TUAW Review: Livespeakr

@Erik G

Really cool to see you defend your product on here, in my opinion it not only shows character but that you really believe in it.

I am sorry if my statements came off a bit harsh, as Doolybug put it I was more upset with review.

That said, I think consumer feedback is a godsend. You should be happy that people have been honest about their first impressions of your product. Yes there are a lot of angry people who like to bash rather than praise, but I think there are still some gems you can take back to your drawing board say for revision 2 of the Livespeaker.
My constructive feedback would be: lower the price so that it matches other competitors in the market, after all your product has no long time "brand" equity and is not as "polished" as say some long time competitors. I look forward to trying one out though, as it would be useful for when I travel.

Best of luck,
Gyve

PS
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have an other questions.

@Erik G

Thanks for the response.

I do not think it's a shoddy product, I like what I've seen. I don't have an issue with the headphone jack either. I commend your product, I remember watching a demo last fall. It's something I might buy.

I'm not blowing smoke up your ass either by questioning the post by Cory on your product. It may well be an honest (and overly enthusiastic) review. My concern lies with the editorial process, not the product.

I don't think this is outlandish. Maybe you meant absurd, or ignorant.

Defend your product, you must, but just be mindful of how it's promoted.

That being said, I hope lot's of people buy it, and the price can drop to within my budget.

Sincerely,
Doolybug

Cory, your writing has improved dramatically since you started, but if you look at some of the other reviews on this site, you'll see why people are complaining of payola. Not enough empirical facts, and too many vague positive statements. That you "had good luck with" the battery just doesn't tell me anything.

I'd like to see a comparison to any of the other docks made by Bose or JBL, both in sound quality and functionality. That it's an "improvement on the built-in speaker" isn't saying much - is it a $130 improvement, especially considering how great the JBL models sound for a similar price?

Ignore that last comment. Used 1Password to fill in my information and I guess it saved the last comment I posted on another article. Haha.

Anyway, I have a LiveSpeakr. Although a little bulky, it does produce some great sound once you change your equalizer settings.

As far as the design goes, with a headphone jack, you can connect things other than an iPhone or iPod Touch. The creators could make cradles for other media players if they wanted to since the cradle is removable.

I think it's worth $99, but not $130.

Maybe Apple is going to release push notifications on iPhone to coincide with push notifications on Snow Leopard.

Hello Everyone,

My name is Erik Groset and I'm the co-owner of DGA (makers of LiveSpeakR). We worked hard to develop a product that is unlike anything else out there and fills a void that many iPhone/iPod Touch owners were looking for. I'd like to address a couple of the issues out there...

1. This is NOT a paid or unpaid advertisement. It is a bit outlandish to accuse the author of such.

2. Going through the headphone jack was a difficult decision and there were several issues that lead us to make this final call. First off, if we went through the 30-pin connector you couldn't use the LiveSpeakR as a speaker phone, which was a high priority for us. Second, it could drain your media players already short battery life even faster.

3. We offer a 30-day money back guarantee. If you order the LiveSpeakR and are dissatisfied for any reason we will be happy to refund your money. However, to date we have not received a single return.

I'd be happy to answer any additional questions directed towards the product or the company and hope we can have you as another valued customer!

Thank You,
Erik

@ Gman, decycled, Rob and Dom

Exactly!

If TUAW is a shill, we'll smell it out. I love the coverage, but I'll drop it in a NY minute if it's writing for the producers.

-signed, a long time reader & infrequent poster

This is an advertisement. Either TUAW or the author was paid for this because it is simply NOT an unbiased review of the product shown.

Look at it. It's a piece of tat - and it uses a headphone jack rather than the dock for godsakes.

I'd REALLY like to see an official response from TUAW on this. If you're going to post paid-for content, then it needs to be clearly marked.

Repeat after me: Do not take speakers to the beach, Do not take speakers to the beach. Do not take speakers to the beach...

I think the design idea could be great in both a car-speaker phone scenario as well as at the office. The iPhone has great multi-call capabilities but the speaker volume just doesn't go loud enough. I will definitely be interested in a "real review" of the product.