And she was all, like, "Dude! The iM7 is totally tubular!"

The inMotion iM7 is one of the best iPod speaker stands we've seen. It's attractive, sounds great, boasts a super set of features - and has only a few minor annoying quirks.

The 16.5-by-6.5-by-6.5-inch iM7 houses a pair of one-inch tweeters, two three-inch midrange drivers, and a four-inch subwoofer that blasts bass out the left side. All the components combine to produce some of the best sound quality we've heard from iPod speakers - full, booming bass; clean mids; and crisp highs. It has no problem loudly filling a room, and we didn't notice any distortion at high volumes.

The iM7's dock opens and closes to securely hold your compatible iPod (you can put a iPod nano inside, though it looks odd), and it comes with a short-range (about 15 feet) remote control that handles a limited number of iPod functions - you'll need to get up off your butt and use the iPod's controls to access playlists, change EQ settings, and fiddle with other deep-access options. Also, the iM7's volume, bass, and treble controls don't provide any visual feedback, so you'll sometimes find yourself button-mashing the remote, missing the setting you want.

The iM7's rear has S-Video and composite-video ports so you can play slide shows from your iPod photo and videos from your video-capable 'Pod, a headphone jack (which we wish was on the front), and an auxiliary port for connecting other audio devices. The ports lie beneath the iM7's handle, which you shouldn't use if you need to haul the iM7 long distances - it's too uncomfortable. The iM7 draws its power from an included universal adapter or eight D batteries, which lasted 10 hours, 6 minutes in our testing.

The bottom line. Even with the iM7's shortcomings, the sound it produces is just too good to pass up.

COMPANY: Altec Lansing
CONTACT: 570-296-6887, www.alteclansing.com
PRICE: $249.95
REQUIREMENTS: Third-, fourth-, or fifth-generation iPod, iPod mini, iPod nano, or iPod photo
Stylish. Excellent sound. Universal power adapter. Can use batteries.
Short remote range. No indicators for controls. Uncomfortable handle.