UE Boom Bluetooth speaker wins Gold at Design Excellence Awards, now $180 (Reg. $200)

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Today, Ultimate Ears has announced that its well regarded UE Boom Bluetooth speaker has won a 2014 Gold International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) from the Industrial Designers Society of America (ISDA). Sitting atop the entertainment category, this marks the very first IDEA for Ultimate Ears as a brand but the fourth design award for the UE BOOM itself. The award is given out to excellence in product design, sustainability, packaging, concept and more. Today’s announcement points out that only 27 of the 2,000 entries received a Gold IDEA this year.

The popular Bluetooth speaker has also received great user reviews and has recently seen a $20 price drop on Amazon, Best Buy and the official UE site. While we have seen the unit for less, they rarely go on sale and not usually with all the color options available. Apple.com is still charging $199.95. Outside of pre-owned options and sketchy retailers, this is the current lowest price available.

The BOOM is designed to “change standard one-directional sound,” with a 360-degree experience that blasts sound out in every direction. It also features a 50 foot range to wirelessly change songs, adjust the volume and take phone calls. You’ll find 15 hours of battery life and the possibility of linking two of them together via the UE BOOM mobile app. For a complete rundown, head over to our review of the Logitech UE Boom and Mini Boom.

Silver and Bronze IDEA winners in the entertainment category included the NOOK Glow Light, Beats Studio Headphones, Jambox Mini and more. You can see the rest of this year’s winners on the official IDSA site.

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UE BOOM from Ultimate Ears Wins Gold International Design Excellence Award from Industrial Designers Society of America

UE BOOM Clinches Entertainment Category

NEWARK, Calif. — July 7, 2014 — Today Ultimate Ears announced that its popular UE BOOM wireless speaker has won a prestigious 2014 Gold International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in the entertainment category from the Industrial Designers Society of America (ISDA). This is the first IDEA win for the Ultimate Ears brand and fourth design win for UE BOOM since its introduction in May 2013.

“Our goal was to build a speaker that would change standard one-directional sound, so we created a 360-degree experience for people to listen – and share – their music with friends all around them, just how music was meant to be enjoyed,” said Rory Dooley, general manager of Ultimate Ears. “The design of UE BOOM keeps the social aspect of music at the forefront, while allowing people to pick it up and go anywhere without worrying about damaging it. This speaker can take almost anything. We are honored to have received this prestigious design award for UE BOOM.”

UE BOOM is a mobile wireless speaker packed with specific features that set a new standard for listening to music in any environment. Specifically, its versatile go-anywhere shape fits in any backpack or water bottle holder, and it is wrapped in a specially developed acoustic skin that is both water- and stain-resistant. The customizable acoustic skin presents another layer of design, as it acts as a blank canvas that is easily updated to create limited edition UE BOOMs. Additionally, thanks to the speaker’s cylindrical shape, it blasts bold 360-degree sound.

“We designed UE BOOM to be a speaker to truly fit your life – anywhere you go,” said Branko Lukic, founder of NONOBJECT, design firm behind UE BOOM. “Every detail of the design supports this.”

IDEA by ISDA celebrates excellence in product design in terms of sustainability, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. In 2014, only 27 out of 2,000 entries received the Gold IDEA.

“[UE BOOM] feels like industrial design 2.0,” said Mike Simonian, an IDEA 2014 juror and co-founder, Mike & Maaike. “[It’s] a progressive and fresh approach to form, detailing and color.”

About Ultimate Ears

Ultimate Ears, a brand of Logitech, revolutionized the way artists perform music on stage with the creation of its custom fit professional earphones in 1995. Today, more touring artists use Ultimate Ears than any other brand, and UE makes critically acclaimed earphones and speakers that are redefining the way people experience the music they love. Ultimate Ears is the leading supplier of custom fitted earphones for professional musicians and an emerging provider of premium speakers and earphones for the consumer market. For more information, please visit www.ultimateears.com.

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