The air was thick with dioxychloride on an unusually dreary afternoon in October of 2001; the invasion had begun. Evil corporate geniuses had crafted a clever plan to embed listening devices on every person in the nation… nay, the World! Little did they know just how successful they would be. We never stood a chance. We never put up a fight.
Not only did they succeed in getting these listening devices installed by the thousands, but their power was so, that we didn’t even mind them. In fact, we quite liked them; enough to extend the listening device’s remarkable power into our vehicles, homes, even our bathrooms.
I am, of course, talking about the Apple iPod. Today I’ll be taking a look at a set of ultra-portable iPod nano speakers from Altec Lansing, the inMotion iM500. And I really mean ultra-portable; this thing fits in my pocket (looks quite strange there, but it does fit). Some say size doesn’t matter, but in the back of my mind I’m already concerned that Altec Lansing may have gone with form over function with this little ‘fella.
I should mention that while Brad reviewed Altec Lansing’s inMotion iM510 portable Sansa speakers last month, the iM500 isn’t just the same thing with a different connector. So I really don’t know what to expect going into this review. Enough jibba jabba, let’s do ‘dis.
First Impressions
After reviewing Kensington’s SX 3000R, I was delighted at the compact size of Altec Lansing’s iM500. I’ve eaten bigger sandwiches.
In the box you’ll find the iM500, power supply, auxiliary cable, protective carrying pouch, and a user’s guide. Of course, a real man doesn’t read instructions, so it took me a few minutes of fumbling with the device to figure out how to get to any of the buttons or connections. That’s because this little device folds up… sort of. Basically there is a button front and center which unveils the dock connector along with power and volume buttons on the front, and USB, auxiliary input and power connections in the back. Think of the device as having ‘kickstands’ more so than being able to ‘fold up.’ Also on the backside of the device are two battery compartments, each of which can hold three AAA batteries for a total of six, allowing you to listen to your music whether or not you have an outlet handy.
Overall the iM500 is pretty slick. Altec Lansing calls it “impossibly thin…” you jive turkeys (see Exhibit A). The only problem is that the glossy black plastic (which has become so common) smudges very easily. Luckily the majority of the time you’ll only see the front of the device which has a flat black honeycomb mesh protecting the speakers.
Altec Lansing IM500 Portable Audio System for iPod Nano Y Okay, so your iPod nano is the coolest thing since the discovery of electricity. Want to know the second coolest thing? Then introduce yourself to the inMotion iM500 for iPod nano. It's compact, lightweight and super-thin just like your iPod nano. So you can take it with you… wherever. And it features two custom, full-range drivers, plus built-in-bass-enhancement technology for stunning, surprisingly clear sound. You can plug it in or choose battery power. And it syncs and charges your iPod nano.
