iPod Hi-Fi.

At the press event where Steve Jobs introduced the Intel Mac mini (see "What You Need to Know: The Intel Mac Mini and the MacBook Pro," page 49), he also showed off Apple's first integrated JPod speaker system, the $349 iPod Hi-Fi (MM; macworld.com/1215), a one-piece 17.0-by-6.9by-6.6-inch model. The purpose of this small package, according to Jobs, is to offer home-stereo quality: a large sound stage, precise imaging and separation, a wide frequency range, and room-filling power without distortion.

The iPod Hi-Fi has a Universal Dock that accommodates all dockable iPods (and includes 10 different adapters). It also comes with the same Apple Remote used to control the Front Row software on the new iMac, the MacBook Pro, and the latest Mac mini models.

You can power the iPod Hi-Fi with either the included AC adapter or six D batteries, making it truly portable (or, at nearly 17 pounds with batteries, "transportable") â€" to that end, two integrated handles help you lug it from room to room. The Hi-Fi also includes a 1/8-inch (3.5mm) auxiliary input jack that accepts either analog or digital input, for connecting an iPod shuffle or an early iPod, a TV or a DVD Player, or even the optical output of an Air Port Express for streaming music from iTunes.

Also of note is the new Speakers menu that appears on fifth-generation and nano iPods when you dock them on the Hi-Fi. The menu allows you to configure several options specific to Hi-Fi-docking â€" EQ and backlight settings, as well as having album art remain in full-screen mode during docked playback. (This new menu comes courtesy of the iPod Updater 2006-01-10 software Update.)

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By Dan Frakes