Comiso Bluetooth speaker is excellent and under $30: I found out about this one a bit too late to be a holiday gift recommendation, but it will get 2025 off to a fine start!

I was drawn to the Comiso waterproof speaker by the attractive price and excellent reputation, racking up a 4.5 star rating with over 24,000 reviews on Amazon. It's a cylinder-shaped speaker that resembles a tall soda can, sized so it can fit in the water bottle holder of a bicycle. It is well-balanced and lightweight, with simple controls on the top. At the regular price of $39.99 it sells for about half of a similarly sized quality Bluetooth speaker, which made the discounted offers I have seen even more compelling. This is with the caveat, of course, that it actually sounds good! I bought one out of curiosity, hoping it would be good enough to recommend.

The Comiso delivered the good sound I expected given its reputation. Everything was very clear and transparent, especially voices. In this sense it was one of the best small speakers I have tested, making it an excellent choice for listening to podcasts, the news, talk radio, internet radio or the satellite radio app. Older listeners are sure to appreciate this vocal clarity, and it makes the speaker a great choice for YouTube and streaming video watching, too.

Bass is easily controlled by adjusting the distance between the speaker and the surface behind it. I got the best results about 3 inches out from the wall. You can even pair two of them for stereo sound with wide separation, but I only had one speaker so I could not try this feature.

The Comiso sells on Amazon and it possible to get one for just a bit over $25. A checkbox coupon reduces the $39.99 price by 10%, and the code COMISO25 reduces the price 25% for a total of $26.91. A good speaker for a bit over $25 is a pretty good way to start 2025!

Q. I have not seen you write about cable vs. satellite television in a long time. I do remember that you favored satellite over cable, but I think I read that a long time ago. Do you still have a preference?

—E.H., Bethel Park, Pennsylvania

A. These days I don't get many, if any questions about cable and satellite comparisons, which is why you have not seen it discussed in the column. I do get a lot of questions about cutting the cord and ditching cable or satellite, and most of those revolve around antennas and receiving local channels and combining it with streaming services. Three people in my immediate circle have done just that, and don't seem to miss cable at all. I have subscribed to Dish uninterrupted since 1996, but I must admit that given the rising costs I have strongly considered cutting the cord myself. I need a cable or satellite feed to evaluate televisions, so for now it stays.

When I started writing the column in 2002, satellite had an edge over most cable providers. Digital satellite delivered resolution close to DVD quality. Cable, even digital cable, approximated the picture quality of VHS tape. Today, you get great picture quality from either cable or satellite. You can check J.D. Power for television service provider satisfaction based on region. Currently cable has the edge over satellite, and live TV streaming has the highest satisfaction of all. I definitely get a better picture watching "Chopped" streamed from Max than off my Dish Hopper, and streamed NFL games look better than the satellite box, too.

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