iPod Hi-Fi Home Stereo Box

A
pple Computer soldiers onward with the innovative iPod "Hi-Fi" stereo system. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs?latest ?搕he home stereo reinvented?- is the newest example of Apple抯 efforts to extend the range of its slick product line. Shaped like a speaker on its side, the unit is a 17-inch-wide white box about 7 inches high by 7 inches deep - a little bigger a long shoe box - with a black grille.

The portable unit is compatible with all versions of the iPod. The MP3 player slips into a dock on top of the unit, which also has a remote control and built-in handles, and can run on D-cell batteries. With the batteries, the whole thing clocks in at a mere 16.7 pounds.

This iPod box now has Apple competing with such companies as Bose, which already has external speakers for iPods and other accessory products. But these stereos are not quite "bookshelf" stereos (the Hi-Fi, for example, is promoted as a hybrid iPod dock). Also, unlike the Bose, users can dock their portable players into the speakers and use a remote control to operate it from afar. This means there抯 no longer a need for a cabinet full of CDs.

By: Aaron Jacobs