MicroSound
Company: Miglia
www.miglia.com
Price: $29.99
My first reaction after seeing Miglia’s MicroSound speaker for the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle went something like, “Wow, that is really small.†Based on the size of the speaker, the fact that it runs on 1 AAA battery, and my past experience with small battery operated speakers my expectations were not high.
To my surprise, the MicroSound performed much better than expected. I could not believe how loud such a little speaker can get.
Of course, volume means nothing if the speaker does not sound good, which it does. Does it sound perfect? No. In fact, it is a little metallic sounding. The metallic sound is really evident when listening to spoken audio (like a podcast), instead of music. I would compare the sound quality to a portable radio, which is fine for most people.
As I mentioned earlier, the size of the speaker is small. Think of a big boombox for a Barbie doll. It is about 2/3 the length of the original iPod Shuffle, and as deep as the Shuffle is wide. The height of the MicroSound is about the size of a nickel.
This makes the MicroSound a great portable speaker system for your iPod. It fits easily into a pocket, and is very lightweight. It is the perfect speaker to take to work or for a hotel room. I could even see it as a speaker for the iPod in the car.
The MicroSound is made for the iPod Shuffle and the iPod Nano. I would imagine that the second generation of both of these iPods will work perfectly with the speaker. The iPod sits right on top of the speaker, with full access to all of the controls, and connects via the headphone jack.
I tried the speaker with my 30gb iPod, and it worked fine. I was even able to sit the iPod on top of the speaker without it falling over. The only difference in using the full sized iPod is the that the controls of the iPod do not face the front of the speaker. I guess that is why it is only advertised for the Nano and Shuffle, but it would really connect to any iPod.
You will need one AAA battery (not included) for the MicroSound, and there is a small on/off switch on the side to conserve the battery. The packaging says you get twelve hours of battery life, which isn’t a lot if you are going to use this on a regular basis. You could find yourself replacing batteries daily. For that reason I would suggest investing in rechargeable for use with the MicroSound.
Overall, the MicroSound is a pretty good speaker for the iPod Nanos and Shuffles. It is a bit pricey at $29.99. I would say $19.99 would be a better price. However, if you are looking for a small and portable speaker for your iPod, the MicroSound is something worth considering. It is available in white and black models.
Pros:
Very compact, light weight, and portable
Made for the Shuffle and Nano line, but will work with any iPod
Great volume for something so small
Cons:
Sound is a little metallic, especially with spoken audio
A little overpriced in my opinion
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