iFrogz Boost Plus Speaker Review
:: Price: $59.99 retail
Device Reviewed With: iPhone 5
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Positioned as a much cheaper version of a portable Bluetooth speaker, the iFrogz BoostPlus is the second generation of NFA devices we've seen from iFrogz. Set an iPhone down on it and have the audio instantly amplified. How? Well it's almost magic.
NFA is a technology that has made a bit of a splash lately. It's fairly cheap to implement in a device, very easy to connect a phone. And sounds at least as good as the phone by itself, but can be much louder. NFA or Near Field Audio is the technology the BoostPlus uses to make the audio from the phone sound so much louder. In simple terms, the device has a small device that picks up the slight vibrations caused by the speaker in the phone and greatly amplifies them. It's not really magic technology, but it's some really well done technology.
The real magic of the device is how easy it is to "connect" the device. While I say connecting, it isn't really connecting like it would be with Bluetooth, just set the device down on the marked spot and it starts the amplification. The louder the phone, the louder the boost.
The BoostPlus can operate either by a standard micro-USB power source or with two AA batteries. It also includes an audio-in jack to make the sound even better.
Overall the sound quality isn't the best, but it is loud. Though to be honest I don't expect amazing sound from a sub-$60 device. I just want loud, and the iFrogz BoostPlus delivers the loud.