The cool factor with this little eyeball shaped wireless speaker that you can throw right into your pool or hot tub is only half the story. You get great sound from the poolPOD as well. The poolPOD from Audio Unlimited (also sometimes listed as Cables Unlimited) is a 900 MHZ wireless speaker that is waterproof and floats. You heard that right, you can actually toss the speaker in the water and it will float around providing the ultimate relaxation experience. The speaker includes a mood light that is directed down into the water which adds to the ambience of your pool or spa. All of the controls for the speaker are located right there on it so that you can turn on and off the power or the mood light, and adjust the volume while you are still in the water. You’ll have no need to hop out of your pool or hot tub to go and adjust anything, just drift over to the speaker and crank the volume up or down. The poolPOD wireless speaker even has an auto shut-off feature that will turn it off if the music stops so that the batteries won’t be wasted.
The poolPOD weighs in at just under 3 1/2 pounds and runs on 6 AA batteries which are located in a sealed compartment to protect from water. The diameter of the little floating eyeball is around 6 1/2 inches and Audio Unlimited was able to squeeze in about 5 watts of sound output in this little package. The sound is solid and perfect for the intended use of the poolPOD wireless speaker which is for relaxation and background music in your pool, spa, bathtub, etc. Obviously you won’t be having a neighborhood block party as you jam out with one of these speakers, but the sound is just right for entertaining guests in the pool or relaxing on your own in the hot tub.
The transmitter that sends the music to your poolPOD can be located up to 150 feet away but it includes a feature not always seen with wireless speaker transmitters that comes in quite handy. You can actually power the transmitter with 4 AA batteries so you can feasibly have your iPod, the transmitter, and the speaker all running with no cords whatsoever. The transmitter can also be powered by a standard AC adapter as well. There are 3 channels within the 900 MHZ spectrum that you can select in case you have an old cordless phone or other device that is causing any interference with your music. You simply connect your audio source such as an MP3 player or home stereo component to the transmitter using either RCA cables or the standard headphone jack. The speaker has an auto scan feature in order to find the strongest wireless signal available. There is also a spot on the transmitter where you can actually rest your iPod directly on it. The poolPOD is a great concept for a wireless speaker and is implemented well.