Review: Livespeakr portable speakers

Looking for a set of speakers for your summer fun? Livespeakr has you covered. Unlike some other speakers which are individual units, Livespeakr is more like a miniature boom box consisting of one cohesive unit that fits an iPhone or iPod touch perfectly.

The receiving base fits an iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS perfectly and the iPhone 4 also works but it's not as snug a fit. I also used the Livespeakr with the much thinner iPod nano and although it didn't snap in, it worked just fine. Then it's just a matter of plugging in the audio input and turning the speakers on.

The sound is relatively loud for such small drivers and will easily fill any room. The Livespeakr sounds great at the beach and on the boat, however it's not designed to rock a large party with lots of people, you'll need more horsepower for that. My favorite feature is that it's self-contained. It's convenient to have everything in one compact unit because there's less parts to keep track of and potentially lose. The internal Lithium-Ion battery runs for up to 16 hours according to the manufacturer but I haven't been able to test that claim because the Livespeakr easily outlasted any of my day trips to the beach.

LiveSpeakr can slide open for slightly more audio separation and the iPhone or iPod touch can be oriented in portrait or landscape mode, the latter being best suited for handheld gaming. Rounding out this impressive package is an aluminum kickstand that allows you to view the screen at one of three different angles -- great for movie time. I found that the moving parts can get a little tough to expand after exposure to sand, but that kind of comes with the territory. Keeping the speakers in the included pouch helps keep the sand out of its crevasses.

Livespeakr lists for $80 but the black model is currently on sale for only $50 from Amazon.