ForeverGeek » speaker

Logitech launches laptop speaker bar: Z205

andy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:00:52 +0000

Remember the times before laptops came with webcams as standard and you had to clip one on to the top of the screen?

Well, it seems Logitech has applied this approach to the latest set of portable speakers. The Z205 is a speaker ‘bar’ that attaches to the top of your notebook’s screen and delivers a much more powerful sound than you’d expect from the internal speakers, while you don’t have to worry about standalone speakers disappearing while you’re on the move.

The picture shows the speaker centrally located, which is probably the optimal position. However, if you have a laptop with a built-in webcam you may well have to site it to the left or right so it doesn’t obscure the lens.

It’s not a huge speaker, though, measuring just 1.35 x 2.5 inches. It connects up via USB for both power and audio. Available for around £35 ($50).

The only thing that worries me is that the specifications page makes no mention of the power output or anything else. Either that means it’s really poor, or it’s a silly oversight by the usually attentive company.

Product page

Compact "Eggy" speakers: your ultra-portable audio drivers

andy — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:59:55 +0000

Compact speakers may not pack the most punch for your music system, but what they might lack in power they make up for in portability. And, having said that, there are some pretty decent mini speakers around that are more than a match for their bigger cousins.

Take a look at S&J’s new “Eggy” speaker. We can easily see why it has the name, and it’s not far off the size of a chicken’s egg either, because it can fit into the palm of your hand.

Unscrew the two halves of the egg and you have two speakers complete with their own mini stands.

The units are driven from micro-mini 20mm units and feature a digital amplifier powering two watts of output per channel. Available in white and baby shades of blue and pink, because we know how important cutesy colours are.

If you want some music on the move, the “Bike Speaker” does exactly what its name suggests. Safer than wearing headphones while cycling, the speaker is based on the same technology as the Eggy and can be mounted on the handlebars. Additionally, the unit features an FM radio, watch and stopwatch.

The units will be shown off at this year’s CeBIT show in Hanover, Germany.

Melodydrop: Self-righting water droplet speaker concept

andy — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:08:48 +0000

Here’s a really interesting concept design for a dock and speaker for the original iPod Shuffle.

Designed by Rhea Jeong and inspired by water droplets and musical notation, it has a tumbler toy built in to the base meaning that it will always self right itself.

In addition, spinning or pushing the speaker in different directions can be used to operate the iPod. Left and right (with the Shuffle facing you) would skip back and forward a track, front to back would pause and resume the music, while spinning it one way or the other would adjust the volume.

How about one for the iPod touch?

Aqua Soundz Speaker is waterproof and wireless

andy — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:49:56 +0000

There are some pretty nifty speakers around, but here’s one that’d be equally at home in your bath or shower as in your outdoor pool.

The stereo Aqua Soundz Speaker (I’ll forgive them using the letter ‘z’ in the title to make it sound cooler) will happily float on water or sit on any flat surface.

Not only that, but you don’t have to worry about getting the sound source wet because it comes with a transmitter with a wireless range of around 50 metres (150 feet) that you plug into any audio source using a standard 3.5mm jack.

It costs around £40 (about $60).

Product page (via The Insider)