x-mini

Which mini-speaker annoys the neighbors most?

The mission is simple: gather three brands of popular mini-speakers and see which is powerful enough to annoy a grumpy building superintendent.

The briefing: I reside in a quiet, courtyard complex in Studio City, Calif. On most Sundays, the residents gather around the pool for a casual barbecue. Such an event recently presented the perfect opportunity to test three mini-speakers: an X-mini Capsule Speaker from ThinkGeek, a Soundmatters foxL Bluetooth Soundbar, and a Cyber Snipa Sonar Portable Mini Speaker to see which could produce enough quality sound to prod our cranky 60-plus-year-old supe to leave his recliner and tell us to knock off the hubbub. Join us, won't you?

To expedite the outstandingly unscientific experiment, I chose Dubstep, which is electronica in the extreme. In fairness, some wouldn't call it music as much as well-organized static. When the uninitiated listen to Dubstep, they're often uncertain if the CD might be skipping. As a bleeding goat will draw the hungry, Dubstep pouring from my iPhone will attract the crotchety handyman if we can get the racket loud enough. … Read more

Original X-mini speaker caps it with nifty refresh

Singapore-based XMI is harking back to its roots with the hamburger-style speaker that started it all--the X-mini. The capsule speaker with its signature accordion middle, which nabbed the company a red dot design award, has gotten a cap. We think it's a nifty upgrade since this not only protects the exposed driver from unintentional hits, but appears to help direct the sound. Also, thanks to a customized driver, the X-mini 1.1 in a recent demo at our Labs projected notably fuller-bodied and much richer sonics than the original.

What we also like is that XMI has brought over … Read more

X-mini capsule speaker goes pink with Hello Kitty

Ready for this? Yes, it's another feline invasion of the lipless kind, this time in the shape of pink and white X-mini Hello Kitty Capsule Speakers. Given that the cat's incapable of articulating anything, this makes for an odd pairing.

Still, Singapore vendor XMI, which dropped by CNET Asia's labs to surprise us with this Kitty outing, believes this to be a sound investment. Its CEO, Ryan Lee, hopes to snag the other half of a demographic that has been predominantly male.

Will the female set see this Hello Kitty mini boombox as a must-have accessory in … Read more

Tiny X-Mini music system: Happy as they come

Finding portable speakers for your iPod or other MP3 player isn't much of a challenge. Manufacturers have made speakers ranging from the pocketable to the boomboxy in terms of size and design. However, if you want a tiny speaker with an MP3 player built right in, look no further than the X-Mini Happy, an itty-bitty portable music player with an all-in-one design. This little unit retails for about $100 and offers solid sound quality and an impressive array of features. If you're in the market for a simple way to share tunes on the go, this product is … Read more

X-Mini Max II speakers: Put these in your box and wrap it

Portable speakers for your MP3 player are easy enough to come by, but the smaller of these often suffer from problematic audio. Every once in a while, though, we come across a supercompact speaker that surprises us. The X-Mini Max II Capsule Speaker is one such model, featuring an innovative, travel-friendly design and surprisingly good sound quality for just $49.95. One thing's for sure: we wouldn't complain if we found one of these under our tree this year.

Read the X-Mini Max II review.

X-mini Max II, Happy to launch mid-September

Five months after the X-mini Max II and MP3-playing X-mini Happy were announced, they're finally ready to ship globally come mid next month. According to Singapore company XM-I, both speakers have had their drivers fine-tuned for better sound playback. Certainly, when we got a demo of the tweaked Max II, it was a blast.

Generation two of the X-mini Max will retail for $59. In addition to the white prototype we saw in April, there will now be two additional color choices: black and red. The volume dial now sits on the cable.

For X-mini fans concerned about the … Read more

X-mini Max II gets a design makeover

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Well, the guys behind the red-dot-winning X-mini capsule speakers are taking a design leap of faith with the X-mini Max II. Instead of the grenade appearance of the Max, the next-gen stereo speakers have taken on a "Star Wars" drone look with cone heads. While we're told the material and colors may be different come the May global launch, the Max II's exposed and angled tops are intended to "open out" the speakers for more focused sounds.

The pumped-up girth also ensures more space for a bigger driver. If we thought the Max was already bombastic enough to wake up a few banshees, CEO Ryan Lee says the Max II will "nearly double" the sonic prowess of the original. That doesn't yet factor in the buddy-jack system where the user can daisy-chain as many X-mini units as he likes to crank up the decibels.

Other than the design makeover, the Max II retains the cool magnetic base design of the former to hold both speakers together, which kind of gives this resculpted X-mini a rather Sony Rolly look. The accordian vacuum bass also remains, to give the Max II its boom. What we did notice missing was the volume dial, with control now relegated to the player that the speakers are hooked up to. … Read more

X-mini II gets an MP3 player

The evolution of the X-mini continues, and in surprising ways. This time, the hardworking folks at Singapore-based outfit XM-I have given their best-selling capsule speaker a music player and an SD card slot. What this simple idea does is turn the speaker into a clever little boombox that sits on your palm, with the happy name of X-mini Happy.

Based on the same design and tweeter size as the big-sounding X-mini II, the Happy is only marginally heavier and larger but a lot more versatile. CEO Ryan Lee told CNET Asia the modular buddy jack from the II will now be a standard feature, so you can daisy-chain as many X-mini II and Happy speakers as you fancy for maximum volume. Battery life is also expected to be similar at about 11 hours for the speaker, and roughly 6 hours for music playback.

We had a demo of the prototype in our Labs. It can play music files off an SD/SDHC card (up to 8GB), revert to speaker function, and even pull double duty as an SD card reader via a supplied mini-USB cable/charger. The Happy is a prototype for now, though XM-I said there'll be only cosmetic tweaks till launch. Following the jump, check out more photos of this lil sound machine which aims to make happy, happy music at its global rollout some time in early Q3. … Read more

XM-I calls an audible, tweaks game plan for X-Mini Max

You've got to give it to the XM-I guys.

Barely three weeks after we reviewed the prototype, the Singapore-based team went back to the drawing board, made a few crucial tweaks, and will now roll out an improved version. The commercial launch may have been pushed forward from March to the end of April (we're told April 28 for Singapore, and the U.K., Australia, and Ireland after that, but no firm dates for the rest of Asia yet). But that's a good thing since we like the fine-tuned version much better.

Improvements now include a thicker, … Read more

Gadgettes 82: The Cake Tech Episode

Have you ever looked at a gadget and thought to yourself: "Self, that would make a mighty delicious cake!" Exactly. No one has. So we go where no gadgette has gone before. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 82

Lampposts mystery solved! (thanks Joe) http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/17/ padded-lampposts-in-london-not-really-being-tested/

Jeff Bezos Kindle cake: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9899249-1.html

Icon watch (easy cake): http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/03/icon_watch_just.html

USB slide show for your computer’s vitals (nice-looking cake): http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9899114-1.html

eMotion’s solar-powered media player http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9899007-1.html… Read more