Posts Tagged portable music
Foxl: Little Speakers with Big, Big Sound
Even though I’m very much a nerdy, tech kind of gal, I’m old enough (yeah, I’m a geezer) to still be blown away by the magic of technology. I don’t take it for granted. Soundmatter’s extremely portable Foxl speaker unit left me amazed by both the functional coolness and the quality of sound they produce. All that great sound coming from that little block of hardware? And look, no wires! Wow.
The first thing I noticed when I unpacked the Foxl speaker unit was how heavy it was for such a small gadget. My nerdy mate said something about magnets and wires and good speaker quality; I just though, huh, it’s heftier than you’d expect such a tiny block of hardware to be. This isn’t to say it’s too much to carry around, rather that I noticed right away that the unit is kind of dense. It’s 9.5 ounces, to be exact, a little over half a pound.
In the box, there’s a stuff bag, a little square of sticky mat (to keep your unit from dancing away), and a bunch of plug adapters. There’s also a USB charger cable and a headphone jack — you can plug the speakers directly into any standard mini-jack. I plugged the unit in, waited for it to charge, and collected some iThings to test out the Bluetooth connectivity — once the battery is fully charged, you can use the speaker unit with no wires at all.
My iPhone found the speakers right away. In case you’re not clear how these things work, you set the connection from your playback device, not from the speaker unit. On my Apple gadgets, this is in Settings>General>Bluetooth. On my Windows netbook, the Bluetooth menu is in the sys-tray (the little box in the lower right corner). In the Bluetooth menu, you’ll see the Foxl — selecting it “pairs” the speakers with your playback device. You’ll know the speaker unit and (for example) your phone are connected because the light on the front of the speaker unit flashes green. Every device pairs differently — you may need to check the documentation that came with your phone, netbook, whatever, to get the connection set properly.
Once the pairing is complete, you’re good to go. Find an audio file and play it back. You’ll be amazed. I was stunned at how bright, clear, and full the sound was. I tried a few things — playing podcasts (my phone is stuffed with them), listening to ripped CDs from my music library, streaming my local NPR affiliate… I especially enjoyed the combination of the Pandora app on my phone with the Foxl speakers, and again, I was truly surprised by the sound quality. I also used the speakers while watching a movie on my Mac… wow. Don’t take my word for it, though, check the reviews page on the Soundmatters site.
The Foxl unit does work as a speaker/mic for your phone, too. The Bluetooth button on the front of the speaker unit can be used to answer and hang up calls — or you can use the phone itself. The device automatically overrides any other playback and gives priority to your phone call.
You’ll need to be aware of distance — if you move the speaker unit too far away from the transmitting device, the signal degrades or the connection drops. It’s no problem to restore it, just know that proximity matters. You also need to keep a clear line between the speaker and the transmitter, the signal dropped when I walked around a corner into the next room. If you switch devices — I went from my phone to my iPad, you may need to “unpair” the first device, or simply turn the Bluetooth off on the the device you’re no longer using.
There are travelers who simply must have their music with them wherever they go. This isn’t a substitute for headphones (manners, people, manners) but if you’re in place where it’s cool to have music playing, the Foxl speaker unit is freaking fantastic. I love the idea of listening to radio theater (a personal favorite) in the tent at night when we’re camping. It’s great for music at BBqs and picnics. It’s way better than 90% of those hotel clock radios where you dock your phone at night. And it’s small — it fits in your hand. (Dimensions from the specs: 143 x 55 x 35 mm or 5.6 x 2.2 x 1.4 inches.) Audiophile travelers will love it, as will anyone who just wants bigger brighter sound from their devices without giving up much space.
There are two Foxl units available, only one has Bluetooth connectivity. I’d go for that one and avoid the wires. You can get them directly from Soundmatters or, check Amazon for the latest prices.
Posted by Pam in General Gear on June 3rd, 2011
Altec Lansing Orbit Speaker – Comes with Bass!
We’ve reviewed a lot of different portable speakers on this travel gear blog because it’s something a lot of travelers consider an essential item. Earbuds are nice, but they’re not so hot for social situations or when you’re just hanging out in your room. This Altec Lansing Orbit IM237 one does something few others manage though: it cranks out the bass.
