Hello Kitty, You're So Pretty... (Hello Kitty USB Speakers)

Member Name: shroud

Product:	Hello Kitty USB Speakers
Date:	04/11/09 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: practical bit of kitsch, robust, does the job its intended for, inexpensive

Disadvantages: HK is taking over the world

My son's birthday wish list consisted of nothing BUT Hello Kitty, and all were accessories for his PC (well, except for the bedding). Co-ordinating with the HK mouse he also desired, this was a definite must in his book. These are two speakers that look like Hello Kitty in a sitting position, and you get a choice of colours. Hello Kitty can be wearing a pink dress with a matching hair ribbon, or red, or yellow, lime green, blue, or even orange. Since his mouse had a Hello Kitty with a red ribbon, it was decided to go for the blue frock, and so the order was duly placed.

When they arrived, they were in a sturdy cardboard box without excess packaging of any description, so that was an automatic thumbs up to me from a frustration point of view (not to mention green points!) as I absolutely loathe having to get a saw to remove ties that could reinforce concrete. Other than that, they looked fairly unremarkable as speakers save for the fact that they were, well, Hello Kitties. There was the now seeingly standard USB cable to plug them into a PC or laptop, an on/off switch, and a volume selection bit. Unlike my PC speakers, however, these also have a battery compartment on the back, so that one may use these stand alone with an MP3 player...which of course they would like you to buy with a Hello Kitty motif (yes, we did, REALLY!).

These little puddy tats are plug and play; no software is required to use them, so once plugged into an available USB slot, you are ready to go. They work fairly well, what with actual sound coming out and all, though I have to say, I would NOT use these for a sound system if you are a big audio hi fi fan as these are not designed with this in mind at all. The sound is adequate, being on par with a bog standard set of PC speakers, so while adequate, it can also sound slightly tinny depending on what you are playing on it. This is for him to hear sounds on his games though and as he is playing classic games, the sound is just fine as it is. Being a kid, he doesn't care too much how high definition his music sounds is as long as he can hear and understand the lyrics, so he is quite happy to listen to his mp3 player and online J-radio (Japanese radio) stations via these speakers.

Where he gets the most enjoyment out of these however is the pure whimsy of having two Hello Kitties sitting by his side. They are super cute of course, which is how this has little feline has insiduously begun her conquest for world domination practically unopposed. So engaging in fact, that a second pair had to be ordered, this time in pink, to accompany his older sister on her PC. Just the ticket for sneakily inserting a bit of cute into the office under the guise of it being necessary computer equipment and adding a bit of personality to a faceless cubicle, never mind being a bit of lighthearted fun for the kids' rooms!

Durability wise I have been quite pleased. The real cat has knocked these onto the floor a few times, and they have not chipped, cracked, or ceased to function at full capacity in any way. So while I would not advocate using these to play football or tennis or anything in place of a ball, they are robust enough to not be a complete waste of cash if placed in a possibly hazardous envirionment such as the desk of a complete klutz, or in the room of a child.

Like the matching mouse, this is not something you can simply nip down to PC World and buy, but you may find it in gadget shops, shops that sell imported Japanese kitsch, and of course, eBay. We bought ours from eBay and had them shipped direct from Hong Kong. It took just under two weeks for delivery from the very second we paid for the item, and including postage the pair came to about a fiver. The price on eBay varies greatly of course from sellers' desired profit margins , yada yada yada, so shop around. The smiles on the kids' faces would have made twice the price a bargain, so don't forget to figure in your fun factor when deciding what you would be willing to pay.

Summary: Sanrio finds yet another way to invade our desk spaces and pocket our cash.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Speed:
Sound quality: