(Hotel) room filling sound from a portable speaker

by Scott Carmichael on

For my first review here on Gadling, I’m going to show off one of my personal favorites. The Altec Lansing Orbit-MP3 is a 5 ounce (144 grams) portable speaker and it is powered by 3 AAA batteries. It can connect to any device with a standard headphone jack, including the iPod, iPhone and many Blackberry smartphones.

The sound coming out of this thing can only be described as “astounding”. When you play your tunes at full volume, you’ll be staring at the little speaker wondering how on earth it’s able to produce such loud music without sounding like a tin can.

When you set your player to “max”, it really is loud enough to fill a large room, or even keep a group of people entertained outdoors. The speaker can be placed flat on a table or upright, thanks to a small flat spot on the side that prevents it from rolling around. If you take it to the beach, you can even put the speaker along with your music player inside a Ziploc bag to help keep the sand out.

The speaker itself is the epitome of simplicity; there is only one button (on/off) and no volume control (volume is set on your device). The audio cord is 9 inches long, so your device will always be close to the speaker. Battery life is fantastic, Altec Lansing quote 24 hours of continuous use, and in my experience it really does last that long. Batteries are the only way to power the speaker as it does not have a power jack, so be sure to carry a spare set of AAA’s.

There are several minor issues; The unit does not have a power indicator light, so the only way to tell whether it’s on, is to check the markings on the side of the switch. You’ll also notice that it’s a single speaker, which means you don’t get full stereo audio, but the speaker mixes the left and right channels, so in reality you won’t really notice a thing. And finally, the battery compartment is pretty hard to open, it’ll take a couple of attempts to find the easiest way to remove the back cover to swap out the batteries. Other than those minor quirks, it’s a brilliant way to listen to music when you are on the road, it’s small and light enough to add to any carry on bag.

The Altec Lansing Orbit-MP3 costs $29.95 (MSRP) and you can find it at your local Bestbuy or at Amazon.com for just $24.94 (price at time of posting).

Two for the Space of One

by Dave Luna on

As a computer nerd, I’m doomed to walk the earth with as many electronic gadgets as possible. In fact, I was once questioned by Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport security why I had two MP3 players and two cell phones. In spite of that (almost) international incident, I think there has never been a better time than now for gadgety-type traveling.

Companies today are marketing products that can charge multiple devices in multiple environments with just one plug. This means one less Blackberry plug in your carry-on and more space for souvenirs!

Gomadic markets a number of two-device chargers for use in either home or auto. These chargers support cell phones, PDAs, and MP3 players. About $40 to $50.

iGo sells dual-device power adapters that can be used on airplanes, on AC current, and in cars. They have models that can charge laptops in addition to a small device like a phone, MP3 player, or PDA. Ranges from $30 to $120.

Finally, the VersaCharger PRO consolidates all of your USB device chargers into one small adapter usable on a plane, in a car, or in a hotel. Around $25 to $30.

By the way, you get extra points if you attach any one of the previously mentioned chargers to the Tumi adaptor Erik mentioned. (Oh, and check the comments of that post to see cheaper Tumi alternatives.)

Creative’s Zen Player

by Erik Olsen on

Yes, you are wedded to your ipod. I understand. But there are alternatives out there. You love your little gleaming white boy of musical and video joy, but let me introduce you to the Creative Zen Vision M mp3 player. At $325 the Zen is a bit smaller than before and it will play not only your music (except the stuff you bought on itunes, of course. But also videos, photos and music All this on a 2.5″ high-definition LCD full-color screen.

The Zen Vision M has a lot of capacity, holding some 120 hours of movies, many thousands of photos, 15,000 songs, and it plays slide shows. And here is something the ipod doesn’t have. The Zen includes an FM radio & recorder, personal Organizer, and voice recorder. So see, there are alternatives to the ipod.

Creative Zen Mp3 Player

by Erik Olsen on

The love
that people show for their ipods is sometimes downright creepy. I’ve seen people on the subway caressing their curvy
little music players as if they were newborns. Let’s face it, the marketing folks at Apple have really pulled off the
scam of the century, luring all of us into building our music libraries with itunes songs that we will never be able to
play on another MP3 device other than ipods. I am one of these suckers, I admit. And I may just go buy one of the new
video ipods rumored to be in development…should the rumor be true. But maybe not. If and when I go out in search of
another MP3 player, I might just defect from the ipod brigade, lest I become a prisoner of the Guantana-tunes prison.

You see, the fact is, there are many fine MP3 players on the market that are just as good if not better
than the ipod. If flexibility is a factor in your decision-making, you might do yourself a favor by looking around a
bit at what else is out there. When I was in Vegas for CES this year, I had the chance to take a look at one player
that I really came to adore. The Creative Zen
Vision M mp3 player is sleekly designed, easy to use and very cool. The device plays audio and video in numerous
formats, including MP3, WMA, and WAV audio files and MPEG4, WMV, DivX, and XviD. There is also, and this is a big deal,
I think, a built-in FM tuner and a voce recorder. Why the ipod has never integrated these two features is, in my
opinion, a joke.

So if you’re out there song some portable player shopping, do give this player a
look. It would make a very nice addition to your gadget collection and a fine travel companion to boot.