JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker for Nokia Lumia (review)

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JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker retail package

I purchased my red Nokia Lumia 920 after figuring out that the optical image stabilization in video mode was enough to push me over the edge. In addition to having the top Windows Phone 8 device, Nokia is positioning themselves as the accessory vendor for Windows Phone and for the last week I have been using the JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker. It is a very good speaker accessory that also supports the wireless charging capability of the Lumia line. With NFC as well, it's a very simple process to get up and running with the JBL PowerUp speaker.

I tested out several different speaker options in 2012, see my Audio Gift Guide, and am still pleased with my Nokia Play 360 speakers. The JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker (referred to as the JBL in rest of review) provides charging with the Qi standard so devices like the HTC Droid DNA charge up on top as well. I didn't expect the box to be as large as it was, but then again the speaker is fairly large at 115 x 280 x 145 mm and 1590 grams. You can purchase the speaker for $299.99 in black, cyan, and white and as you can see in the photos the black one was sent along for me to test out for a bit.

Inside the package you will find the speaker and the A/C adapter to power it up. There is no carrying case since this is not a wireless, portable speaker and is designed to be placed on your desk. Like I said on a recent MoTR podcast, while many people think that NFC means mobile payments I personally think of using NFC for easy connectivity and sharing. I love that you can simply tap the Nokia Lumia 920 to the JBL and have the pairing connection all setup without any further steps required. The JBL uses Bluetooth 2.1 to connect to your Nokia Lumia after the NFC connection is made. You can also connect via Bluetooth without using NFC. While NFC is a nice addition to the JBL, the real advantage of purchasing this over other speakers is the Qi charging capability. It is great to set your Lumia 920 on top and listen to music while your device charges up.