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Brookstone's two new WiFi speakers include built-in Chromecast support
Brookstone is launching two new connected speakers that not only have WiFi and Bluetooth support, but also now include built-in support for apps that support Google’s Chromecast. Both the Big Blue Studio and Big Blue Party speakers are currently available to purchase at the company’s website.
What does this mean, exactly? Well, if you purchase either one of these speakers, you will be able to connect them to your smartphone and any app that supports Chromecast, so you can “cast” streaming content from those apps directly to the speaker without the need to add a Chromecast hardware dongle.
Apps like Spotify, Pandora, iHeart Radio, YouTube Radio, TuneIn Radio, and NPR One all support casting to Brookstone’s speakers. In addition, if you have the Google Home app, you can use it to connect multiple Big Blue Studio and Big Blue Party speakers to each other in the home with one WiFi network.
The smaller, indoor-only Big Blue Studio has two full-range stereo speakers, a subwoofer and a passive radiator for extended bass. The larger Big Blue Party works both indoors and outdoors. It has four full-range speakers, and each of them is placed at different angles to support 360-degree sound. It also has an omnidirectional subwoofer and a bass-boosting passive radiator. Finally, the Big Blue Party can go cordless if you want to take it on the road and is therefore rechargeable. If you want some tunes by the pool, the Big Blue Party speaker is water resistant as well.
The Big Blue Studio will set you back $129.99, and Brookstone has a deal where you can get two of them for just $199.99, a $60 saving. The larger and feature-rich Big Blue Party speaker is priced at $249.99.