Brooklyn-based Pyle Audio has been making speakers and other audio paraphernalia for the last 50 years (if you haven’t heard of Pyle, it’s probably because they seem to spend comparatively little time or effort on marketing; just look at their website).

Pyle has a lot going on—home, car and even motorcycyle/bicycle audio are some of the pies the company has its fingers in. The company has also makes a bewildering array of waterproof audio toys, like headphones and Bluetooth speakers. While that’s nothing new, their latest gadget is a little more unusual: The SurfSound-Play is a waterproof phone case equipped with its own mini speaker.

You can’t get Altec Lansing’s new The Jacket iMW455 Bluetooth speaker/speakerphone from anyone other than Verizon, which explains the red and black skins the Jacket comes with.

Don’t like red or black? No problem — because, like a moulting lobster, The Jacket’s special trick is its ability to swap skins. The speaker comes with the two free skins, with more colors available for a price — though we’re not yet sure which colors or how much.

I never make snarky remarks about gadget’s name (well, almost never). It’s tough enough being a marketing guru — what with the treacherous task of having to choose font colors for product brochures or painstakingly constructing diabolical puzzles that keep the purchaser occupied for hours as he tries desperately to separate the gadget from its box — without some jerkwad tech blogger jeering at you.

But if there were a product I’d wince at and say “really?” when I looked at the name, it’d probably be the MobiAria (but I won’t. I won’t!)

It’s unlikely that the Jawbone Jambox will be shoved off its throne anytime soon; not necessarily because it’s the best-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker out there, but because it was here first, and it made a huge splash (in part because, yes, it sounds pretty good).

But I were to bet on a challenger, I might put my money on the smart new UE Boom. Not only is it ruggedized against drops and splashes, but it’s armed with two very unusual tricks.

iHome iBT24

Yeah, that’s a bit of sarcasm up there in the hed; there’s obviously no lack of choice regarding Bluetooth speakers. This year’s CES exploded with Bluetooth, and it doesn’t seem a day goes by that a manufacturer doesn’t release another model.

iHome is more about, well, more; so instead of releasing one, they’ve released four.