iPod Central: iPod reviews and news

(Credit: Altec Lansing)

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we're offering another iPod/iPhone speaker system--and it's one of our favorites: The Altec Lansing Mix iMT800.

I happen to have reviewed this guy myself and here's the bottom line on it: "While the retrolicious design of Altec Lansing's Mix iMT800 may not appeal to everyone, its winning combination of good performance, lots of oomph, and portability makes it one of the best iPod speaker options out there." (Read the full review).

Normally, Altec Lansing's Mix iMT800 would cost about $300, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So, how do you try to win this iPod boom box? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Before we drove it, the idea of an X5 M seemed outlandish, and we suspected BMW's motives had more to do with marketing than the company's engineering reputation. How could an X5 all-wheel-drive SUV live up to the M badge? We should have trusted BMW, whose engineers are so pure of heart they would never let a vehicle wear the M that didn't deserve it. The X5 M is a monstrously powerful beast that handles like a sports car. In fact, we had to drive up next to other cars for a height comparison to remind us we were in an SUV.

Read our review of the 2010 BMW X5 M.

The Philips SBD7500 iPod speaker.

(Credit: CNET/Josh Miller)

If you're looking for a small, tasteful, portable iPod speaker for less than $100, you could do a lot worse than the unfortunately named Philips SBD7500. Its sound quality is middle-of-the-road, yet still sounds pleasant, and its operation is about as simple as it gets--with a power switch, volume control, and a bass boost switch.

There's nothing fancy about the specs or features--no radio, no Bluetooth, no clock, and no remote. It is iPhone-compatible, though, and there's something to be said for keeping things simple. That said, if you have an extra $50 to throw at a portable speaker, the recently released Altec Lansing inMotion Classic is a better choice in every imaginable way.

Check out CNET for the full review of the Philips SBD7500.

Philips SBD7500--photos

Apple iPod Touch

(Credit: CNET)

In news that shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who's perused our Holiday Gift guide, sampled our list of top MP3 players, or remembers what happened to last year's iPod Touch, the third-generation iPod Touch now proudly bears the CNET Editors' Choice badge.

As I mentioned back in September, I deliberately held off on awarding the Touch an Editors' Choice early on, waiting to see what Archos and Zune had up their sleeves before handing down final judgment. Well, all the reviews are in now and the iPod Touch remains king of the hill. Whether you're buying one for yourself or giving it as a gift, the third-generation iPod Touch does not disappoint.

To all you Zune HD fans out there who feel betrayed by our choice, feel free to pour your anger into the comments section below.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Treating gasoline as fine whiskey, the hybrid Lexus RX450h sips rather than gulps. This luxury vehicle turns stereotypes of SUVs on their heads, getting excellent fuel economy while offering Lexus' latest cabin tech. It pampers occupants with interior and ride quality that rise above most luxury vehicles today.

Read our review of the 2010 Lexus RX 450h.

The iAudio E2 from Cowon offers an interesting alternative to the iPod Shuffle. Hey, at least it has buttons.

(Credit: Cowon America)

Is the iPod Shuffle just a little too boring for you? If you like your MP3 players small, cheap, and stylish, but prefer actual buttons to Apple's odd headphone-clicker voice navigation, the iAudio E2 from Cowon may be just the thing--that is, once someone can explain to us how it works.

On sale for the first time today, the 4GB iAudio E2 is priced at $64.99 from Jetmall. The key-ring-shaped MP3 player is 1 inch wide by 2.5 inches tall by and 0.3 inch thick, and is meant to be worn on a necklace. Like the iPod Shuffle, the E2 is an audio-only device, but tackles a different range of audio formats (MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg, WAV).

Like most MP3 players out of Cowon, (Read more)

(Credit: Wall of Sound)

For a stereo, the Wall of Sound isn't massive. But for an iPod dock, it's gargantuan.

Pitched as "the world's most powerful iPod speaker," the Wall of Sound is a $4,500, handcrafted iPod dock with a stocky 3x4-foot frame that weighs in at 225 pounds.

As for the sound itself, the 125W system promises a frequency response of 40Hz to 20kHz that will provide "graceful mids and crystal clear highs," according to the product's Web site. It's also purportedly "for people who believe that music should be listened to loudly."

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

The Klipsch Image S4i earphones are nearly identical to their sibling, the Image S4. They not only provide the same comfortable fit and stellar sound quality, but also offer the added bonus of an integrated mic and call answer button, as well as volume controls and remote playback for the iPod. Call quality through the inline mic is solid, though not overly spectacular for a wired headset. At $99, the Image S4i costs $20 more, which is probably worth it for those with an iPhone. For more information, read our full review of the Klipsch Image S4 headphones.

Klipsch Image S4i earphones--photos

I am not concerned about the future, only because I am told that humans will soon be in the clutch and thrall of robots and perfect harmony will be enjoyed by all. However, I must register the initial frisson of disturbia I experienced on reading a report from the Boston Globe magazine that suggests the iPhone may be a wise toy for 3-year-olds.

No, this is not some mocking suggestion that those who use an iPhone do, indeed, have the minds of children less than 4. It is, rather, a fascinating analysis of what happens when you just hand a 3-year-old an iPhone with the initial aim of keeping the little rodent in your life quiet.

It seems the iPhone's happy, colorful design is not only a great attraction for a little child's imagination, but the keyboard tends to suit tinier fingers rather better than larger ones.

Indeed, there is a considerable possibility that the iPhone might just help in children's education, something app developers have not been slow to realize. The Globe tells us that 60 percent of the apps in the education section of the iTunes store target extremely little people.

Now I know there will be those who worry that if you give a little one an iPhone they will be zapped with gamma rays and all sorts of deleterious electronic waves that will seep into their brains and be an enormous health risk.

One might heed the words of Dariusz Leszczysnki, a researcher for the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland, who told a Senate subcommittee: "In my opinion the current safety standards are not sufficiently supported because of the very limited research on human volunteers, children, and on the effects of long-term exposures in humans."

But most of the things parents give children to keep them quiet carry a certain risk to health: plastic toys that kids lick, bite, and try to swallow with the result that all sorts of paint and gunk might enter their bodies; candy that children lick, bite, and try to swallow with the result that they then put on weight; and let's not even start with the quality of teenage babysitting in the world.