trip. Granted, at this size, a small battery is to be expected, but it falls a long way short of Logitech's UE Mini Boom, which boasts almost 10 hours of battery in a similarly compact shell. There's also a lack of volume controls on the speaker itself, meaning you have to adjust it on the source device, which can be annoying and more time consuming.

The bottom line

For £60, you get plenty of sound from such a small speaker. We can see why you won't find any extra features, as it's built for simplicity, but we do wish it had a few additions like NFC for quick pairing. The Wow Bling is also £5 more expensive than the standard Wow Wireless speaker, which gives you more muted colour tones, making the Wow Bling a bit of an extravagant purchase. We love how loud it is, and that it can take plenty of knocks, but we just wish its battery life lasted a whole lot longer.

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