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Usually, you have to use some caution when you see someone touting a new product on Kickstarter or Indiegogo as “the world’s first.” But in the case of the B.R.O. Ball, I’m inclined to believe the claim that it is, indeed, the world’s first Bluetooth speaker in a football. Of course, there have been football-shaped speakers before, but I’ve certainly not come across an actual usable football embedded with a music maker.
Personally, I can’t throw a football any better than I can turn lead into gold, but this gadget, which is now in the early stages of its Kickstarter campaign, grabbed my attention, mostly because of its durability. There aren’t too many speakers you chuck off a seventh-floor balcony to find that it’s still cranking out tunes after it makes contact with the pavement below (check out the video on the campaign page). Plus, it’s water-resistant and can float for up to 30 minutes before it needs rescuing, which makes it a fun beach or pool toy.
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Of course, when you’re constantly throwing your Bluetooth speaker away from you, connectivity is key. The creators of the B.R.O. Ball say it can travel 50 yards (about 46 meters) from your Bluetooth-enabled device before losing the signal. The ball also has glow-in-the-dark piping that makes it easy to see at night. For those of you who actually do know how to throw a football, the makers say it’s perfectly well-balanced for throwing spirals.
The B.R.O. Ball can also send some of its stored battery power to your phone or other USB device to give it a bit of a boost if needed. If you choose not to do that, the speaker ball should last six hours on a charge.
Right now you can get a B.R.O. Ball (which stands for “bring rhythm outdoors,” by the way) under the “friends, family and fans special” for $59 (about £38, AU$83), which represents half off the eventual retail price of $118. After they’re gone, there will be a limited number of “pre-season” balls available for $69 (about £45, AU$97), and then the remainder will go for $79 (about £51, AU$112). Balls are expected to ship in July 2016.
