portable speakers
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Twelve South's BassJump subwoofer improves your MacBook experience via USB, not parachute
The speakers on the MacBook line are generally quite good -- for a laptop. Rock your world they won't, but Twelve South's BassJump might just add that low-frequency kick your unibody workhorse has been missing. The solitary speaker connects via USB and, through an analog-styled tuning app, augments the built-in speakers of the laptop with much-needed bass. If the styling didn't clue you in this is only for MacBooks and, at $80, seems to come at quite a premium over your average set of portable speakers. It's certainly nicer looking.
Retro Cassette Stereo Mini Speaker gives a (tinny) voice to iPods
Those poor, poor speakerless iPod Nanos, Minis and the like -- how long have they had to suffer without a set of ultra-awesome speakers to give life to their music? Sure, there've been plenty of pretenders for the crown, but nothing quite as elaborately detailed as this Retro Cassette Stereo Mini Speaker. You read that right folks, stereo -- that means two, count 'em, two sweetly ornate sources of utterly unimpressive sound. Has the iPhone 3GS got an app for that? 'Course not. Read link details the full features, such as blister packaging (always good to know), and provides you with the means to acquire one in exchange for $32. Most righteous, no? [Via Gear Diary]
Piggy speakers are so cute they make us wish we were still vegetarians
We've seen enough little portable speakers in our day, and we're pretty hard to impress at this point. Now, we're not saying that we're "impressed" with the little ceramic pig speaker that you see in the image above, but... there's something somewhat special about it. While we don't have any specs on this one, we can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that this little speaker's not going to impress even the beginner audiophile, but still, we think it's cute enough to warrant a place on our desk, right between our Fender Mini-Deluxe amp and the tiny reproduction Parrothead visor we made for our Chihuahua. These little porkers (which can be plugged into your favorite PMP for maximum blasting of "Margaritaville" on-the-go) seem to be available in Japan only for the time being, and they run ¥4,725 (about $50). They also come in several different colors -- a photo of the other options is after the break. [Via Technabob]
Devotec Solar Sound Bluetooth speaker hands-on and nano-review
So we've been playing with the Devotec Industries Solar Sound Bluetooth speaker system for a couple days now, and we've got to say we're pretty impressed -- we just wish it could run directly (and indefinitely) off the solar panel, instead of requiring an internal battery that takes 12-24 hours to charge from the sun or four hours to charge off USB. That said, you will get eight hours of decent audio when the battery is full, and it's actually relatively loud -- you'll be more than fine indoors and in quieter spots, although cranking things up all the way results in some audible distortion. Of course, it's A2DP, so setup is a breeze with most Bluetooth devices, including 3.0 iPhones, and you can hook most everything else up with the included 3.5mm headphone cable. (Just keep in mind that Apple doesn't properly support AVRCP, so the forward and back control buttons don't work correctly over Bluetooth.) Not bad for $79 -- and you won't have to burn through endless AAs to take your tunes on those summer picnics and beach trips.
The portable, rollable X-mini II speaker gets a refresh
The kids over at CNET have got their hands on the new X-mini II portable speaker for laptops, PMPs, and the like -- and they've been gracious enough to give us the lowdown. The speaker is an update to the X-mini, incrementally larger than its predecessor and packing a 40mm driver. Powered by a rechargeable battery, this bad boy can be juiced up via mini-USB cable (included) and boasts a pretty impressive eleven hours of run time before it needs to be recharged. And if that weren't enough, several of these guys can be daisy chained together -- so if you should find yourself in your dorm room with nothing to amuse yourself but your iPhone, an acoustic guitar, and some Dave Matthews Band MP3s, you can string up a half dozen or so of these things and have an old fashioned grape jam. Look for the speaker sometime in March, with a probable MSRP of $29.
