(The following summary refers to Altec Lansing's M602, JBL's Radial, Klipsch's iGroove HG, and Sonic Impact's T24 Made for iPod Shelf System.)

All four of these systems offer more functionality than Bose's top-selling SoundDock, including one or several additional features -- for example, computer syncing, video output, and support for non-dockable iPods and other audio sources. And Klipsch's iGroove HG and JBL's Radial offer better sound quality -- in the case of the Radial, significantly better. And the SoundDock finally has some serious competition in terms of performance for the price: All of these systems except the Radial are available for significantly less money than the SoundDock, and the two lowest-priced systems, Sonic Impact's T24 and Altec Lansing's M602, provide sound quality that's likely to satisfy many people -- and include more features -- for $100 less. This may not be the best news for Bose, but it's good news for iPod owners, who have a growing list of quality choices for compact speaker systems.

--Dan Frakes

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