Sony has a very good reputation. However, I was still surprised at how easy it was to pair this device with my phone, a second iPod, and a 3rd iPod. Sound quality is totally off the charts for a device this small!!!

Compact size. Easy to toss into a daypack and take it on hikes.
Sound quality is excellent, but the volume level is low relatively. But the nice thing is the sound is distortion free even at full volume. Haven’t taken it outdoors yet. Tested it in my study room and am pleased with the sound. I have to play it at full volume though. As the sound quality is distortion free, I am OK with it. The other no-name brand speaker I have is very loud, but to be able to listen distortion free I have to play it at low volume. In comparison, the full volume on Sony sounds much better than the low volume no-name brand speaker.
So, I am going to keep this and return the no name brand one.
Summary: Good for indoors in smaller space, as many others have said, may not be suitable in large open spaces outdoors, like a beach. May be good at quite park, where it will not disturb others who may be enjoying the quietness.

I really like this little speaker. It's small and portable. So, it fits comfortably in a travel carryon and doesn't take up much room. The sound is great. It's loud for such a small speaker. Easily connects to cell phone blue tooth, which makes it even better in my opinion as far as portability.

I haven't used it on the beach yet, but I don't see why it wouldn't work if you were close enough to the wifi.

Size/Portability -5- When the speaker arrived I was a little surprised by the small size of it, I would say it's about the same size in height as an average person's palm. So it's very easy to grip and handle without the little lanyard attached to it. Aesthetically it's very pleasing as well.

Sound -3.7- The most important feature of course, why else buy this if the sound is not good. Although Sony claims that the speaker has extra bass. I would say it does relatively okaayyyyy for it's bass quality. Of course it doesn't have the same moving effect a larger speaker would have, but it still manages to capture that essence from songs and movies. Whenever I test the quality of a speaker, I use the trailers of the Lord of The Rings because they have a wide range of sounds, music, bass, voices, etc.

Battery -5- The speaker has a very good battery life. What more to say?

All in All, I would recommend this speaker to anyone who is looking for something compact, convenient, reliable, and budget friendly. I was able to get it refurbished for 28 bucks and works perfectly. I would rank it slightly under the Bose mini speaker.