It’s Wednesday! Time for another installment of Palm Discovery’s wReview Wednesday! Today we’ll be reviewing USB Fever’s Mini Capsule Microphone / Speaker Combo for iPod Touch 2nd Gen, an external microphone with speaker combination that is small, lightweight and very portable which also opens up a whole new world for your iPod Touch. This mini capsule is also supported on a variety of iPod devices, mp3 players and even laptops (I tried it on my Dell Vostro and it works)!

Palm Discovery would like to extend a BIG THANKS to Thomas of USB Fever for providing the product for this review.

One of the main complaint about having an iPod Touch, being that it is almost as good as an iPhone and although it comes with a built-in voice recording software, there is no built-in microphone. Why, I have no idea. Here’s to hoping that the 4th generation iPod Touch coming in the spring will come with both a built-in microphone AND a video camera. Until then, if you already own a second or third generation iPod Touch, you will need to get yourself either an iPod earphone with remote and mic or you’ll need to get an external microphone with 3.5mm audio jack.

Here’s a solution that you may want to look into: USB Fever’s Mini Capsule Microphone / Speaker Combo for iPod Touch 2nd Gen. This is a built-in microphone and Speaker combination in the shape of a capsule that fits easily in the hand and very lightweight. When you need to record something, simply plug it into your iPod Touch and start recording! Although the name mentions the iPod Touch 2nd generation, this microphone and speaker will support a variety of iPods and devices. I even tried it on my laptop and it works fine. It will record in mono, however, but then, most times it doesn’t matter whether the recording is in mono or not since we’ll most likely use it with our iPod Touch and making personal voice memo recordings anyway.

The mini capsule microphone is self contained. There is no need to install any drivers or software (unless your device requires a voice recording software to be installed) to make it work. It works right out of the box. Simply plug the mini capsule into the 3.5mm audio jack of your iPod, computer, mp3 player, etc and start enjoying music from the built-in speakers. If your device supports audio recordings, you can use the mini capsule’s built-in microphone to make recordings. It’s that simple.

This is one accessory that doesn’t need anything to set up. Simply plug and play!

Thanks for visiting and supporting . If you are not reading this article from Palmdiscovery.com, the website you are reading it from is copying and posting my content without consent. Please visit Palm Discovery for the original source of the material.

For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

Specs and Details

(taken from USB Fever’s website):

Introductions:
Lots of people using iPod Touch 2nd have been thinking to turn their device into a “iPod Touch version of iPhone”, here is a way that you can do it in an easier way!

Just plug this Tiny Capsule Microphone and Speaker into your iPod Touch 2nd, then you can trun it to a full function (Speak and listen) of (VoIP) Phone. You will never find a simple way as this way!

The Speaker is specially designed for iPod Touch 2nd, but you can have the same functions (speak and listen) with iPhone 3G; using as a microphone when using iPod Nano 4th / iPod Classic 120GB and as a speaker for all the iPhones and iPods (see compability below).

However, if you are looking for a pure microphone, you may click here (Mini Microphone).

Features:
- Plug and Play
- High Quality Microphone and speaker in one
- Sensitive
- Small and portable
- No battery required

This accessory is compatible with (as a Speaker and Microphone):
- iPhone (1st Generation)
- iPhone 3G (2nd Generation)
- iPhone 3GS
- iPod Nano 5th Gen
- iPod Touch 3G
- iPod Touch 2G (you need to download software and install to your iPod Touch 2nd Gen e.g. iTalk Recorder or Easy Recorder)

This accessory is compatible with (As a MICROPHONE only):
- iPod Nano 4G (you may use its pre-loaded software for recordings only)
- iPod Classic 120G version (you may use its pre-loaded software for recordings)

This accessory is compatible with (As a SPEAKER only):
- iPod Touch 1G
- IPod Nano 3G
- iPod Nano 2G
- iPod Mini
- Other MP3s, Mobilephones that using 3.5mm audio socket

Specifications:
- Dimensions: 55mm (Length) x 17.6mm (diameter)
- Net Weight: 6g

Options: Color
- Black (Default color to be shipped)
- White

Package Contents:
- Mini Capsule Microphone / Speaker Combo for iPod Touch 2nd x 1

Packaging:
- Blister

Note:
- See its compatibility above
- The Speaker sound level (Volume) will be lower than when playing songs or as an ordinary speaker.
- All the brandname and trademarks are the properties of their respective owners
- No softwares will be included
- iPhone 3G, is NOT included.

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

Pictures of USB Fever’s Mini Capsule Microphone and Speaker Combo

Slideshow of the above pictures

Product Video

Video review of USB Fever’s Mini Capsule Microphone and Speaker Combo at YouTube

Here are my observations:

I Liked:

Small, lightweight and portable

This is relatively small, lightweight and portable. I like that it’s very portable so that I can take it with me everywhere and be able to use it for listening to music or making audio recordings.

Simple to use: just plug and play

The mini capsule microphone and speaker is very easy to use. Just plug it in and start using it. There’s no need to set it up, install drivers or software (unless your device requires an audio recording program to work). This is very simple to use.

Decent sound quality in comparison to built-in iPod Touch speakers

As demonstrated in the video review, the quality of the sound from these speakers are decent in comparison to the built-in speakers of the iPod Touch. There’s much more lower end sound and provides a better quality sound overall.

Microphone and speaker combination in one small package

It’s nice to have both a microphone and a speaker in one self-contained small package. Not only can you enjoy better sounding music with the speakers but also be able to make voice or audio recordings with it as well.

I Didn’t Like:

Lower and softer volume than built-in iPod speakers

The volume coming out of the mini capsule is a bit lower and softer than the volume from the built-in speakers. Unfortunately, if you are looking for higher volume, you may be slightly disappointed.

Mini Capsule sticks out and may easily be damaged

Unfortunately, due to its design, the mini capsule when plugged into the iPod Touch, will stick out (like a sore thumb) and add quite a bit of bulk. With it sticking out so much from the iPod Touch, there is a great possibility that it may be easily damaged. A suggestion would be to be a 90 degree audio jack converter that may direct the capsule so that it sticks out less.

Review Summary

USB Fever’s Mini Capsule Microphone/Speaker Combo for iPod Touch may be an excellent accessory to get for your iPod Touch as it will not only allow your iPod Touch to be able to record audio, but also work as a better quality external speaker. That means, if you have a VOIP application installed on your iPod Touch like Fring, etc, you can also place internet VOIP calls with your iPod Touch with this mini capsule mic and speakers attached! This opens up a whole world for the iPod Touch and this little accessory can do it for you. The only problem with this mini capsule is that it will stick out when plugged into the iPod Touch. You may want to get a 90 degree audio adapter and plug it in so that it won’t stick out as much. The mini capsule surprisingly offers much better audio than the built-in iPod Touch speakers and the recording seems fine. Check out the product at USB Fever here: USB Fever’s Mini Capsule Microphone/Speaker Combo for iPod Touch.

Enjoyed this review? Check out the many other Palm Discovery product reviews of USB Fever products here or other hardware, accessories reviews.

Thanks for visiting

Current Deals:
5% OFF all Dicapac Waterproof CasesCoupon Code: dicapac5off Expires: 8/31/2010 (AccessoryGeeks)

Check out more Deals from and

: archives categories hardware-review reviews hands-on usb-fever usbfever mini-capsule-microphone-speakers-combo mini-capsule-mic-speakers mini-mic-speakers microphone speakers external-mic external-speakers accessories