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Fugoo's modular Bluetooth speakers go from stylish to indestructible just by swapping cases

Fugoo's modular Bluetooth speakers go from stylish to indestructible just by swapping cases

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Fugoo Tough BT speaker
Fugoo Tough BT speaker

Rugged gadgets are all over the place at CES 2014, and Fugoo is getting in on the action with its new line of water-resistant Bluetooth 4.0 speakers: the Fugoo Style, Sport, and Tough. Fugoo’s speakers set themselves apart with a two-part design made of an inner "core" — the actual speaker — with a swappable, durable outer "jacket" to protect it. For now, there are three different jackets, although Fugoo plans to announce other varieties later this year.

Fugoo says the Tough jacket is "virtually indestructible"

The names of each jacket pretty aptly describe them. The $199 Style is the slimmest, lightest, and best-looking of the three, but also offers the least protection against drops. The $229 Sport offers more protection than the Style while still maintaining a slim form and comes with a wireless smart remote, and the $229 Tough is fittingly tank-like — Fugoo calls it "virtually indestructible." Each jacket is also available separately — you only have to take the core speaker out and put it into the new speaker jacket. All three of Fugoo’s jackets protect the internal core from drops to varying degrees (with the Tough obviously being well, the toughest), but they all offer the same level of dust and water resistance: any Fugoo can be submerged in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. This means that you can take a Fugoo with you to the beach or park and just rinse any dirt off at the end of the day.

Photos of Fugoo's Bluetooth speakers and accessories

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Because all three models use the same core speaker, they all offer the same audio quality and battery life, which Fugoo says can last up to 40-hours. The core speaker's six drivers provide 360-degree sound, and their symmetrical positioning cancels the pesky vibrations that make many similarly sized portable speakers prone to walking across a surface. The speaker can also act as a speakerphone thanks to a built-in microphone.

Fugoo is also offering a few accessories to expand the ways and places you can use its speakers. The bottoms of the Sport and Tough jackets have a spot to connect one of three mounts which let the speaker attach to a bike, backpack, tripod, or even strap on to something like a tree. Fugoo is also making a wearable, fully waterproof Bluetooth smart remote with a lanyard and watch strap that can control your music and even activate Siri or Google Now — but the killer feature is the bottle opener on its back.