Aporto

Mary Rhodes from Cumbria, aged 37

My husband and I drove down to Cornwall with our three children for our summer holiday at the end of August. Otone asked us to test out some portable speakers so we’d be able to play music to keep the kids entertained when we were out and about, and also in the caravan.

Our eldest son loved the Aporto 2.0 speakers – he has an iPhone so rather than take a stash of CDs in his rucksack, he spent hours beforehand loading up songs to play. In the park he plugged the phone into the speakers, which kept us all entertained as we played cricket and ate our picnic. When we came back to the caravan at night he could take the speakers into his room in the awning and listen to his music – we did have to keep telling him to turn them down though!

I’m not very technical myself, but he assures me that he loves his travel speakers. When they are all folded up together, the speakers go into an oval shape, which looks very trendy, but the speakers then unclick from the main unit into three separate compartments which can be spread out around the room. The Aporto 2.0 is very light which makes it easy to carry (especially when it’s all folded up too), and with it being powered by USB, it’s so simple and easy to use – I didn’t need to worry about forgetting the extra charger and having an upset teenage son on my hands!

Since we’ve been back I’ve noticed that he’s carried on using the speakers – he takes them down to the park with him, and also uses them in the back garden when he’s playing football.

I’d definitely tell other mums and dads out there to get some of these – they can keep teenage sons happy for hours!

I would give them a 5/5 rating!

Rob Jones, 25 from Maidstone:

Otone sent me their Aporto 2.0 Speakers to try out on a lads holiday with some mates. We wanted some speakers that would be loud enough to play music in the apartment, but small enough to be portable. We also wanted some that had a great sound quality, not like typical travel speakers that can have quite a tinny and unsubtle sound. They asked me some questions when we got back from the holiday -

What did I like:

It’s a perfect travel speaker – it was easy to pack in the case. Sometimes you worry that speakers will get damaged in a suitcase but the three parts of the system click together and are protected. The unit is really lightweight which meant I didn’t need to worry about putting it in the case with the 20kg limit – they’d be easy to put in hand luggage and carry too.

Also, when I unpacked the speakers and hooked them up to my iPhone 4 the sound was much better than I’d expected. The boys were all impressed – we used them in the day and before we went out at night.

Price:

The Aporto 2.0 speakers cost £34.99 and I think this is good value – the quality means they’ll last for years so it is money well spent.

Design:

The speakers are the perfect size to fit into a case, and look good – all the lads thought so too. They are powered over USB or battery, so you only have to plug one cable into your laptop or phone, and the speakers can be detached and spread out as the cables have a long reach, which means you can get really good surround sound going on.

Sound:

The bass on the speakers creates a really impressive sound - much better than other travel speakers I’ve owned in the past. For anyone who’s techie, the total RMS power is 6W – which makes the sound loud and very detailed. It’s just a shame some of the lads’ music choices let them down… guess you can’t have everything.

I would rate them as 4.5 out of 5 and definitely recommend them for anyone traveling this Winter.

The Otone Aporto looks just like any other portable speaker, it runs off batteries or through USB 2.0. It does however have an ace up its sleeve.

Otone has set itself apart from the pack with the Aporto portable speaker. In fact Otone is aiming to set itself apart with almost all of the speakers it produces, and in a market which is certainly not lacking in choice this can only be a good thing.

The Aporto’s trump card is impressively simple, by pulling the speakers away from the central base the retractable cord hidden within allows them to become a pair of laptop speakers, powered either via batteries or via the USB 2.0 connection.

Of course having a trump card is great, but that doesn’t guarantee that it'll actually be any good so we put it through its paces.

Otone Aporto: Build

Otone’s main focus is building products that look as premium as possible while still being able to keep the cost down. In this case it has been well executed.

That said the Aporto’s glossy black body is a fingerprint magnet. It’s something that will either really bother you or will result in a shrug of the shoulders.

This aside it feels sturdy and reliable with the large speaker grills conveying the impression that these can output some serious noise.

Otone Aporto: Features

First up are the detachable speaker modules, pulling away from the body thanks to a non-tangle cable that will reel itself in when reconnecting them.

It’s a great system and is more than just a gimmick when it comes to sound quality, we do wonder however if the cables could have been a bit thicker but this is more a grumble than anything else.

