Bose introduces $149 DIY speaker for kids

There has been a trend among some electronics makers to use educational products to break into the youth market. These tend to be versatile products that children can put together themselves to learn how things work. This is the idea behind the new BOSEbuild, an initiative from Bose Corp., which just launched its first product called the Speaker Cube.

The Speaker Cube is a small, $149 device that comes disassembled so children can learn what goes where. Unfortunately, TechCrunch reported there is not much more to it than that. The speaker cannot really be customized, which means once it is built, that is pretty much all there is. During the initial process, however, it looks like Bose has a handle on how to keep children engaged. It uses a smartphone app to deliver assembly instructions and later serve as a control for the speaker. The app is educational in the sense that it gives some limited information about how electrical currents work to create the sound that comes out of the speaker, but TechCrunch said the knowledge is merely cursory. Depending on the age group, that might not be a big deal.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the product is the price. Bose is relying on the education hook to create a niche product that parents will pay more for. The clear plastic casing looks like something that could be produced by a 3D printer, while the other parts do not look especially expensive.

It is not hard to find decent Bluetooth speakers coming out of China today costing about $30. These speakers might not be of the high caliber Bose is known for, but the quality is still acceptable to many. The kind of audio transmitted via Bluetooth tends to be limited, anyway. Children are also not likely to be picky audiophiles. Toys can be great ways to learn, but $150 might be too much to spend to teach a child the basics of how a speaker works. Parents might be more convinced to buy a few $30 speakers and disassemble one with their child.