SiliconBeat

Altec-Lansing inMotion Max

At long last, I wanted to write an updated review of the Altec-Lansing inMotion Max iPod speaker system.

As some readers may recall, I planned to test out then-new inMotion Max last spring. However, I soon abandoned the idea of writing a full review of the product, because I ran into a serious glitches.

At random intervals, the device would seize up, stop working and stay that way until I unplugged and reset it. At least one reader experienced a similar problem with the device, so it looks like the glitch might have been with a particular batch of the speaker systems.

But it doesn’t look like the problem was endemic with the device. Altec-Lansing ended up sending me a replacement unit to test out, and I played with that speaker system quite a bit over the next several months. The problem didn’t recur with the new unit. So I don’t feel I can fairly mark the device down for the problem. Just be aware that it can occur. Read the rest of this entry »

Altec-Lansing inMotion Max

As I mentioned before, I’ve been testing out one of Altec-Lansing’s newest iPod speaker systems, the inMotion Max. I was hoping to write up a full review of the inMotion Max this week, but I now plan to postpone it. The reason: The device has repeatedly had the same glitch I reported before, and I don’t think it’s fair to judge it on what might be a single faulty unit.

The glitch is pretty annoying. At seemingly random intervals, the inMotion Max will seize up, no longer responding when I press buttons on the remote control or the device itself. Instead, it repeatedly turns itself on and off until it’s unplugged and reset. 

When I first experienced the glitch on the inMotion Max, I chalked it up to bad luck. But I’ve now experienced it four or five times, seemingly every time I spend a decent amount of time with the device.

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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.

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Speaking of Altec-Lansing, I’ll likely be playing around this weekend with a new speaker system from the company, the iPhone-compatible inMotion Max.

In coming weeks, I also plan on testing out a handful of new headphones, including a pair of new models — the 200 and the 300 — from SoundID.

Finally — and I realize I’m a little late to this — but I’ve been playing around this week with Apple’s new iPod shuffle. My first take: I love the ultra-slim size, and I generally like the new VoiceOver feature, which uses a computer-generated voice to tell you what song is playing or what playlists are available.

But I hate that Apple’s decision to incorporate the volume, VoiceOver and play/stop/fast-forward/reverse controls into a button on the headphone wire means that I can’t use my noise-isolating headphones with the shuffle.

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