We’ll admit we sniggered when we saw this. The Capsule Speaker looks cute, but the physics of speaker design dictate that you need big speakers and big cabinets for big sound. The X-Mini Capsule Speaker has neither of these, so we assumed it would be rubbish.

It turns out we were wrong.

The capsule speaker is really a laptop speaker encased in a plastic cocoon which splits into two halves that are connected with an accordion-style collapsible tube. In the bottom half of the cocoon is a small rechargeable battery and amplifier, as well as a power/volume switch and Mini-USB connector. The speaker half of the cocoon is moulded with a small eyelet that you can thread rope (or whatever) through, and there’s a small LED in the base to indicate power status.

The only other (interesting or not) feature of the speaker is the retractable cable that plugs into the speaker with a Mini-USB connector which ends in both USB and a 3.5mm audio plug. This single retractable cable provides both an audio signal for the speaker and power for the rechargeable battery; and minimises cable clutter. The downside is that if you lose it you’ll have trouble finding a replacement.

The speaker and the design of the capsule itself are quite interesting. Its expandable centre manages to somewhat split the difference between portability and cabinet size. The sound isn’t stunning, but it is better than you’d expect. Bass notes are actually reproduced and the rest of the music is audible, and while it can’t escape its size limitations is eminently listenable. The battery lasted for about 5 hours before needing to be charged.

It may be cute and gimmickey, but it’s also a little pricey and we’d preferred to have seen a direct 3.5mm input instead of the proprietary cable. However, if you can see past these little quirks, it’s a good and portable way to spontaneously let a few friends listen to music on the go. It leaves the overworked, anaemic speakers in phones for dead.