On the back there’s a mini-USB socket that, when connected to a laptop will allow the computer to both power the speakers and also provide audio at the same time.

There’s also a normal 3.5mm audio socket as well. Worth noting is the fact that Otone has also provided cables for both these sockets, with each being completely adjustable in length.

It’s a small gesture but one that we think more audio companies should take note of.

Otone Aporto: Audio quality

The Aporto is first and foremost a portable speaker, as such you’ll find a 3W speaker in each module and while they won’t blow you away they’re certainly better than you’d expect. The sound quality is crisp and clear and will only become distorted if you turn the source volume too high.

Detach the speaker modules and you’ll notice a significant boost in bass response and an increase in warmth of tone.

Either way you decide to use it the Aporto is a more than capable outdoor speaker and travel speaker.

Love: Detachable speakers, Great price, Above par sound quality

Hate: Glossy plastic body, Lack of Bluetooth, Flimsy speaker wires

Otone Aporto: Verdict

At £34.99 the Otone Aporto is superbly priced, while both looking and feeling like a premium product it can output sound which is worthy of speakers that would cost considerably more.

Reviewed by Thomas Tamblyn, T3

**** [4/5 stars]

Check out the online review here.
 

I’ve never been a huge fan of portable speakers, this is probably because they’re traditionally quite awful. The Otone Aporto, however, combines reasonably decent sound with a quirky transforming trick. Its creator, Otone Audio, is a home-grown rising star in the audio world, headquartered in Manchester. They’re a relatively new and largely unknown company who are already offering a fairly comprehensive range of speaker systems from the portable, to the desktop 2.0, 2.1 and full-on 5.1.

Their almost total adherence to lime green and black really gives their products a great look, and things like the STILO 2.1 PRO look fantastic. WIth their highest end 5.1 system priced at only £170 and the 5 2.1 systems ranging from £35 to £90, affordability is the name of the game… yet they’re clearly not in the business of compromising on looks or quality.

Yes, this sounds like a marketing pitch; it should! Good quality audio products designed at home should be a matter of pride. Where Britain is rapidly losing ground as a manufacturer, we can gain ground in innovation. Yes, I know, blah blah! On with the review:

The Aporto’s quirk is simple; pulling the speakers off the central part of the Aporto and standing them up turns it into an extremely cute mini-system. A folding out stand for the central part seals the deal, and makes a fetching little setup that’s reminiscent of a mini CD-player and its speakers. Each speaker has a little notch you can feed its cable through so they stand level, and the net result is a great little flexible setup.

When combined with my Pandora console (which the Aporto is actually really useful for) it makes for a sort of bizarre miniature laptop arrangement which is endearing in a weird sort of way. What makes it better is that the Aporto can be powered over USB, and the Pandora USB port provides enough voltage to get the speakers up and running on the go.

When removing the speakers to set up the mini system, the cables unfurl easily from their spring-loaded storage within the base of each speaker. You can stretch them a good few feet, and thus they make an excellent setup for a laptop with somewhat less than stellar speakers, or a propped-up iPad. In sound-bar mode, with the speakers firmly attached to the sides of the central part, it’s great with a mobile phone or iPod as a low-budget bedroom entertainment system.

With the speakers separated you’ll obviously get both better stereo separation and, in theory, better room coverage. We found the Otone Aporto more than good enough to supply the office ambient music, and certainly didn’t run them at full volume. At home I jacked the volume up and easily filled a room with listenable audio.

Replacing the speakers is similarly easy, if you’re familiar with those spring-loaded extending cables then you’ll know the deal. Give them a slight tug to unlatch the mechanism and then, as you move the speakers back into position, the cable will disappear safely inside.

My only complaint is that these mechanism are sometimes prone to failure if you don’t treat them with a great deal of care, but it’s well worth the risk for something that stows away so elegantly.

With both a USB connection, using the supplied extending cable, and 4xAAA batteries to choose from as your power source, it’s also pretty flexible. Hook it up to a laptop and you don’t have to waste battery power and if you’re using it at home with a portable device then one of those handy mains-power to USB adaptors that most mobile phones require to charge these days will do in a pinch for powering it from the mains.

