Edifier iF330 Plus

Edifier is a Canadian-based company that makes a variety of stylish audio systems. The company seems to have limited distribution in the U.S., but its compact and affordably priced iF330 Plus audio system for iPods is more readily available stateside.

At first glance, the iF330, which costs around $75, looks like a small home iPod speaker system. But after we opened the box, we were surprised to find that the little speaker came with a battery option and a neoprene carrying case. The design is understated; there are some curved edges, but this is basically a little black box that measures 3.4 inches by 11.75 inches by 4.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.08 pounds without batteries. While it's an attractive speaker, the unit's glossy plastic finish is a fingerprint magnet. That's unfortunate.

The dock is retractable, but it's worth noting that it's not the smoothest retractable dock we've seen; it takes a little yank to get it out. You get the usual dock "sleeves" for various iPods and Edifier instructs you to pull the dock out a little farther if you have a "fat" iPod (there are markers for "thin" iPods and Nanos as well).

Indoors, the iF330 can be powered by an AC adapter. If you want to take it outside or simply don't have access to a power outlet, you can choose to pop six AA batteries (not included) into the battery bay on the bottom of the unit. The system accepts alkalines and rechargeable batteries, though we were unable to test whether you could recharge batteries in the unit itself.