I like the little travel speakers like the iHome IHM7 and X-mini Capsule Speaker and they certainly don’t take up much room, so for most travelers they’re “good enough.” But it’s hard to make out the low end rumble on anything and forget the rich full-spectrum sound you get with a good pair of computer speakers. Good speakers are heavy though and while Corbett Barr put them in his 5 Things I Always Pack post, most people on the move aren’t that dedicated.
So consider this Orbit speaker a good compromise between tiny/lightweight and big/heavy. It’s significantly bigger and it weighs more (close to a pound), but the sound difference is huge. It’s just hard to get any bass out of a tiny speaker with a tiny magnet unless it’s stuck in your ear canal.
This IM237 model is actually the second version of the Altec Lansing Orbit I’ve reviewed. The first version also had good sound, but it was a poorly-designed pain in the rear in actual use. (See the review from the original version of this blog here: old Orbit speaker.) It got to the point where the only way I could turn it on and off was to insert/remove the batteries.
Speaking of batteries, that’s still the main drawback of this one. It uses 3 AAA batteries instead of something built-in that can be recharged by outlet or USB. Three being an odd number, that means you’re left one short or with one extra from a retail pack, including the rechargeable ones. Though they’ll supposedly go “up to 24 hours” without running out, that’s still a lot of landfill acid waste over time if you’re not carrying a battery charger along.
Otherwise though, this model is vastly improved. There’s a simple on-off button on the side instead of the odd method the older version used. It feels far more solid and better made, plus it’s dead simple to use: the volume is controlled through your player. Since it just uses the headphone jack, it’ll work with any type of portable MP3 player. It retains the ability to wrap the cord around the bottom and tuck it in, plus it comes with the nice carrying case with carabiner pictured here.
The big reason to get this model though is the sound. When I plugged in cheap computer speakers, then my iHome capsule speaker, and then this to test the difference, the result was, “Holy crap!” There was nothing subtle about the improved audio output. Even the official site for this doesn’t list the actual audio specs like frequency range, so you’ll have to take my word for it—or you can read the close to 300 5-star reviews on Amazon for this speaker. Trust me, it cranks.
The Orbit comes with a one-year warranty. The list price is $40 and I’ve seen it for that much in retail stores, but you can find it for $25 or less online. Considering the sound that comes out of this thing, that’s a bargain.
Posted by Tim L. in Travel Light on October 27th, 2010
IPod Touch Great For Travel (Except for One Thing)
This past spring I gifted myself a 32GB iPod Touch. For the most part, I’ve been quite happy with it and think it’s a good tool for travelers. It’s great fun to play games on, I can surf the web or check e-mail at a Wi-Fi hotspot, and I can make Skype calls with it using the earbuds with a mic that came with it. It’s also been great carrying around a currency converter, several Spanish language learning programs, various dictionaries, and a weather report all in one little device.
The Touch is basically a thinner, sleeker iPhone—but without a phone. That means once you buy it, you’re done. AT&T won’t be reaching in your pocket every month asking for more. When you are traveling around the world, you don’t have to worry about roaming charges, SIM cards, or being addicted to checking your messages every five minutes. You just need to find a Wi-Fi hotspot to do most of the things people do while being connected with an iPhone. To make a call, you need to use Skype. (Get a subscription and you can call home a lot for just a few bucks a month from anywhere.)
No phone means this device is a little less convenient, but I don’t consider the lack of a regular phone an issue. Phones come with monthly bills and demand your constant attention. I haven’t been bothered by the lack of a camera either. I can take better photos with a real camera anyway. (The 4th generation one out now adds a camera.) There are some other little annoyances that are caused by issues related to software and not the device: you can’t use a lot of services like Pandora and Netflix outside the U.S. The keyboard is harder to use than one on a Crackberry, but these days most travelers are carrying a laptop or netbook for real typing anyway.
So what’s that one thing that’s a big problem?
The battery life SUCKS! I don’t just mean it’s kind of bad. I mean it sucks like a [insert your favorite p%rn, bad TV, or airline reference here]. The power disappears faster than your moocher friend when the bar tab arrives. The battery runs down faster than an office worker after four double espressos have worn off.
If you carry an iPod Touch with you when you travel, be prepared to add one chore to your list that will need to be performed daily, probably even twice daily: looking for an outlet for recharging your battery. This being Apple, there’s no way to carry a spare. When the battery starts deteriorating, you can’t just buy a new one at a phone shop either. You must find an Apple store. Good luck with that outside of the U.S. and Europe.