A 3.5mm audio cable is also supplied and is, you guessed it, of the extending nature. You’ll probably find that this one fails quickly as it’s the one you will be extending and contracting often. That said I’ve kept these things going for months before- it’s all about care. Both the USB and audio cable are easily replaced with their normal, non-extending counterparts should they wear out, so it’s no big deal.

Finally, the Aporto has a built-in USB audio device, so you can hook it up via USB only to laptops or computers and play audio in top-notch quality with the tidiness of just one cable.

Sound quality, the all important test of a speaker system, is top notch. The little things dial up surprisingly loud on both USB power and batteries. Don’t expect room shaking audio from a portable speaker and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. What you do get is good enough for all but outright partying, and certainly great for most of the reasons you’d be picking up portable speakers for.

At £35 they’re not unreasonably priced for what they are, and my only criticism is the use of AAA batteries, which I tend to dislike.

I couldn’t recommend these enough, and suggest you keep an eye on Otone, they look set for a promising future.

Follow @otoneaudio on Twitter or pay them a visit on Facebook. And keep an eye out for competitions!

Read the review online here.

OTONE is a UK founded company that are rapidly becoming a leading name in audio world with products designed to please gamers and hi-fi fanatics.

OTONE have just released a new portable speaker that was distinctively designed for travelling and is also cleverly disguised as a micro system. The unit can be easily connected via USB and 3.5mm connection cables that are supplied. Aporto will be available online from www.otoneaudio.co.uk for £34.99.

Gadget Dad Verdict:

A lot of speaker systems claim that they are versatile and meet the needs of their users but don't always meet those needs. These speakers look stylish and I have had a couple of friends ask where I got them from.

Setup was easy and it is only a simple matter of plugging the sleek cylinder type shape speakers into the USB port of your laptop or computer for power and the 3.5mm jack for the sound to find their way through the good quality speakers. You can alternatively power the unit with batteries if you would like to use these on your iPhone or iTouch while in the park or on the move, wherever you need music to lighten up a cloudy day.

The clever design team of OTONE made sure this speaker unit will surely not go unnoticed. With a light pull the two speakers separate from the unit and presto you now have a micro system! I really like this clever design feature and i am sure other users of this product will love this feature too. It surely sets it apart from the rest.

The speakers do what they are supposed to do for the size and play good quality sound when you need to go portable!

Pros:
Very clean and unique tube shape speaker unit.
Truly portable where some other manufacturer units fail, you can also use batteries.
Cleverly hidden "Micro System" setup.
Clever little pull out stand.

Cons:
Could improve a bit on the quality of the plastic grey bit that is exposed when the speakers are pulled apart.

Gadget Dad Rating: 7/10 

Check out the online review here.

A few weeks ago we received these rather lovely speakers from OTONE. They’re “modular” speakers and actually disconnect from the main unit. Using retractable cabling, you can position the speakers some distance apart for the full stereo effect.

It’s simple and easy to get going. The speakers sit on the sides of the main unit making it portable and cable-free. You get two additional retractable cables – one for connecting to USB power and one for connecting to your 3.5mm audio output. You can use 4 AAA batteries to power the device if you don’t want to be shackled to the USB port too. It’ll also accept USB audio input, although I’ve not tried this personally.

The front has a number of controls. You can quickly mute / unmute, turn the device on or off and control the volume.

The Aporto has a great design and fits well into bags and laptop cases. The sound output isn’t exactly going to blow your windows out but it’s much better than any smartphone or netbook speakers. Each speaker has a 3W output.

The speakers simply “un-socket” from the side of the main unit and then stand up. More tough retractable cabling helps you position the speakers and, thanks to the “seat belt-style” action they won’t pull the speakers back in unless you want them too.

Overall we found these speakers to be very useful. I carry the unit around the house for instant music when I’m bathing my son or doing household chores. I use the internet radio app on my Android phone to pipe through music from all around the world, and the build quality is definitely good enough to stand up to my daily use, so I don’t see any problem with it traveling around with you.

The speakers, at the time of writing, cost £34.99 but you may be able to get these slightly cheaper if you shop around. To be honest I found them extremely useful and totally portable.

Link – OTONE

See the online review here and watch the video review here.