Review: Altec Lansing IMT320 inMotion Compact

I love Altec Lansing products.  I have the inMotion Classic iPod Dock and I use it quite a bit.  However, sometimes you need a speaker dock that is a little more compact and simpler to use than the inMotion Classic.  That’s where the inMotion Compact comes in. The inMotion Compact looks a lot like the Classic, but it lacks the FM Radio, the integrated battery, remote and integrated display.  The only controls on it are power and volume; all controls are on the top near the center of the dock.

The rear of the dock hides the power cord’s port, an auxiliary input for using non iPod/iPhone devices and the battery compartment.

This dock takes four standard AA batteries.  I use NiMh rechargeable batteries in all of my equipment. so I appreciate devices that have standard sizes.  If my rechargeables fail, I can pick up a pair of throw-aways for just a few bucks and be back in action; there is something to be said about having a standard battery!  The best part is they are removable and replaceable!  I applaud Altec Lansing for going this route on the inMotion Compact.  Apple, are you listening???

The inMotion Compact also has an integrated cover that also doubles as its stand.

One thing I don’t care for with the stand arrangement is if you are using the included AC Adapter, you must connect it to the speaker before folding the cover back to create the stand.  It’s only a little awkward though, so I can live with it.

Now that I have covered the physical aspects of this dock, how about the sound?  It’s pretty good!  In fact I would say I was surprised at how well this little dock sounded when listening to music.  The dock had decent bass for something this size.  In fact, I think it’s the best sounding dock of this size I have found.  It’s not as good as other docks, but those docks are much larger.

One other niggle with the inMotion Compact is that like the inMotion Classic, they only shipped the adapters for the latest iPod Nano and iPhone/iPod Touch.  I was still able to test it with my iPod which is an iPod Video, but it just didn’t sit as snugly in the dock.  It looks like to me, that the top iPod’s then must be models running iPhone OS and the Nano.  This ignores the fact that neither of these have enough storage for some people’s audio collections.  It’s not a big deal, but it would be nice that Apple and the accessory companies would acknowledge that the iPod Classic exists!

The inMotion Compact is an ideal dock for those who want to listen to music without headphones, but don’t want to go with a huge dock.  They may also want something they can stick in their suitcase or carry-on for listening to music in their hotel room, and the inMotion Compact fits the bill.  As Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are almost here, the Altec Lansing inMotion Compact might be just the thing for that on-the-go Mom or Dad who are iPod and iPhone fans.

The Altec Lansing inMotion Compact is available for $79.99 from Amazon.com.  It also works with almost any iPod with a dock connector including the iPhone.

What I liked: Great sounding and compact.  I also like the standard battery size.

What I didn’t care for: Needs a little different arrangement for the power adapter; maybe they should move it to one side. There is no iPod Classic adapter.  Other than that, it’s perfect.