Aerielle i2i Folding Portable Speakers

I have reviewed Aerielle’s i2i products before, such as the i2i Stream, that allows sharing tunes from your iPod or other MP3 Player to any other PMP Portable Media Player. It appears that i2i is expanding their MP3 Player accessories with the i2i Folding Portable Speakers.

It was the shape, design, and functionality that sold me. As you can see from the photo, the Folding Portable Speakers have a base station in the middle. What you can’t see is that these speakers can literally pull out, and you can put your iPod in a very convenient place. Those semi-circular shapes are designed to lean against the iPod and hold it in there.

Unfortunately, it is not an iPod dock, so abandon any hopes for charging your favorite Apple MP3 player there. As for the power of the speakers, you will need four AAA batteries that are placed underneath the station. By the way, these AAA batteries are actually included.

All you need to plug in the 3.5mm headphone jack into the headphone jack of the iPod or any other MP3 player, and then turn the speakers on. Turning the speakers off will preserve the battery life. Unfortunately, the 4 AAA batteries are only good enough for about five hours worth of playing time, so you might want to get four rechargeable AAAs if you want this particular product.

The i2i Folding Portable Speakers can also work on a laptop, and they work rather well. The sound quality is a lot bigger than you would think for something the size of a sponge. The size works to its advantage, and it is designed to fit into an ordinary pocket.

The Folding Portable Speakers come with a pouch for some easy portability. They also come with a 3.5 to 2.5 mm adapter for those tiny headphone jacks that you can find on cellular phones. I tried using the adapter on my cellular phone to play a Windows Media file, and it didn’t quite work. The signal kept going bad with terrible feedback.

I was not able to find the i2i Folding Portable Speakers on the i2i website. This was pretty strange, because they seem to be designed to work with the i2i Stream. In short, you could stream the music from your MP3 Player into these portable speakers with the Stream.

NEW PIONEER INDASH

Pioneer Electronics is a big name in car and home theater products. The company had announced its latest in-car navigation device called the AVIC-Z110BT. The top-of-the-line in-dash navigation system allows simulations map and route guidance.

The unit allows users to control and iPod or iPhone and a Bluetooth enabled cell phone at the same time. Traffic, weather, and local information are provided via MSN Direct tuner integration. The large 7-inch touchscreen is motorized and has CD and DVD playback capability.

The navigation device features simulated highway signs that appear when drivers get near turns for better directional awareness at intersections. The device also allows drivers to input their fuel price and mileage numbers for their vehicle allowing the device to calculate the lowest cost routers to take on a trip. The DVD feature can also send video to optional rear seat monitors. The unit is set to launch in July for $1,600.

Via Pioneer