In all fairness, the new 4th generation version has a battery with 15% more capacity. They say that handles 7 hours of video, but since I’ve never managed more than 4 hours with mine, even right out of the box, I doubt it. When I or my daughter is playing games, the battery life is akin to my laptop’s—about three hours. Put it this way: I still carry my regular iPod along with my iPod Touch because I still want to be able to listen to music at the tail end of a full day of planes and buses. I know with my Touch the batter will be dead halfway through a long flight, even with wireless turned off.
I’m currently living in a Mexican apartment with the same plugs and current as in the U.S., so I’m pretty happy with my Touch. If I were backpacking around the world though, I’d probably get tired of being an outlet slave. My Kindle will go for weeks, so I guess it would be fewer apps, more reading. Not necessarily a bad thing…
You’ll pay up for the upgrades in the 4th generation model. The newest iPod Touch 64GB model is selling between $400 and $500 (the price of a full-featured netbook with all the bells and whistles) and the 32GB Touch is around $300.
There are a bazillion reviews out there telling you what’s better about the new model, but here are the basics: the resolution is crisper, you get a camera on the front and back and can shoot video, and there’s now a mic. That mic may not be a good thing if you use Skype a lot though—you’ll be holding the device up to your mouth or using speaker phone instead of using the 3rd generation earbuds with a mic, which is much more natural for conversations.
If you don’t mind last year’s model and won’t use the camera much, you can get the older 64 MB model for about $70 less at Amazon and the price should drop more soon, based on Apple’s sale patterns. It’s still expensive, but there’s nothing else out there that’s like it.
Posted by Tim L. in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on September 30th, 2010
Apple Power: XtremeMac Car Charger
Question: What good are your iPhone, iPod and iPhone when the batteries run down?
Answer: Not much.
We all know Apple doesn’t “trust” us enough to allow user-changeable batteries. So the XtremeMac Incharge Auto fills the void to keep your gadgets charged in the car.
Of all the products I’ve reviewed here on Practical Travel Gear, this is one of the simplest. And simple is good, especially if you’re traveling with more than one Apple device.
The Incharge Auto features a one-piece design with a plug for a 12-volt auto outlet, a four-foot cord and the familiar Apple charging plug. There’s an LED that lights up for a good connection. The 2.1-amp charger will charge gear quickly. And there’s a built-in safety fuse to protect expensive iPhones, iPods and iPads from voltage spikes.
So the XtremeMac Incharge Auto charges three things Apple and also provides an extra measure of safety. And that’s important.
The Incharge Auto retails for $24.99 on the XtremeMac website.
It’s especially handy for those who carry more than one Apple gadget on the road. And considering some of the alternatives—like listening to commercial-jammed FM radio if your iPod runs out of power—makes it look even more attractive.
Check prices at Buy.com
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on September 20th, 2010
X-Mini HAPPY Speaker/Music Player: Pleasing Sounds on the Road
Earlier, I discovered the X-mini portable speakers that can give great sound to a music player or laptop, while taking up little room in the suitcase.
Now, X-mini has come up with another clever device for travelers—the HAPPY, a small capsule speaker that includes its own MP3 player.
That’s right. Just put some of your favorite tunes on an SD/SDHC memory card and the HAPPY will happily play them from its built-in speaker.
The HAPPY sounds every bit as good as the X-Mini Capsule Speaker. And it’s very easy to use.
My Windows computer recognized it as a mass-storage device when connected through a USB port. So I just copied some of my favorite tunes to an SDHC card. The HAPPY can also be used as a card reader.
One control turns the device on and off, controls play and pause, skips tracks forward or back and adjusts the volume.
There’s also a mute button, headphone jack and mini-USB plug for charging. A two-hour charge provides about 10 hours of playback time. And a cable with a standard stereo miniature plug is included to connect it to a laptop or external music player, or chain together a series of the X-Mini II Capsule Speakers for even bigger sound. The capsule expands with a twist for improved bass response.
The only drawback is there’s no way to see a menu of the songs on the card when the player is not connected to a computer. But it’s easy enough to just load the songs you want on the card, and the track control still lets you skip forward or repeat a song. It’s possible to store hundreds or even thousands of songs on a card, depending on the size and recorded bitrate.
The X-mini HAPPY retails for $79, with discounts available at Amazon.
It’s hard to find a device that does so much, sounds so good and still fits in the palm of your hand. When you’re packing light and still want to carry your favorite tunes, the X-mini HAPPY will make you just that.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on August 30th, 2010
