Product Description

Altec Lansing Ulta Portable USB powered speaker for laptops and netbooks, compact speaker provides 360 degree sound. Comes with carry case.

Product Details

• Color: Black
• Brand: Altec Lansing
• Model: iML237/ USB Orbit
• Dimensions: 5.50" h x 6.75" w x 3.30" l, .8 pounds

Features

• USB Powered no batteries required
• Incredible digital clarity
• Tough Design, Aluminum and composite construction
• LED Power Indicator
• Carry case

From the Manufacturer
The compact Altec Lansing iML237 Orbit USB is small in size but big on sound, giving you great out loud audio for your laptop or netbook wherever you need it. Weighing less than six ounces, this mighty little USB speaker boasts Altec Lansing's Audio Alignment technology, which is the precise balance and craftsmanship of the key audio components -- the driver, the enclosure and the electronics. The result is rich, full sound in a small system. This tough, ultra-portable Orbit USB is powered by your USB port so you never have to worry about finding an outlet to plug it in or carrying around batteries.

The iML 237 Orbit USB At a Glance: Full, rich sound for laptops and netbooks. Ultraportable - built tough and lightweight. Plug-and-play USB connectivity for convenience and digital clarity. Built-in retractable stand. Storage case with hook-on carabiner.

1. Plug-and-play for great sound anywhere. 2. The USB cable winds neatly away. 3. A built-in stand lets you aim the sound. 4. Carrying case included. (Click on each feature for an expanded view.)

Ideal for Entertainment and Presentations
The Orbit USB is ideal for those who rely on their laptops for much of their entertainment. College students, for example, may find that the built-in laptop speakers are not powerful enough for their music and movies, or maybe even a recorded class lecture. The Orbit USB can be tossed in a backpack to provide powerful, instant sound at any time. Also, business people can enhance their presentations with board-room filling sound from the Orbit USB, which is small enough to pack in a briefcase. And then they can listen to music in their hotel rooms at night.

Plug-and-Play for Great Sound
Enjoying great sound has never been easier; just plug the Orbit USB into your computer and start listening. Since the audio maintains a pure digital signal through the USB connection from the source to the speaker, you won't have any fuzz or muffle. And thanks to Audio Alignment technology, all the components are perfectly balanced for sound with great volume, clarity, and depth.

No Batteries or AC Adapter
Since the Orbit USB is powered by USB, there is no need to worry about running out of batteries or finding an AC outlet. In addition, the USB cord winds and stores neatly away in the compartment underneath. And the Orbit USB's battery-free design offers an environmentally responsible solution.

Ultra-Portable Round Design Provides 360-Degree Sound
Just by looking at the Orbit USB, you'll know it's something special. With aluminum and composite construction, the Orbit USB is built to survive tough travel conditions. It includes a stylish neoprene case with hook-on carabineer as well as tangle-free cord storage into the underbelly of the speaker for protection and convenience.

The small, round design not only looks good but also provides a 360-degree sound field, so you'll enjoy full, distortion-free sound in every direction. A built-in retractable stand lets you aim the sound in any direction and an LED lets you know when the speaker is on. The Altec Lansing iML237 Orbit USB comes with a handy carrying case with a clip making it easy to carry everywhere.

What's in the Box
Orbit USB speaker and carrying case with carabiner.

Customer Reviews

Loud, Small and uh, Loud
The Orbit is the diameter of a small coaster and has a nice modern feel of heavy weight aluminum. It comes with an attractive, very tightly fitting carrying case that looks like a miniature hat case. There are two IM237 Orbits: a battery powered model with a jack that fits 3.5mm headphone jacks and this USB model. I'm guessing Altec wants us to buy two Orbits, one for our laptops and a second one for our IPod.

The Orbit gives a very nice volume boost to laptop audio and the quality was better, much better, than I expected. Hopefully, no will expect audiophile sound from a tiny speaker that is carried on a lanyard like a change purse.

The bottom of the Orbit has a storage area for the USB cable. The cord is wound around the base and then the USB plug snaps into a storage area. The only problem is: DID ANYONE AT ALTEC TRY TO DO THIS? It doesn't matter if you wind the cord clockwise or counter clockwise, the cord is an inch too short and the USB plug can't reach the storage slot. Without the plug snapped into place providing tension, the cord falls out. So putting the Orbit into the storage case means stuffing the cable in the bottom, pushing the Orbit on top and then maneuvering the lanyard around so the zipper on the case doesn't catch it. As I mentioned, the case is very tightly fitted.

I'm assuming the Orbit for IPods was designed first. And the storage system probably worked for a cable with a small headphone jack at the end. But when Altec adapted a USB plug, the much larger USB plug effectively shortened the cable length rendering the storage system useless.

9-24-09 Additional comment added: Other reviewers here of the USB Orbit don't mention any problems with storage. I'm starting to think it's not a design problem but a manufacturing problem. If the base is not snapped into the Orbit at a consistent position relative to the cable, the USB plug may or may not reach the storage slot.

What a great speaker
I have bought and used a number of so-called portable speakers. Some were just too big and bulky to take with me. Others sounded like a toy.

This wonderful gem is great. It is small enough to throw in my suitcase without worrying about bulk or weight. The sound is absolutely superb. I hooked it up and played various tunes from my library and the sound was incredible. The instrument nuances, the volume, the quality was amazing. I looked over at it and couldn't believe my ears.

This is a wonderful product by a great company. I highly recommend it.

Good - but only if used for certain purposes
A very unique product - that, unless you use it for what I think would be its niche, it isn't worth it.

The niche? Netbooks.

On my desktop computer, I have full audio w/ satellite speakers and a subwoofer. On a "portable desktop" (big laptop), the sound quality of this portable speaker is no better that what's built into the machine.

But on both a Netbook and an HP tablet laptop (both of which have horrible audio), this sounds much better than the built in speaker(s). If you have a Netbook with one speaker like I do, I could see getting this. If you were unfortunate enough to end up with an HP tablet laptop, this is also worth getting. Otherwise...not so much.

What makes it worth it for Netbooks and such? For one, the audio is a lot more clear and crisp. A huge benefit (also a drawback, see below) is the audio volume. This gets MUCH louder than the built in speakers. And, oddly enough, the louder this is, the better it sounds. A couple bass-heavy songs didn't produce distortion, but it may be a function of there being little bass here to begin with.

Why wouldn't you get this, even for a Netbook? It's louder - and while I couldn't find the wattage listed anywhere, if you turn it up, your battery is likely to suffer a lot. (Especially true for the smaller notebooks with "slim" batteries without as many amp hours.) And, if you have a netbook, you probably also want extreme portability. While this thing is small, it's another thing to tote around.

Other tidbits: The USB cable unravels from itself and is a couple feet long, which works well for laptops. It also winds back up and clips on the back for easy storage. Designed in the US, made in China. Apparently you can customize the speaker with graphics (see the altec lansing website about that.) It's nice not having to worry about battery power. Installing on WinXP displays 2 "not windows certified driver" errors that you have to click "Continue anyway" to, but overall, the "installation" is incredibly easy: plug it into the USB port.

Overall: For my money, I prefer a system like the JBL On Tour Portable Speaker System ( Black ). It's not as portable and requires external power (battery or AC), but it's a lot more versatile and has better sound quality.