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(More customer reviews)I must say, like the others here, I was pleasantly surprised by these speakers! I purchased them for $15 including shipping, and almost immediately thought it would end up being a foolish purchase. I'm so happy I didn't trust that instinct.
First, the speakers easily slide onto a laptop. I have a 15.4" screen Toshiba Satellite with a slight curve to the lip of the lid, and the speakers have no problem with that. They hold on without any issue (even without being screwed onto the lid, which I don't bother with), and, at the same time, don't pull the lid down at all.
One thing to note as to their arrangement: the speakers, of course, are wired together, and are wired to your laptop via an attached USB cable and a laptop USB port. This adds extra wires to the outside of your laptop, and consumes a valuable laptop USB port. That's just the nature of double external USB speakers like these. Also, the speakers' USB plug ia a bit thicker than normal, and with my laptop, obstructs a second USB port a trifle when inserted into a USB port with another USB port directly above; there is no issue with side-by-side USB ports.
Second, the speakers add real sound to your laptop, compared to the likely muted and tinny sound of your laptop speakers. Certainly, they don't match the depth of sound, including the bass, from decent/good standalone desktop speakers. But they get the quality of the laptop's sound to what you probably wished the laptop had come with to begin with, and beyond. It makes watching a tv show or movie on your laptop without headphones a no-brainer, and also would suffice to adding sound to a presentation in a smaller room. And music sounds acceptable/nice for speakers of this size as well.
A word about the included software: at least with Windows 7, you don't need it--Windows 7 will load its own driver when you plug the speakers in (I assume that other flavors of Windows will do likewise). Nonetheless, recommended that you install the software, as it gives you the ability to alter the sound, including for a more stereophonic, surround-sound effect. At first I thought the surround-sound effect was a gimmick, but it really does work, to a degree--some sounds really do seem to be coming from behind you. At the same time, I should add that a "mixer" option in the software causes my system to crash--I avoid it (and it's not needed--you just can use the regular Windows mixer). Also, there was little discussing the software that came with my speakers; however, basic instructions can be found at the manufacturer's website, at [...], along with instructions for using the speakers with a Windows Vista system. (Shame on you, Micro Innovations, for not including all of this with the speakers.)
Note: although the product listing does not mention Windows 7 compatibility, the speakers and software both will work with Windows 7; for the software, I simply set the setup file to be run under compatibility mode for Vista with the latest update. The speakers and software also are 64-bit compatible (thankfully, life has gone this way more often in the past year).
In the end, and especially at its low price (currently at Amazon, $15 with free ship as part of a $25+ purchase), it's a surprisingly nice addition to your laptop, especially when away from your desk. Having said that, I also would have liked if the speakers were longer (they are about 5" long going down the side of your laptop screen--they easily could be 2-3" longer, for most screens), to add even further to the sound.
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