inMotion iM600: As clever as it's aging!

This has been one of the iPod accessories we've been admiring in stores but never took home due to the $150 price tag. A recent special run by RadioShack brought this way down to $59 and finally all resistance broke and the iM600 is now part of our family (besides an iKick500). The main draw for the Altec Lansing iM600 was certainly the included battery and the overall clever design.

My wife is running a business as a StrollerFit instructor, and as such music support is needed indoors and outdoors, which poses the problem that power isn't easily available where the music is needed. Given the popularity of the iPod we decided to put our Nano to good use and looked for a portable speaker. The Kicker iK500 would have been perfect if it was actually portable with batteries. There are few other options and the iM600 finally won the race.


IN A NUTSHELL

Considering the main purpose of this speaker dock, I am very happy with the purchase of the Altec Lansing iM600. Both sound volume and overall portability are excellent for this class. It won't keep a football field entertained, but the speakers boast surprisingly rich sound for such a small unit easily entertaining a group of 10 in an open field.

I knew that iPhone compatibility wasn't advertised, but typical interferences are still suprisingly low. Nevertheless, another surprise kept me from purchasing a second system for my work. A little flyer inside (!!!) the box pointed out that the iM600 may not charge newer iPod models including the 2nd generation iPod Touch. Sure enough, the iPhone 3G was not charging either. 


DETAILS

Compatibility: [***--] The aging electronics in the iM600 were designed not knowing the latest generation of both iPod and iPhone. In fact, the latter didn't exist at that time in any fashion. Regardless, speaker functionality is still maintained through Apple's universal connector. Beyond the basics, however, make sure to test the speaker with your portable player if it's not older than 2 years. In our case the unit simply won't charge the iPhone and even the iPod Touch (2G) as well as the Nano (4G) share the same problem. That's too bad since the iM600 is still one of the best looking units around. In our case the main music player for my wife is her 2005 iPod Nano, and the good news is that this unit is fully supported charging and all.

Design: [*****] Seriously, the iM600 is one of the best looking speakers for iPod on the market. It's complimented by a very clever folding design for maximum portability. Both stand and iPod dock fold up to retract completely in the body making this a relatively flat unit. A push of a button reveals both in virtually no time. Another neat feature is the storage compartment for the remote control underneath the area where the stand folds into. Excellent design and well thought out portability certainly give the inMotion iM600 an edge over mos portable units.

Functionality: [****-] The inMotion iM600 is a no nonsense speaker dock with minimal functionality to deal with. Simply plug the iPod in and the only controls on the speaker are for volume and source as well as minimal controls for the iPod. The included remote control provides the typical iPod menu access and compliments the unit very well. No Treble or Bass adjustment is available. The included SFX sound effect is pretty much the same base widening electronic trickery as found in a few other devices.

Connectivity: [*****] Not only does the iM600 provide the typical universal connector for iPods etc., the speaker also allows to use any other player via the simple audio input (AUX) which typically connects to the headphone output of any player. The dock holds a little surpise in the form of a composite video output (to display the Video on a TV) and more importantly a separate subwoofer output. The latter is a serious argument for audiphiles which won't do without a good bass. It's also relatively rare on any iPod speaker.

Sound: [****-] Size can be deceiving and in the case of the iM600, it manifests itself in the form of surprisingly rich sound for a speaker set of this size, especially when you find out how tiny the actual speakers really are. That doesn't extend to the bass which is falling a bit short, but overall the sound is quite pleasing. In my experience that doesn't hold up once applying the SFX trickery to fake a wider stereo base, and you will be better off without it when turning the volume up. (The SFX makes the sound a bit more tinny and distorted.) This is common to all small devices and I really recommend to leave that off anyway. Of course everything is relative and compared to a full size stero, the inMotion is quite limited even with an optional subwoofer. Nevertheless, it's also quite remarkable within the device class it's in. Hence the rating.

Battery: [*****] The inMotion iM600 is unique in the way of providing a built-in rechargable battery with about 4 - 7 hours operating time between charges. The actual time heavily depends on usage (volume, temperature). In our experience a charge is completed in under an hour, but we rarely run it completely empty either. Overall, the battery is the biggest argument in favor of the iM600. It's an essential feature for our described use!

Radio: [****-] A clever addition is the included FM radio with good receiption even with completely retracted telescoping antenna. Fully extended, the PLL tuner signs very capable of providing a stable and clear receiption. There are no presets or other gimmicks, but it's still a welcome addition for those cases when one forgot the iPod or the collection simply isn't applicable for hot-off-the-press content like news. Running the radio with an iPhone (or any other GSM phone) in close proximity will cause noticeable interferences (much more pronounced than in iPod mode). The radio is not HD capable and does not provide song tagging either which would be used to directly tell the unit what song is playing on the radio and of course where to buy it on iTunes.

Value: [***--] In light of the recent offer which brought this speaker to my home for a mere $59, it's somewhat forgiveable that compatibility with the newest portable players is limited. Make sure this limitation is not preventing you to enjoy this system. The overall design and portability are excellent arguments for the iM600 and with above offer an irresistable bargain. In stark contrast, the MSRP of $149 is a much tougher pill to swallow in light of the compatibility issues. It may not be wise to spend this kind of money on a speaker in 2008/2009 with already limited compatibility to even the currently existing latest models.

© 2008, theuerkorn