Neptor’s colorful NPSP01-BL is cuter than your Bluetooth speaker

By Alex Tretbar March 24, 2014

Sometimes you don’t need a ridiculously high-end system for listening to music. It’d be a little overkill to, for example, spend $17,500 on Devialet’s top-shelf stereo amplifier system and set it up just to take phone calls and blast the jams while you do the dishes. Sometimes you just need a fun little speaker that playfully takes care of your audio needs while you playfully get stuff done. That’s what Neptor’s new NPSP01-BL Bluetooth speaker is designed to do.

Neptor, one of a handful of brands under the Chino, CA-based Eagle Tech umbrella, is named after Neptune and the planet’s ability to generate more energy than the Sun provides to it. The line’s NPSP01 is a husky little jelly bean of a speaker — a little over two inches wide and three inches tall — and has touch-based control technology on board, a feature we’ve been seeing a lot more of recently as portable/Bluetooth speaker makers increasingly look to ditch tired old buttons in favor of sleek and subtle twists and taps (Cone and Quip, to name a couple). Tap the NPSP01 for power, music and phone controls, and spin it for volume.

There aren’t any traditional wired inputs on the NPSP01, so you’ll want to be sure that your devices are Bluetooth-compatible before dropping $50 on one of them — and keep in mind that you’ll need to set aside 90 minutes to recharge the speaker after its 3.5-hour charge fades. Users can utilize the speaker’s omni-directional microphone for seamlessly hands-free calls that probably sound pretty good.

It’s tough to say just how good the NPSP01 will sound — its availability was just announced today — but the relatively low price-point and fun-loving aesthetics make it a good bargain for those without wallet-busting audiophile aspirations.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Alex Tretbar, audio/video intern, is a writer, editor, musician, gamer and sci-fi nerd raised on EverQuest and Magic: The…

Audio / Video

B&O’s picnic basket speaker pumps out 280 watts of power while it charges your phone

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A5 in natural aluminum/light oak.

No, the iconic Danish audio company Bang & Olufsen (B&O) does not refer to its new Beosound A5 portable speaker as a picnic basket, but one look at the photos and the comparison becomes unavoidable. Still, picnic basket looks or not, the A5 packs an impressive array of design and technology, which given its starting price of $1,049, you'd hope would be the case. You can buy the Beosound A5 starting April 27 in stores and online at bang-olufsen.com.

B&O says the A5, which comes in two colors (natural aluminum/light oak and black aluminum/dark oak), is the result of a collaboration with the Danish-Italian design team, GamFratesi. It's got an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, and most of the parts -- including the exterior grilles and the handle -- can be easily replaced or swapped out. As part of B&O's Mozart family of products, even the A5's communication module can be upgraded over time.

Audio / Video

This tiny Ikea waterproof Bluetooth speaker is just $15

Ikea Vappeby Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker in black.

Ikea is well known for selling attractively designed products at reasonable prices, but its latest Bluetooth speaker is priced so low that even Amazon might not be able to compete. The Vappeby waterproof portable Bluetooth speaker, as its name suggests, is tiny, waterproof, and surprisingly cheap at $15.

The tiny, silicone-wrapped speaker measures only three inches square and is just two inches thick. For reference, that's about as wide as an iPhone 14 in portrait mode. It comes with its own lanyard cord, which you could use to hang the Vappeby in a shower as Ikea shows in its photos, or you could simply use it as a wrist strap. It's available in three colors: yellow, black, or red, and if you buy two of them, they can be used as a stereo pair.

Audio / Video

The best waterproof Bluetooth speakers for 2023: from JBL, Marshall, and more

The LBL Pulse 5 Bluetooth speaker sitting on a hot tub ledge.

The beautiful thing about Bluetooth speakers is that they allow you to bring music to almost any situation, almost anywhere. If anywhere for you happens to be next to a swimming pool, beach, or bathtub, however, then you're going to want a waterproof Bluetooth speaker for sure.

Now, we're not talking about speakers that can take a few drops of rain or a splash from your nephew's cannonball. Many Bluetooth speakers these days are going the distance and are able to withstand total submersion for several minutes in several feet of water and are sealed up tightly enough to keep pumping or are able to recover quickly without damage. Sand and dust are kept at bay, too.