Bose Sounddock review

Product Bose Sounddock Portable Digital Music System
Website www.bose.co.uk
Specifications For Iphone 3G, Iphone 3GS, Iphone 4, Iphone 4S, Ipod Touch, Classic and Nano, auxiliary input for connecting other audio devices, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, remote control, 175x307x103mm, 2.37kg
Price: £300

SPEAKER COMPANY Bose has long been a vendor of high-end sound systems, but the firm's premium products often come with a premium price tag, and at £300 the Sounddock Portable Digital Music System is no exception.

As a portable Ipod and Iphone speaker dock with a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the dock can carry on pumping out the tunes long after you disconnect it from the mains.

There are many other vendors out there selling the same type of product for much less, so we got our music-loving mitts on the Sounddock and put it through its paces to see if it is really worth the extra expense.

Design and portability
One of the first things we noticed about the Bose Sounddock was how well built it is. It feels extremely sturdy and robust. However, considering the size and price, we would be lying if we said we weren't expecting a little more flair.

It has a very standard design and there isn't anything really unique about it. When unboxing it, we found it was exactly what we expected from a portable speaker dock, and at £300, it would have been nice to have been greeted with a special feature or unique design element.

We also noticed the Sounddock is rather heavy, weighing just under 2.4kg. This is a quality you really don't want with a portable device. Taking it into the garden wasn't a problem, as the built-in carrying handle around the back made it a breeze to transport a few yards. However, it's a little too bulky and heavy to simply throw in your rucksack on your way to meet friends in the park.

One smart feature of the dock is the mechanical "docking station", which rotates out of sight when not in use. Give the shiny Bose logo a press and it swivels out ready to dock your Iphone or Ipod into.

However, a negative we found here was the size of the Ipod and Iphone connector piece. If you happen to have a protective cover on your Iphone or Ipod, which let's face it, most people that own one do, then you have to remove it before docking into the speaker. This is because the swivel out "docking station" surrounding the connector isn't big enough to allow them. This makes the docking and undocking a trickier exercise than is necessary, which annoyed us a fair bit.

Even more annoying are the volume buttons on the side of the Sounddock speaker, which are overly touch sensitive. One slight brush of the finger on the volume up button and boom, your neighbours are banging on the wall. Luckily, the Sounddock comes with a nifty remote control which has satisfyingly pleasant click buttons.

The remote has the options to do all you'll ever need to do when playing back music. Volume up/down, power on/off, play/pause and track skip buttons are there as standard. There is also an option to skip forward and back through playlists as well, which we think is a nice touch.