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The Studio Series iP1 will go on sale in July with a list price of $300.

(Credit: iHome)

We review a lot of iHome products on CNET and until now the brand has had more of budget slant to it. But this summer, with the introduction of its new iP1 Studio Series model, iHome is setting its sights a little higher.

We got an early look at the iP1 at an iHome event and it's definitely got an appealing and distinctive industrial design (iHome refers to the smoked acrylic surrounding the speakers as "museum quality"--we didn't now such a term existed for describing smoked acrylic). As far as the key specs go, the iP1 uses a "100 watt class D biamplified architecture with Bongiovi sound processing through twin 4-inch woofers and matched 1-inch dome tweeters." It's also got GSM shielding for iPhone use and a video-out port for watching iPod/iPhone video on a TV. However, there's no radio or alarm features.

The man behind the special sound processing is Tony Bongiovi, a music producer, second cousin of Jon Bon Jovi, and founder of the renowned Power Station recording studio where the event took place. The iP1 is equipped with Bongiovi Acoustics Digital Power Station, an active digital signal processor that the company says makes your MP3s sound better and maximizes the performance of the iP1.

Here's how iHome describes the feature:

When activated, "DPS constantly scans the program material and compensates for any deficiencies across the audio frequency spectrum. The result is a restoration of once-missing harmonics, brightness, clarity and presence. It also delivers a deeper, more resonant bass and miraculously extends audio bandwidth without adding peak output to the signal."

What we heard from the iP1 at the event seemed very decent for a compact system in this price range, which made us eager to pit it against some competing models in our labs to see how it stacks up. Hopefully, we'll have a review up shortly before its release in July.

(Credit: Speakal)

I don't know about you, but this thing won't scare me.

Speakal, maker of the unbearably cute iPanda, on Wednesday once again got (most of) us charmed with its new cute iPod docking station called iBoo.

The audio system comes in the shape of a friendly ghost with design elements that work in most settings: from the bedroom to the office to the kitchen. In addition, the iBoo's small footprint and light weight make it suitable for toting along on the go.

Made to be both an audio player and a decorative piece, the iBoo incorporates design elements as functional components. The smiley mouth, for example, acts as the sensor that receives remote control commands. The eyes, on the other hand, are two mid- and high-range speakers, while the sub woofer is hidden below in the "belly" of the ghost.

(Credit: Speakal)

The unit features rubberized feet to prevent rattling while the subwoofer is fired up high. Other than the remote, you can also control the volume by touching the iBoo itself.

The iBoo works as an iPod dock with numerous included cradles. It also has a standard auxiliary 3.5mm input jack for connectivity to an external player.

The iBoo is available now in red, white, and blue versions, with a price tag of $90 that includes a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

The Simplifi combines a bare-bones dock with a bare-bones-card reader.

(Credit: Griffin Technologies)

It's hard to make an iPod dock sizzle, but Griffin's Simplifi barely approaches room temperature.

By consolidating a memory card reader, USB hub, and iPod dock, the Griffin Simplifi has good intentions. Unfortunately, its card reader only accepts three formats, you only get two USB ports, and the dock doesn't offer a stitch of audio or video connectivity. The Simplifi is pretty looking, granted, but $70 can buy you a lot of pretty things.

Part of me was also hoping that the Simplifi would allow some sort of direct transfer between my memory cards and my iPod (like the old iPod Camera Connector). I guess some wishful part of my brain presumed that the card reader and iPod dock had something to do with each other, instead of being a random kludging of products. For what it's worth, the capability to offload photos from my camera directly onto my 120GB iPod Classic would be a feature worth paying $70 for, but the Simplifi won't get it done.

There are some good things going for the Griffin Simplifi. First off, it's iPhone 3G compatible. Also, while it may not read 62 types of memory cards, it does read the three most common card types for consumer cameras (SD, CompactFlash, and Memory Stick).

To find out more, read my full review of the Griffin Simplifi over at CNET Reviews.

The Pure-Fi Anytime: One of Logitech's latest iPod clock radios. But how does it compare to the other models in the Pure-Fi line?

(Credit: Logitech)

Logitech's line of Pure-Fi iPod speaker docks has swelled to six, and CNET's reviewed pretty much every one. Some of the models have very similar features and price points, so it seemed like a perfect candidate for a cheat sheet:

*The Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 is not yet reviewed, but it's pretty much identical to the original Pure-Fi Anywhere, but with the addition of iPhone shielding.
**The Pure-Fi Express isn't yet reviewed, but it's effectively a renamed version of the older AudioStation Express.

Basically, go with the Elite if you want the best sound quality--we still think it's one of the best-sounding models from any manufacturer, and it's available for as little as a third of its list price. The Dream or the Anytime are good choices if you want full clock/radio functionality, while the Anywhere 2, Express, or Express Plus are good if you want portability.

Of course, if you want to move beyond Logitech offerings, check out our list of best iPod speakers.

Have a favorite iPod speaker of your own? Share your suggestion below.

(Credit: Tech Digest)

If home electronics with built-in ambient lighting is a gimmick as some suggest, it's nevertheless a profitable one. We're just not sure about the reasoning behind using it with an iPod dock.

Philips has charged a premium for its TVs with this feature, which supposedly improves viewing. That doesn't help music, of course, but that hasn't stopped LG from incorporating red ambient lighting with its PC12DAB "iDoc."

Sporting an unusual oval design, the dock also has a CD player, DAB radio, alarm clock, and speakers with 10 watts of sound, according to Tech Digest. As far as the lighting goes, maybe LG just has a thing for the color red.

(Credit: Akihabara News)

A lot of wooden iPod accessories have made it to the market, some fairly sophisticated, others not so much. This latest wooden dock, we're afraid, falls into the latter category.

Even if it were made of reforested lumber, one would think the product's designers could have come up with something better than this. After all, it's made by Japan's Marubeni, which has done right by other sylvan items. But its latest offering illustrates clearly that there's a fine line between minimalist design and a junior-high wood shop project.

The technical specs don't do much to make up for its aesthetic shortcomings either; a USB port and two 1-watt speakers--that's about it. That's what makes their prices almost insulting. The Scandanavian birch model goes for about $95, while the American walnut version sells for around $102. Our advice: Stick with bamboo.

(Credit: Amazon)

If there's one thing iHome specializes in, it's figuring out how to fit an iPod in any space.

Various docks have done everything from rotate to combine with lamps and speakers to save space wherever possible. And where does one build when real estate is scarce? Up, of course.

The "Spacesaver Alarm Clock" curves backward in a yoga-like position apparently to make as much surface area accessible while maintaining a minimal footprint. It also has LEDs on the sides and adjustable brightness so you can use it as a nightlight.

JVC NX-PN7: His-and-hers iPod speaker

(Credit: JVC)

Back in January, JVC unveiled the NX-PN7, an iPod speaker system with not one but two iPod docks. The company sent out a press release today to announce that the NX-PN7 is officially available. Otherwise, it looks like nothing's changed since the unit's coming-out party six months ago. Despite doubling down on the music players, the unit is just 13 inches wide. In addition to being able to toggle between "iPod A" and "iPod B," the NX-PN7 features a clock, an auxiliary line-in, and a horizontal light beneath each iPod dock that can be set to any one of nine colors. It has a sleep timer, but apparently no alarm. The list price is $150, but it looks like Amazon is already selling it for closer to $130.

If you think the JVC NX-PN7's dual iPod capacity is overkill, remember that Griffin offers PowerDock chargers that can juice up iPods and iPhones two or even four at a time. So, what do you think: are these multi-iPod accessories a good idea, or just more proof that some people have far too many iPods in their home?

(Credit: Spirit of St. Louis)

Forget about those updated boomboxes and cassette MP3 players. If you really want retro, this is the way to go.

This system from the Spirit of St. Louis Collection is designed to look like a World War II-era radio, like other models in the line, but this one has an iPod dock, CD player, and stereo speakers. And Chip Chick notes that it does have a working three-band radio as well, so it isn't totally artificial.