Sure, pretty much every audio accessory manufacturer under the sun has been making iPod speaker systems for years, and if you need one and don’t have one by now, you’re either behind the curve or your existing speaker system took a tumble into a wading pool. But in case you are in the market for ways to push your iPod tunes into the open air, iLuv has a new solution for you in the form of its iMM9400 vertical speaker system, which combines iPod music with old school technologies to be the center of your music universe. Or at least a convenient way to listen to music not (yet) on your iPod or iPhone while charging up. The iMM9400 combines an iPod-capable speaker system with a 4 CD changer and an FM radio, along with USB and SD card support for playing MP3 or WMA files on USB media and SD/MMC cards—such as SanDisk’s slotMusic offerings.
“We feel that music and home entertainment lovers will find this the perfect fit for their modern home with the sleek finish and wall mounting style as well as the sound quality of our patented jAura Soundcell Technology” said iLuve marketing manager Howard Kim, in a statement. “This unit gives the ultimate music lover a multitude of ways to play their music from CD, MP3/WMA CD, iPhone/iPod, SD/MMC card, USB thumb drive and Aux-in jack to slotMusic file options”.
The speaker system sports two satellite speakers running at 10 Watts per channel, along with an output for an optional external subwoofer, if you need some added thump. The CD changer supports up to four discs and supports random, repeat, intro, and program modes, and the FM radio supports up to 40 presets. The iMM9400 also offers a clock with the usual tier, alarm, and snooze functionality, and the unit comes with a remote control for managing it from across the room. Of course, the unit is also iPod-compatible, and can play tunes from iPhones and dock-compatible iPods. The iMM9400 should be available in August for a suggested price of $249.99; it’ll come in black or white cases.
On a related note, folks who want to use ordinary (or extraordinary) headphones with Apple’s VoiceOver feature on the third generation iPod shuffle or iPhone 3GS might want to look at iLuv’s iEA15 headphone adapter, which includes the remote control chip Apple uses in its proprietary VoiceOver-capable headphones. Just pop any standard 3.5mm headphones into the adapter and you’re good to go with VoiceOver. The bad news? iLuv hasn’t yet released any pricing or availability information.
