As I was recently sent another package of goodies to review form the good folks at Verizon, I am very excited to say that the next few blogs will be my opinions on products ranging from speakers to cell phones to fitness trackers.

Today I’ll be reviewing the Beats Pill.

Beats by Dr. Dre are a brand of product that campuses everywhere are filled with. We all know what they look like, with the signature “b” logo adorned on every pair of headphones. Beats aren’t just about headwear though, and while I’ve never been interested in the headsets, a product of theirs called the Pill has grabbed my attention for all the right reasons.

Now, I know that Beats can get a bad rap for their high prices. But after my experience with what the Pill offers, I can say that the price is mostly justified. Yes, you’ll pay $200 for this little thing, but it’s worth it in most ways.

The Pill is a portable, small Bluetooth speaker with more options than most of its competitors on the speaker market. For one, it’s got a crazy amount of audio options for something so small. While lots of BT speakers only offer their own speakers and maybe an auxiliary-in jack, the Pill sets a new standard.

On the back of the Pill, you’ll find an “Out” jack, an “In” jack, a NFC (near-field communication; more on that later) chip, a Bluetooth indicator, and the Micro-USB charging port.

The “In” jack is for wired listening if you don’t want to use Bluetooth. This is the same sort of jack that is found in today’s new cars, and it is usually called an “auxiliary.” Literally anything that has a 3.5mm headphone jack can be plugged into this port with the included cable, and all audio is then played through the Pill instead of the device.

The “Out” jack is something spectacular that makes me love this little powerhouse. With this port, the Pill can be hooked up to play its audio to an external system instead of its own four small speakers. For instance, I set this thing up next to my TV entertainment system. I connected via Bluetooth to my Galaxy S3, and then plugged my stereo system into the Pill’s “Out” jack. With that, I could sit on my couch across the room and stream my phone’s music to my stereo system, through the Pill itself.

Now, the above scenario would be pretty useless for someone who has a home theater system with Bluetooth built in. But since most don’t have that, it’s a major draw for the Pill. The ability to output audio not only through its own speakers, but through others as well, is phenomenal.

Let’s talk about the speakers: There are four of them in the Pill’s body, and they are angled slightly upward. More importantly, they sound PHENOMENAL. I have not been impressed by speakers this small since I got my gaming laptop with its exceptional Harmon/Kardons. I can’t exactly tell what each of the four speakers does, but together they produce a sound that can easily fill a medium-sized room at high volume. Speaking of volume, these get LOUD. I actually pushed them so far that I thought I might break them, and I wasn’t even at max yet. I was afraid to go full volume, but you will probably never need to go that far.

Surprisingly, the Pill holds its own with bass. It has amazing highs, lows and beats (pun intended) that powered through anything I threw at it. All of my song genres, different Netflix movies, and different Android games all sounded wonderful with the Pill. And because of its small form factor, I can grab it in one hand and take it no matter where I go around the house. It’s advertised to have around 7 hours of battery life when fully charged.

Speaking of charging, it couldn’t be simpler. Hook it up to a wall outlet with a USB-to-outlet adapter, or ditch the adapter for when you want to hook it up to your computer. Either way, it charges pretty fast and has a cool light at the Micro-USB port that indicates battery status.

I imagine that this would be tons of fun to have in the newsroom at work, or anywhere I go for that matter. Yea, I’ve got my headphones, but sometimes you just want to fill the room with music, and these do that exact task very well.

NFC (near-field communication) is a feature that is found in some phones like the Galaxy S3 and S4. Simply put, it’s a chip in the phone that can interact with other chips in the world. The Pill has such a chip, and it makes pairing simpler than ever. All I have to do is tap my phone against the Pill, and it pairs via Bluetooth instantly. Honestly, not having to put the Pill into pairing mode or enter my phone’s settings is surprisingly nice. NFC avoids a lot of trouble, and it’s yet another premium feature that isn’t found in many places.

The Pill has a very, very premium feel to it, which follows the company’s tradition of making solid products. I agree that some of their headsets are overpriced for what you get. But because of the Pill’s build quality and the insane extra features, this little brick feels worth every cent of the $200 price. All buttons have a great feel and don’t seem like they’d wear out fast. In addition to the buttons mentioned on the back, your standard volume up, volume down, and pairing buttons are all here. The “b” that glows on the front of the Pill is actually a button itself, and it can be used to play, pause, answer calls, and pair devices.

Yep, the Pill can answer calls and act as a remote speakerphone on top of everything else. It’s got a built in mic for taking calls directly at the speaker. While this is a neat feature, it’s not one I would probably find myself using too often. Still, it could come in handy down the road.

To wrap up this great package, the Pill comes with a hiking clip for attaching the amazing carrying case to your backpack, belt, whatever. The case is just as slick-looking as the Pill, and it really accentuates how small yet mighty this thing is.

I don’t think this needs to be said, but I am absolutely blown away with the Beats Pill. I am going out to purchase one soon (I’ve been in the market for a BT speaker anyway); Not since the Galaxy S3 have I loved a demo product so much that I had to buy my own.

The Beats Pill gets a rare 5/5.