Genius SP i202U Portable Speakers – CNET » Handy Gadgets: Information, news and highlights of handy gadgets for you, the home or travel.

CNET have published a review of the portable Genius SP i202U speakers which can be powered by batteries or USB connection. ‘The concept behind the Genius SP-i202u is noteworthy. Admittedly, it is hard to find inexpensive portable speakers that offer a choice between being powered by USB or batteries. The Genius SP-i202u speakers deliver this feature, but the sound quality is too poor to make them worthy of recommendation. While not prone to distortion like some budget speakers, the inability of these speakers to reproduce lower frequencies makes them not much better than the built-in speakers found in most notebook and desktop computers.

To their credit, when connected over USB, the SP-i202u speakers were quickly recognized as an audio device under Windows XP, allowing the computer's audio to be played on the speakers with a simple USB connection. No software driver installations were necessary, which is good because no drivers are included. When connected over USB, the Genius SP-i202u speakers will only deliver two watts of power, 30 percent of the six watts of power it is technically capable of producing when powered by batteries. Mac support is also available, but I see no reason why any Mac user would prefer these speakers over the built-in audio available on nearly all Apple laptop and desktop models.’

Read: Genius SP i202U Portable Speakers – CNET