Bang & Olufsen launch B&O Play and Beolit 12

Ultra-exclusive brand Bang & Olufsen has launched a playful new brand aimed at bringing its products and technology to the masses that are not quite in the ultra-exclusive set the parent brand positions itself in. The first product looks like a cracker.

To be truthful, we don’t actually know what the first product looks like, but cracker is as good as anything. A picnic basket perhaps? B&O Play is the name of the new brand and the Beolit 12 will be its first product. Its a manly product in a metrosexual kind of way.

The B&O Play Beolit 12 is a simple music player that features Apple Airplay for wireless listening from your iDevice, USB and line-in connection options in case you haven’t yet gone the way of the air and built-in power supply with rechargeable battery so you can take it with you into the great outdoors. You can charge your iDevice from the Beolit 12 and the battery will give you up to eight hours of music playback.

“With its unsurpassed sound performance and striking design, we believe Beolit 12 will resonate with both Bang & Olufsen enthusiasts and now a new and wider customer demographic, due to its convenience, price point and fashion-forward style” said Tue Mantoni, CEO Bang & Olufsen. “We believe it bridges a gap in the market by delivering a high quality listening experience and still having the convenience of playing music from ones portable digital device or smart phone.”

In case you were wondering, the name is a nod to the retro Beolit radios which filled houses with the wonderful sounds of the wireless back in the 1960s. Its 120 watts digital Class D power amplifier system individually drives two 2-inch tweeters and a 4-inch woofer making it a bit more powerful than the Beolit of old.

Being a B&O branded product, you would expect the hand assembled aluminium case to be topped off with nothing less than Italian full-grain leather.

You can grab a B&O Play Beolit 12 for $990 in a range of colour options.

Web: B&O Play