Livespeakr iPhone and iPod Touch speaker
The truth is that most iPod speakers aren’t always designed with the iPhone or iPod Touch in mind.
Most iPod speakers these days make the effort to be compatible with all iPod that have the docking ability – this seems to be the standard now. This is fine as it suits most speakers, apart from the Shuffle (sorry Shuffle owners), but also includes the iPhone and Touch.
What this doesn’t take in to consideration is the the portrait/landscape capabilities of the Touch and iPhone, make the most of all the extra capabilites that both devices benefit from or protect the speakers from the ‘rat-at-at-tat’ interference that many speakers suffer when a phone call comes in as they don’t have GSM shielding.
The Livespeakr is one of the first iPod speakers to really design itself around the Touch and the iPhone. This represents quite a risk, as the company is instantly cutting out a big proportion of the overall iPod market, but the risk could pay off if the speaker does the job.
The Livespeakr comes under the category of ultra-portable. When it’s in its storage mode it tucks the speakers in behind the dock itself, the kick-stand that supports the speaker in its upright mode folds up and make the speaker a really compact little package. You’d easily fit it in a daypack or beach bag and still have loads of room left for the other necessities.
Once you’ve arrived at your destination, you can set up the Livespeakr in one of two ways. You can sit your iPod Touch or iPhone in the dock in Portrait mode and the two 1.5inch speaker speaker drivers come out from behind the unit and sit neatly either side of your device. More importantly, you also have the option of orientating your Apple device in Landscape in the speaker dock to make the post of the navigation options that are available to you on you device in this mode, which could be useful if your watching a movie or flicking through your album covers.
The Livespeakr is GSM shielded so there aren’t any unexpected interruptions when listening to your favourite track and thanks to the 3.5mm audio cable that connects the speaker to your device, there’s no groping around for the right adaptor to fit your phone.
Sound wise, the Livespeakr has a bit more volume than you’d expect and puts on a decent performance for its size. Speakers of this size are always going to have their limitations but overall the Livespeakr definitely gives you a respectable sound experience.
There are travel speakers that are cheaper than this one, but it’s a definite plus that the Livespeakr has been designed with iPhone and iPod Touch in mind so is definitely worth a look.
Price: £50 at Amazon
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