Bose pulled its latest speaker system out of the box (a small box, we have to say) - the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker - at a London event on Thursday and Pocket-lint was on-hand to get up close and personal with it.

The SoundLink is a Bluetooth speaker that has your smartphone or tablet in its sights. It's diddy, measuring in at 13 x 24.4 x 4.8cm and weighing 1.3kg. So it's easily small enough to fit in your suitcase or overnight bag when you're off on your travels.

First impressions were just how cool it looked. It's got the charm of a 1970s transistor radio, with an incredibly slick looking cover and stand system (Cordura nylon or leather) that makes it look like an expensive piece of luggage. Plus, the cover is metal reinforced so it adds a bit of protection to the speaker, and also packs magnets to turn the speaker on when opened, or off when closed.

And it's a tough mo-fo of a speaker as well. We were shown videos of it being tested in the labs, resisting salt-fog, sand, wind, and moisture. Oh, and a wacky looking button pressing machine. It's also got end-caps made from automotive-grade chrome, so it'll handle the odd drop or knock too.

But it's all well and good it looking good, and being durable - but it needs to sound good too. But there's no issues in that department. It sounds superb. We tested it with an array of musical genres and it handled them all fantastically.

And that's because it is packing some serious audio tech in its small little chassis. The SoundLink boasts four low-profile neodymium transducers, dual-opposing passive radiators, with a patented waffle-shaped surround, and Bose's digital signal processing algorithms.

The result is a mini speaker, with a sound that's anything but mini. We were actually blown away with just how powerful a punch it packed.

Battery life is good too. You'll only get 3 hours or so at full volume, but crank that down to around 75 per cent and you're looking at at least 8 hours. A full charge whilst listening takes around 2 hours.

Available now, the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker costs £249.99 for the Cordura nylon cover version, or £50 more if you want some leather action. You can also customise your SoundLink with an array of additional covers. Covers in nylon (bright red or royal purple) and leather (burgundy or tan) are available.