Here is a novel and useful gadget, especially when travelling, and it is bound to get a few glances as you pop it open. It’s the XMI X-mini II Mini Speaker.

When we first opened this we were surprised how good the sound was and then we discovered that by twisting the unit – it pops open to reveal an external resonator which gives a much fuller bass sound.

It has a little trick up its sleeve you see – in the form of a compact capsule design – so it starts off in a ball shape for convenient carrying then twists and pops open to reveal the fuller speaker, to close simply push and twist.

 

For something so small and light, it weighs just 83g and measures just 60x60x44mm (when closed), it is amazing how much sound comes out of this units 1.9W 40mm driver loudspeaker output.

The depth of the sound is enhanced by the Expanded BXS (Bass Xpansion System) to give a rich deeper sound, all with a little twist.

This was a reddot design award winner in 2008 and it shows – the X-mini looks pretty stylish – with a red chrome-like recess in the top of the unit and a pleasing overall design.

If you ever saw the Disney movie, The Black Hole, the X-mini reminds a little of the space faring robot V.I.N.C.E.N.T who always buried his head into his body when he was thinking.

You can even connect a row X-minis together using a modular “buddy jack” design, so pop the master jack into the sound source then pop the jack of another X-mini into the audio socket of the master.

The standard 3.5mm stero jack means it works on all manner of portable devices, so far I have tried this on an Apple iPhone 3GS, on a Palm Pre, and even connected directly to a laptop and it sounds great.

For connecting to an audio source you can use either the built-in audio cable or the audio cable connected to the supplied USB charging cable.

There is a small blue power LED on the base of the unit to let you know it is switched on, when the blue light dims then it is time to charge the unit and and when the light turns to red the unit is charging over the USB cable. The cable and built-in audio jack tuck away neatly on the base of the unit allowing it to sit flat on a surface.

The manufacturer says the unit can last for 11 hours of continuous play from just one full charge, charged using the mini USB connector, and we have not yet had to recharge the unit from the initial charge.

You might think this little fellow is going to set you back quite a bit – but you may be surprised to find it can be picked up for under £20. It even comes with its own carrying bag to keep it safe – definitely something you could easily pop into a bag when you are out travelling or away on a business trip.

Hop over to Mobile Fun to learn more about the XMI X-mini II Mini Speaker and other useful products.