For the last week, I’ve been walking around campus, blaring my bad taste in music for all to hear. “How?” you ask. Why, through the magic that is G-Tech’s Revolution Speakerpack, of course!
The Revolution is a iPod-enabled backpack, complete with a headphone port, shoulder strap controls and, yes, a surprisingly loud, well-concealed speaker. One must simply plug in their iPod and zip up the backpack, and the rest is done via the flexible fabric controls found on the left shoulder strap.
With these controls, the iPod’s volume can be changed, and the song can be paused, rewound, fast-forwarded or changed. The controls even allow for the iPod to be turned on or off.
A Revolution user can listen to music through headphones or through the built-in speaker, the latter being more entertaining. People aren’t used to music following them around, proven by the confusion of another student who was unfortunate enough to have walked in front of me for over 10 minutes one day.
As awesome as the Revolution might sound, it takes time to get used to the backpack. For one thing, once an artist, album or playlist has been selected, it can’t be changed without removing the backpack and taking out the iPod. Also, the controls have a key-lock feature that causes them to lock up after seven seconds of inactivity to prevent any accidental operation. This seems like a good idea, but it is quite a hassle to hold down the unlock button for four seconds every time you want to adjust the volume or change the track.
But one of the most tedious issues is the speaker. In order to turn the speaker on or off, the backpack must be removed, the speaker compartment opened and a switch flipped. While this may not sound like a big deal, it seems the entire point of the Revolution is to be able to operate the system while keeping the backpack on one’s back. The addition of a speaker power switch on the strap controls would most certainly be welcome.
The Revolution boasts some other convenient features, such as a well-padded laptop slot and the myriad pockets it contains that borderlines looking nerdy. Although prices tend to vary, the Revolution can be purchased from many online stores for around $80.
All factors considered, I must say that the Revolution actually makes me excited to get up and walk to class in the morning.
—–Bryan just walked by blaring 12012.Contact him at bgoldberger@lsureveille.com