The Weekly DT: THE OM/ONE SPEAKER LITERALLY LEVITATES

By Caleb Denison Published August 13, 2014

Floating bluetooth speaker — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Weekly DT is a weekly tech story from our brother site, DigitalTrends.com.

The world does not need another Bluetooth speaker. In fact the inflating Bluetooth speaker bubble we’ve been watching expand over the past few years is about to burst, and, just like the US housing market crash in 2008, there will be many tears and broken dreams. But, if you’re a startup that really, really wants a piece of a market that’s about to go “kaboom,” you better come to the table with an irresistible product — one that is so surprising and gaze-inducing that it simply can’t fail. OM Audio thinks it has just such a thing. Check out the OM/One, a Bluetooth speaker that floats and spins in the air while cranking out your jams.

The effect, seen in the video below, evokes memories of a Star Wars scene in which Luke Skywalker has to defend himself from a revolving “remote” that shoots lasers at him while he wields his lightsaber; except the OM/One doesn’t shoot lasers at you, it spits out sound in 360 degrees using a single 75mm speaker packed into a 3.6-inch diameter sphere.

The OM/One orb floats thanks to the magic of magnets and a lightweight enclosure that weighs only three quarters of a pound. The base, which is used to charge the speaker or any other USB-powered device, features a glowing OM Audio logo, adding to the mystical effect that OM’s Hindu-influenced name infers.

In addition to playing music, the speaker acts as a speakerphone, too. The battery is rated to provide up to 15 hours of continuous play. And since the speaker uses the latest Bluetooth 4.0 chip, it can be stereo paired with another OM/One to offer left and right channel separation.

That’s all well and good, but how does the speaker sound? If our prior experience with OM audio and its Mantra speaker is anything to go by, the OM/One’s floating gimmick is going to be a lot more impressive than its sound quality. Then again, when your $180 speaker floats in mid air, does it need to sound like a million dollars?

OM Audio’s crowdfunding campaign has 50 days to go and, at the time this article was published, had managed to pull in 42 percent of its $100,000 goal.

Culture

‘The Brutalist’ is the first big winner of the 2025 Oscar season

The Brutalist is an epic about a man building a massive building in the aftermath of World War II

the brutalist nyfcc oscar season adrien brody in

The 2025 Oscar season is starting to take shape, filled with movies that are all hoping to become awards season favorites. The Brutalist, Brady Corbett's historical epic, just got a big boost in that regard when it was awarded best film at the New York Film Critics' Circle Awards.

The movie also won for best actor for Adrien Brody's lead performance, suggesting that it was one of the strongest movies of the year with the critics group. The NYFCC is the oldest critics group in America, and while their tastes can sometimes be more high-brow than the Academy, the group has been a reliable bellwether for the Oscars for years. Since the Academy expanded its list of Best Picture nominees, there have only been two instances where the NYFCC winner didn't secure a nomination (Carol in 2015 and First Cow in 2020).

Culture

Will ‘Bel-Air’ be back for a fourth season?

The news comes just three months after the show aired its season 3 finale.

The cast of Bel-Air

Bel-Air, the more dramatic retelling of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air hasn't lasted quite as long as the original series, but after its third season it's getting closer. Now, Variety is reporting that Peacock's Bel-Air has been renewed for a fourth and final season at Peacock. The news comes about three months after the show's season 3 finale aired.

Like the original sitcom, this show follows a teenager named Will who moves from an impoverished neighborhood in West Philadelphia to live with his aunt and uncle in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel-Air. The show was originally inspired by a viral video that imagined what the series might look like as a more straightforward drama. The series stars Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Akira Akbar, Coco Jones, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones, and Simone Joy Jones.

Culture

Taylor Swift is named Spotify’s most streamed artist again in 2024

Swift has long been one of the most popular artist on the planet.

Taylor Swift on The Tortured Poets Department.

Spotify's Wrapped feature brings joy and horror to users every year as they realize exactly what they spent the year listening to. In addition to that individual data, though, the music streaming service also provides a more global picture of how its users behave every year, and this year, Taylor Swift once again reined supreme.

Variety is reporting that Swift was the service's most streamed artist for the second year in a row, thanks largely to her album "The Tortured Poets Department," which was the year's most streamed album. Swift's music generated 26.6 billion streams on the platform this year. Just behind Swift were the Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish.