Altec Lansing inMotion Classic

Pros: Nice looking. Good sound quality. Battery is super. Can output a ton of sound for its size.

Cons: Sound quality not as good as the IM600. Remote not secured in the "to-go"/folded up mode.

Summary: I was a huge fan of the iM600. I enjoyed mine and gave several as gifts to people that were simply blown away by the surprising sound. Tragically, a recent mishap in the rain rendered mine useless. I have to admit that I was even a little bit excited to finally have my excuse to buy the latest & greatest version of a product I've enjoyed so much.

I remained excited right up until a few minutes after I turned it on. The sound is good, to be sure. However, the very rich and entirely unexpected depth of sound I had enjoyed for two years from my 600 just wasn't there. I discovered the ESS setting (accessible only on the remote) and thought "Aha, that's what's missing!" - but the improvement was almost indiscernible.

I really do like the improved look and the functions of the remote on the 620, but I think I'm actually going to turn it over to my 10 year old daughter and purchase another (now aging) iM600 USB while they're still available. I'm not an audiophile snob, but I do work from home and use the thing all day long in the background (with Slacker, Pandora or Rhapsody running on my iPod Touch) so, the quality of sound really does matter to me.

I so wanted this to be an upgrade (or even a draw), but at least for the sound quality, it really isn't. It's a very nice product and I think still a really good value compared to the competition, but the sound is a slight step-down from the IM600 it's intended to replace.