Altec Lansing iM-237 Orbit Ultra Portable Speaker for MP3 players (Silver)

This fellow is small, simple and cheap, all good things.When it works, it produces surprisingly good sound, loud enough to fill a room. It does not produce any bass at all, but for NPR or a little relaxation music while travelling, it is perfect, much better than the horrible clock radios in hotel rooms. It connects to anything with a 1/8" socket, such as Android phones, most MP3 players and the little pocket FM radio that I was using. It doesn't even have a volume control; you use the control on your sound source. It doesn't have Bluetooth, but Bluetooth would cut battery life, add expense and possibly hurt the sound, without adding any real function. Not necessary.Unfortunately, it started making a loud static-y howling noise a few weeks after I bought it. It would start producing music fine, then after a few minutes, the howling would start. The howling would continue after you turned down the volume and even disconnected it. I would have to turn it off to make it stop. I eventually realized that the howling was caused by dying batteries. Replacing the batteries eliminates the problem. There is something weird about the amplification circuit that causes that, and it is something I have never seen in any of the dozens of pieces of electronics I have owned. It actually is a design flaw, but one that is easy to fix.Another small flaw is the silver paint, which will begin to scratch and wear off if it is tossed in your luggage. I have kept on the clear plastic sleeve it was shipped in, which looks fine.Some phones or small radios use the headphone cable as an FM antenna, and since this thing replaces the headphones and has only a eight-inch cord, you might need an extension cable to get good FM reception. (Of course, if you listen to MP3s, you won't need one.)All in all, a simple, effective, cheap product. I don't travel without it. It would also be great for laptop presentations, because it sounds better than laptop speakers or the speakers built into projectors.

EDITED 2 DAYS LATER to add: Cool enhancements follow the product review part ;-)**Arg! Edited over a week later because my unit glitched. Please see notes on that AFTER this review because I think it's just a defect with my particular copy of this unit.I actually bought this for audiobook listening without earphones, so I could take it from room to room easily, and not have to shlep my bigger speaker. I did not expect much from it in terms of sound, but wowza! I'm just totally amazed at the sound that comes out of this little thing! It's 3-3/8" across and 2" tall which is bigger than its other two competitors, but as another VERY comprehensive reviewer wrote, comparison video and all, the added size pays for itself hands down in sound quality. Is it going to replace your Bose? Nope. But if you want something downright impressive in terms of sound for size, and to boot with a lanyard and carabiner clip that you can secure through a belt loop as you truck around the house or yard without rubber jammed into your ears, it's a whole lotta bang for the buck. As for music... Crystal Bowersox at high Ipod volume -- outstanding sound. You can hear all background and with some definite depth, and her voice comes through crystal clear. Celtic instrumentals are terrific (cello, violin, mandolin). Percussion comes through quite crisp and impressively, though doesn't have the stomach-thump, obviously, but I'm sure you knew that. Voices come through nothing short of outstandingly. I'm truly kind of blown away by this thing. I'm not suggesting anything disloyal to fellow consumers, but if A.L. advertised it as "phenomenal sound in a tiny package that you can wear" and doubled its price, I'm betting this little thing would be seen walking up and down the beach, lol. Battery only (three AAA) with no AC cord, it has an on/off switch with no volume control so plan on turning on your ipod just to change volume, but that's not a biggie. The earjack cord is short, only 8" door to door which at first dismayed me, but it's actually an advantage if wearing the thing with iPod clipped to your pocket. The cord stows in a workable wind-around with a recessed housing for the earjack plug. Upscale looking unit (dull 2-tone silver) that's not plasticky looking at all, good build overall with a sturdy protective screen over the speaker itself, and its case is a very nice quality in a semi-stiff shape-molded material that will have definite protective value to it, and not any bigger than it has to be to house the unit. The case has a tab with a grommet so it could hang off something also. I'd call this one a real winner!ETA: Okay, 2 things. One is, I wanted to see if I could get a little more depth yet, out of this little speaker. Experiment around in your pots and pans cupboard. I have a Farberware metal mixing bowl, and just for the fun of it I stuck the speaker into that. It amplifies. I wanted a little less treble side effect, and added a dish towel. Move things around and try different containers. You may get a whole lot more out of this little speaker yet.Second thing: The one thing I didn't like about this speaker is no on/off/pause switch without having to turn on my iPod, hit the unlock slider, yadda yadda. More than laziness, if the phone rings or I need an instant pause and don't want to take the time for that, I missed that feature. Well, it dawned on me, I bought a Belkin headphone adapter/controller which I use with my non-apple headphones which gives you volume, fast forward/rewind, next song, previous song and pause. I attached that between my iPod and this speaker, and there's zero compromise in sound. So now anything this little speaker did lack for me is there. All except that it's not a dock that charges, but I ain't even goin' there, lol. However, I must say the reviews on that Belkin are not stellar. People complain that it stops working. Well, I have two of them, and they've been wrapped around my iPod, stashed in and out of my glove compartment, poked, prodded, etc. and for several months. Neither shows any sign of failing in any way.EDIT: My copy of this unit glitched. A week or so after writing this review, I was listening to music in the background, and suddenly I heard a loud hum. Next thing... it sounded like Alvin & the Chipmunks were having a loud spat. I turned it off, then a day later tried it again. Same thing happened after a while (I suspect after it warms up). I'm going to return my copy but I have a feeling it's not all these units, but that I might have just gotten a defective one. Just sayin'.