Altec Lansing inMotion iM9

Pros: Highly Portable, charges iPod when plugged in

Cons: Some distortion from tracks with heavy bass or at MAX volume level

Summary: I bought this item because there are many outdoor activities in New Orleans, including tons of parades. People my age spend hours outside drinking on the parade route long before the parades begin. It runs on 4 C batteries when you don't have it plugged in. I have a new iPod which lasts for hours, compared to my poor old one which now only lasts about 45 mins on a full charge. I have had this thing going at high volume for a 10 hour stretch on new batteries and it kept going. So I was glad to see the player can go all day on new batteries. The time challenge is probably more closely related to how much charge your iPod is carrying, as it will probably die before this player will(when putting new batteries in at the get go.) The sound quality is great and the product design feels very durable, with a "rubberish" surround. My only caution would be the beach or anywhere sandy as the iPod is actually exposed to the elements, and we all know how sand just tends to get everywhere. Another piece of advice, the item is black (as is my iPod), so don't leave it sitting out in the sun all day! I found mine to be very hot after about 1 hour of direct sunlight. Covered it with a shirt and it was good the rest of the day .