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Is the portable speaker that can wirelessly stream music from a smartphone today’s version of an old-school boombox? Some electronics makers hope so.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show companies are offering a medley of mini-speakers, some small enough to hang around your neck, that can blast music and turn a portable smartphone or tablet into a small DJ station.

The X-Mini We and X-Mini Me, made by X-Mini, a Singapore-based speaker-maker, are small enough that they can slip into your pocket or hang from a lanyard on your neck. They can be synced with a smartphone using Bluetooth, Near Field Communication or a normal speaker wire.

Darrelle Eng, a company marketing executive, said the speakers should be in stores in the United States by mid-2014 and will cost $40 each. Each speaker lasts 2.5 hours on a full charge.

CES 2014 Dispatches from the International CES in Las Vegas.

X-Mini offers other slightly larger speakers, called the X-Mini Max and X-Mini Uno, which the company said has sold millions of units over the last few years.

Another speaker, the Boomphones Pocket Speaker, is one of the slightly larger devices in the portable speaker category, but also puts out a much bigger sound.

The device comes in a range of fun colors (including green, purple, pink and black) and is 22mm thick. These speakers use a new technology the company calls “360-degree sound,” which is basically a way to describe sound that seems as though it is surrounding you.

The battery life lasts up to eight hours and can be charged with a Micro-USB cable. The Boomphones Pocket Speaker costs $100.

It is clear that some of the companies making these portable speaker systems are going after the Jawbone Jambox, which has grown in popularity over the last year and is sold in a number of retail outlets, including Apple stores.