The Gadget: Motorola’s universal wired portable speaker, the MOTOROKR EQ3.The Price: $49.95
The Verdict: The stapler, as we affectionately refer to the EQ3, will never win any awards for sonic quality. But it’s not supposed to. It’s small, lightweight and connects to pretty much any audio source via a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The EQ3 runs off four AAA batteries, which are included in the packaging. The two speakers fold out, pseudo-locking at the 90 degree angle to the unit’s body before folding out to essentially double the speaker’s length and halve its depth.
As you’d expect from such a small pair of speakers, there’s a lack of bass and bit of tinniness to your music, but it far exceeds the quality of many phones and laptops inbuilt speakers. It’s as simple a unit as you’re likely to find – the only semblance of controls on the stapler is a power switch on top. Volume is controlled through your device, and it does get quite loud, although it does distort the sound at loud volumes.
In the end, this is a bit of a low-tech peripheral, but that’s what it’s meant to be. It’s small enough (130 x 35 x 35 mm) and lightweight enough (140g) to be a good accessory for travellers, or someone looking for a cheap set of backup speakers.