SiliconBeat

Altec-Lansing inMotion Max

As I forecast on Friday, I started testing out the Altec-Lansing inMotion Max iPod speaker system over the weekend. As might be expected, it was easy to set up.

I haven’t really put the device through its paces yet, but my initial impression is somewhat mixed. The sound quality seemed fine. Unlike many iPod speaker systems, it’s fully compatible with my iPhone, meaning that not only will it charge my iPhone, but it doesn’t prompt an annoying incompatibility message on the iPhone that asks whether I want to turn off the iPhone’s antennas everytime I plug my iPhone into it. So that’s nice.

One neat feature is that the inMotion Max identifies the song and artist that’s playing and will display it its LED read-out. Although that essentially duplicates what’s displayed on an iPhone or iPod display, it’s in bigger type and can be read from farther away. I also like that the device has a built-in FM tuner, although I haven’t yet tested it out.

I did encounter one notable problem with the inMotion Max in my early testing of it. At one point, it completely went on the fritz: it’s display blinked, the sound turned off and on and it became completely useless.

Fortunately, the owner’s manual actually has a tip on how to fix such a problem, saying that it can be caused by a build up of static electricity. After resetting the inMotion Max according to the manual’s instructions, it has worked again without a recurrence of the problem.

One less concerning thing, although somewhat annoying, is that the buttons on the inMotion Max are virtual ones — similar to those on a touch screen — not actual ones. Because there’s no tactile difference between the buttons, it’s easy to push the wrong one if you aren’t looking close. And it’s hard to know exactly how hard to press to get a response.

I know, my iPhone is a touch screen device and I’ve adjusted to it, even though I sometimes have a problem with its virtual buttons. But there’s a reason the iPhone has a touch screen; it’s so that the iPhone can display a different button layout for each application, allowing it to have the right buttons for the right program.

In contrast, there’s no reason for the inMotion Max to have touch-screen like buttons. The buttons don’t change depending on the context. The power and volume control buttons are always in the same place and always active when the device is on.

Another concern about the device is my previous experience with the Altec-Lansing iM600, which I personally owned. That device failed little more than a year after I purchased it. Because the one-year warranty had expired, Altec-Lansing refused to replace it.

More disconcertingly in my book, the company offered no solutions for fixing it. The company didn’t have a service center of its own that I could ship it to, couldn’t recommend any authorized service centers and didn’t have any replacement parts. So, basically I was left with a lemon.

I certainly will weigh that experience before buying another Altec-Lansing product, and I think you should too.