Chinese smartphone maker Meizu aims a first product at Western market, but not with a smartphone-- instead the company launches the Gravity, "floating" wireless speaker featuring a cantilevered design.
Co-created with Dirac and Japanese designer Kosho Tsuboi, the Gravity sits on top of a transparent acrylic block. The block is positioned off-centre, but the speaker has enough weight on one side to ensure it will not lose balance and fall. The result? The speaker appears as if it is floating, at least when viewed from certain angles. Another interesting feature is an acrylic prism creating the illusion of a floating display.
The actual speaker is fairl small (262mm x 58mm x 47mm) and built in metal, with a soft mesh fabric covering the front and rear grilles. Inside are custom speakers with "dual passive resonance membranes" for stronger bass and Dirac "HD Sound" technology, and the result pushes 20W bass and a 70Hz to 20kHz range.
Connectivity comes through wifi and Bluetooth, as well as an auxiliary port. A companion mobile device app handles setup duties. As for power, the Gravity requires a wired connection the the mains, since no battery is included.
The Gravity actually represents something of a return to roots for Meizu-- the company has some experience with audio, since it started off in 2003 as an MP3 player maker before moving to smartphones. In any case, the curious can preorder the speaker via the Indiegogo crowdfunding site.
