Once a high priced item, Bluetooth speakers have officially hit the inexpensive novelty stage. One such Bluetooth speaker novelty is the 1byOne Magic Plasma Wireless Bluetooth Speaker (click for 1byOne Website or Amazon shop).

The 1byOne Magic Plasma Wireless Bluetooth Speaker outputs a modest three watts for decent, if mostly bass-free sound quality, and has a Bluetooth transmission distance of approximately eight to 10 meters (26 to 32 feet). The novelty part is the “magic electrostatic plasma lighting” globe on the top portion of the unit. It’s a well known and cool effect and something you can influence by touching the outside of the globe. Of course, since it’s integrated with the speaker, you can set the unit to automatically respond to the music input, which, beyond the standard Bluetooth connection that should work with most Bluetooth-capable mobile devices and computers, also has a Micro SD (TF) card slot for MP3s, as well as allows for line in via a standard 3.5mm stereo audio jack (AUX). A short 3.5mm male-to-male cable is included in the package if you need one.

There’s also a mini-USB port on the unit that provides the sole source of power from any standard DC 5V USB port or USB AC adapter (not included). A short, standard mini-USB cable is included for this purpose if you don’t already have one handy.

The 1byOne Magic Plasma Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is available in two styles, one with blue accents and one with red. My review unit has the red accents, which, I must say, looks great. Size-wise, it’s nice and compact at 4.2 x 4.2 x 8.4 in (106 x 106 x 213 mm).

Even if you don’t necessarily want to use the speaker portion much, the plasma effect, which doesn’t require audio input to work, is fun all on its own. While 1byOne recommends that you don’t keep the plasma effect running for more than five hours at a time due to possible overheating of the globe, I actually left mine on for more than 24 hours during this past Halloween to no ill effect.

At only $23.99 right now on Amazon, it’s definitely a fun, versatile novelty worth investigating.

Thanks to 1byOne for the review unit.