As you may recall, I've been trying out a number of Bluetooth speakers, first the Jawbone Jambox (loud, but massive and expensive) and then theNokia Play 360 (loud, but still big and expensive). And now the budget contender, the SoundWave SW50, at just over 7cm wide/high and costing less than £30, so roughly a quarter the price of the previous two speakers. I tested the SW50 with both my Nokia N8 and N86 from the Symbian world, with my Lumia 800 from the Windows Phone world and with my Android-powered Galaxy Nexus. Summary: it's almost as loud as the two pricier contenders and amazing value for money, with only one caveat.

Somewhat futuristically styled (think UFO!), the SW50 is a neat little accessory, capable of being tucked away in any briefcase or on any shelf. First impressions are of it being cheaply made in plastic, but appearances can be deceptive, as we'll find out. Certainly one clue is gained by spotting the pretty meaty speaker cone that's the SW50's central feature.