Sony announces four new desktop speakers and a choir of angels rejoice
Sony has announced that it will be manufacturing and selling at least four more products, contradicting rumors that the company has "packed it in," because "we have enough money, don't you think?" The four new desktop speaker systems will find their homes in the SRS line, consisting of the SRS-M50 (the 5W travel speakers that we first saw last week), the SRS-Z50 (a two piece system featuring a 38mm Neodymium driver unit and "rich bass reproduction"), the SRS-D25 (a 25W three piece set featuring a stylish "hatbox" subwoofer) and the crème de la crème, the SRS-Z100, whose 25W speakers boast "enhanced bass response" and "detailed and crisp high frequencies." Capping off this stunning news, the speakers will be available in a number of stylish colors, including "urban black," "luxury pink," and "blazing red." But not so fast! Pricing and availability will be announced at a later date
Xpod Active Sound speakers put your pocket change to use
These new Xpod Active Sound speakers now available in Korea (and apparently only Korea) likely won't win many points for sound quality, but they at least forge a bit of new ground in pocket change usage, and that's got to count for something. The speakers are also small enough to toss into a bag or pocket and forget about 'em until you want to share a song or, say, a podcast, with someone, and they pack a built-in rechargeable battery that can be topped off using any available USB port. They also shouldn't cause too much heartache if they should mysteriously go missing someday, as they only cost the rough local equivalent of $17, although you can expect to pay a bit more than that if you plan on importing them.[Via technabob]
Targus unveils NXT-based Portable Speaker Book
We've seen some far-out portable speakers, but Targus is keeping it simple with the upcoming Portable Speaker Book. The folding speakers feature NXT flat-panel Balanced Radiator drivers, and can be powered by either four AAs or USB power. We've no word on pricing, but we wouldn't expect to break the bank when these hit the UK sometime this summer.[Via Randomly Accessed]
DLO's iPhone-shielded Portable Speakers
Recognize this sound? "Blip da da blip da da blip da da blip da da bliiiiiiiip." If you answered yes to any of the preceding questions, you may own an iPhone. The little bugger wreaks havoc on your average unsuspecting, unshielded desktop speaker -- and most iPod docks, as it turns out -- emitting audible blasts of interference from up to three or four feet away. Luckily, the DLO Portable Speakers for iPhone don't have that problem, since they're shielded from TDMA interference. You can power 'em off of AAA batteries or an AC adapter, and since they plug into the iPhone's headphone jack, you can use plenty of other audio sources. The speakers detach from the rotating base, and you can even use the setup as a speakerphone if you'd like. They're out now for $50.[Via iLounge]
Xenics Music Cube speakers disassemble, can't conceal their ugliness
Portable speakers always bring with them a few compromises -- namely, they either aren't very portable or they don't sound very good. Korea's Xenics now looks to have come up with a solution to that first problem, however, with its new Music Cube speakers able to be disassembled in order to take up as little space as possible in your gadget bag. Unfortunately, it seems that you may want to keep 'em in there as often as possible, as the company's choice of designs leaves quite a bit to be desired. There's also the small matter of that other aforementioned problem, as these speakers pack a mere 1W apiece. On the upside, that means they don't need an external power adapter, and we assume they won't set you back too much, although there's still no official word on pricing or availability.
Princeton's PSP-312IPIR2: 2.1ch iPod travel speakers
Not likely to be your ordinary set of tin-can, iPod travel speakers, we bring you this 2.1ch setup from Princeton. Conflictingly dubbed the PSP-312IPIR2 (uh, "PSP" Princeton?), this kit appears capable of delivering what the others miss. Namely, a couple of 3W / 4Ω speakers with dedicated 6W / 4Ω subwoofer which can hopefully deliver a little thump when on the go. The bundle brings that "made for iPod" badge of whoredom and delivers a 3.5-mm jack, universal dock with remote, choice of USB / Firewire connectivity back to your PC / Mac, up to 25 hours of continuos play off 4x AAA batteries batteries, and simulated 3D sound at the touch of a button. Best of all, it folds down flat into a 421-gram / 0.93-pound slab (with remote, no batteries) for fairly easy portability. Available in black or white with plenty of that blue LED action for ¥12,800 or about $108 when they hit Japan later this month. Check that sub and folding transformation after the break.[Via Impress]Update: So, Made for iPod isn't the only badge these are wearing; how 'bout trying on rebadge Princeton since these have been out as the Logic3 i-Station for more than a year. Thanks to our readers for the gentle reminder.
Buffalo's USB powered laptop speakers
If you just gotta have the thump only a, uh, 2 x 0.5 watt pair of USB-powered speakers can deliver then by all means, have at these from Buffalo. Dubbed the BSPL-MU09N/SV in a fit of alphabetical vomit, these bezel-attached speakers bring a 4-ohm impedance, 200Hz~12kHz frequency zone, and 3.5-mm stereo-in for excreting that laptop sound. Yours for ¥4,179 or about $36 starting late September, you know, if you're just feeling silly.[Via Impress]
NB-mate USB hub / speaker / power source / charger
The font of gadget goodness that is Thanko just keeps on giving, with the Japanese manufacturer now trotting out its NB-mate multi-function device to make our lives a little easier. A USB 2.0 hub that doubled as a portable speaker system would have been sweet enough, but Thanko takes things even further, with the NB-mate also able act as a power source for any USB-powered device by popping in couple of rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, which themselves can be recharged by plugging the NB-mate into an AC outlet. It's the circle of life, man -- and it'll only cost you fifty bucks.[Via Engadget Japanese]
