One of the newest gadgets I have here that I’m testing at G Style Magazine is the new Aluratek APS01F Bump 3.5mm Portable Mini Speaker. The APS01F Bump is a collapsible mini speaker that is diminutive in size, but features the kind of sound you’d expect to hear from a much larger speaker. If you’ve ever tried listening to any kind of music on your iPhone, then you know how terrible the built in speakers are on it.
The first thing you’ll notice about the APS01F Bump is it’s size. At only 2 1/2″ in diameter and 1 1/2″ in height when collapsed, the Bump is very small and portable. The 3.5mm cable is built into the Bump and tucks away nicely into the bottom of the unit. The Bump also includes a built in Lithium-ion battery which allows the Bump’s size to stay small and compact. Having a rechargeable battery is great because it means you don’t need to fumble around with batteries if you ever run out of juice. Having the unit battery powered also means that you don’t need to be near an outlet to use it except when you need to recharge.
The design of the APS01F Bump is actually very clever. There is a part at the bottom that is you push in and out pops an expandable bass chamber. this part also houses the on/off switch, usb port, and the 3.5mm aux output jack. When expanded, the Bump looks like a little mushroom. Upon seeing this I immediately thought about how cool it would be if I could somehow mod it to look like a Super Mario 1-Up mushroom, but that’s an entirely different topic all together. The on/off switch has 2 settings for volume. Switching it to the middle is for normal mode while switching it all the way to the right puts it in “loud” mode. In position 2, the volume is much louder and it’s the position I would use the Bump in.
The sound of the APS01F Bump is very good. I tested it out with an iPhone 4 which as you know, doesn’t exactly have the greatest speakers out there. In fact, I find the iPhone 4 speaker to be quite lacking and much worse than my previous BlackBerry Bold 9000 was. Adding the APS01F Bump to the iPhone 4 was a huge improvement in audio quality. Audio was a lot more clear with much less distortion than the iPhone’s built in speakers. The bass on the Bump isn’t exactly room shaking but it’s not that bad, especially for a speaker of that size. The Bump can handle a pretty decent range of highs and lows. The Bump is also loud enough where you can actually hear it in an entire room, and clearly unlike the built in iPhone speakers. I was very impressed with it.
The only thing I would maybe change about the APS01F Bump is the length of the 3.5mm aux output cable. It is very short. The length isn’t a big deal if you have it connected to a charging dock or if you’re just listening to music with your device placed on the table but the short cable makes it almost impracticable for handheld gaming usage unless you don’t mind having the Bump dangling from your device. It’s a small trade off for portability I guess as if the cable were any longer, it would not be able to tuck into the unit so nicely for storage.
The Aluratek APS01F Bump retails for $19.99 and it’s a huge value for that price. It offers big sound in a small package and having an included rechargeable lithium-ion battery is a huge plus. The APS01F Bump also is a fairly attractive unit as I really liked the “mushroom” shape and collapsible design. The black color gives it a nice classic look although I don’t think I’d mind seeing it in other colors like white for example. Before reviewing the APS01F Bump, I had not ever even heard of Aluratek before but after playing around with the Bump, I’m pretty impressed with their product.
Features
- Compatible with most MP3 players, mobile phones and other audio devices with 3.5mm Auxiliary audio output
- Expandable Bass Chamber
- Audio Out: 2.5W
- Built-in Lithium-ion battery
- USB 2.0 cable included
- Limited 1 Year Warranty
Requirements
- Any audio or mobile device with 3.5mm Auxiliary audio output
Package Contents
- 3.5mm Portable Mini Speaker
- Quick Start Guide
- Registration / Warranty Card
