Bose SoundDock Portable

The SoundDock Portable produces big sound from a relatively small frame it measures 6.8 by 12.1 by 6.1 inches (HWD) when the docking tray is closed. (When an iPod is docked, the depth expands to 6.94 inches.)

At 5.2 pounds it's no featherweight, and is actually a little heavier than its 4.6 pound, not meant to be portable predecessor. It's not too heavy to carry around the house but on your next vacation? I wouldn't advise it.

While both models are aesthetically pleasing, a flatter, more compact shape would make the SoundDock Portable much easier to pack. Bose added a built in hand grip on the rear panel and a spring loaded, retractable iPod docking tray to make this SoundDock qualify as portable.

The face is all speakers, which are hidden behind a metallic grille. Two touch sensitive flat buttons on the right hand panel control volume they work quickly and smoothly. The rear of the device has a power input, an aux input for listening to tunes from your laptop or none Apple PMP, plus a hand grip that doubles as a port for the bass frequencies.

The silver and white dock (it also comes in silver and black) ships with a rather large and heavy power adapter, the usual array of plastic iPod connection adapters, and a sturdy remote control. The remote is approximately 4 by 1.5 by 0.3 inches, with eight rubber buttons that feel durable a great improvement over the cheap feeling membrane buttons that grace most iPod-dock remotes.

The two vertical rows of buttons consist of power, play or pause, volume up, volume down, playlist backward, playlist forward, skip backward, and skip forward. Its range is satisfying I had little trouble operating the dock from various angles as long as I was pointing the remote in its general direction.