Review: iLuv Rollick Bluetooth Speaker

The iLuv Rollick Bluetooth wireless speaker ($49.99 at the iLuv website) resembles the $200 Beats Pill but costs 75% more or less. It's a pretty good value at $50 but pay attention and you might find one online at an even lower price.

The Rollick is both light (3/4 lb.) and small (7" wide x 1.5" high x 2.2" wide. Its curved design makes it easy to handle and the plastic is sturdy enough that you can drop it into a bag without worrying too much about breaking the speaker.

There are rubber feet on the bottom and rubber pads on the back so you can use it facing forward or facing up to spread the sound around the room. There's an Aux input in case you want to use it with a non-Bluetooth device.

The Rollick comes in pink, white, black, red with a black speaker grille and blue with a black speaker grille. You can adjust the volume or pause your music from buttons on the front of the speaker, but there's no built-in microphone so it's not designed for use as a speakerphone.

It's surprisingly loud for its size, but don't expect any audio quality miracles for $50. It's great for listening to baseball games or news radio and more than okay for streaming music.

If you look around online, you can currently find these for as low as $37, but iLuv products have a habit of turning up at discount retailers and occasionally through Groupon. One of these would be a fantastic deal at $30 and you should buy them for everyone on your Christmas list if they ever turn up at $20/each. If you've got a kid who's angling for speakers to go with an iPod, one of these is both sturdy and cheap enough to make the Rollick a good choice.