Altec Lansing inMotion Compact iMT320

Modern technology is currently doing an excellent job of making everything in your life portable. With a Kindle, a phone with a pico projector, and a decent gaming handset you can pretty accurately recreate your living room's entertainment conditions anywhere in the world.

The inMotion Compact iMT320 - like the iM310 before it and products from Altec, Bose, Logitech, and others - aims to supply the auditory element of this mobile set up, allowing you to experience good quality sound in hotel rooms, tents, and on park benches.

There are plenty of these devices on the market, so how good is this one?

The box the inMotion Compact iMT320 comes in shows it in two contexts: on an infinite white surface, and on a city bench between some laughing models.

While you probably don't have many infinite white spaces in your flat, these two images are representative of the two situations in which you're likely to use your iMT320 iPod dock: statically, indoors, as a permanent fixture on your desk; or as a portable speaker to put on the windowsill while you have a barbeque or to set up in your hotel room when you're away on business for a few days.

While I suspect most will put the inMotion Compact iMT320 to the static use, it's the second, portable use for which it has been designed, so we'll judge it in those terms first and foremost.

Out of the box and in its closed form it looks like a designer shaving kit, with a faux leather lid and slightly unwieldy rhomboid design. A recent press release claims it folds as small as a book, and while at 241mm wide it's a good deal bigger than the paperback that may have popped into your mind just then, it'll slot happily into a suitcase you thought was already full.

If you're really interested, it's as wide as a Concise Oxford English Dictionary, though shorter, narrower, and much lighter.

To return for a moment to the slightly unwieldy rhomboid design, it's the kind of shape that will annoy you if you're carrying it alone - the acute edge juts up between your thumb and forefinger, giving your fingers less purchase. This is a pretty trifling criticism, though.

Unhook the lid and it unfolds and tucks back under the device to form a stand, anchoring the unit as its angled base tilts it backwards. Okay, so it's not Megatron, but it's an elegant and stable design that makes the best possible use of its parts.

The device's portable credentials are further underlined by the plug, which comes naked. In the box are pin attachments for European and British plug sockets, which means that as long as you remember to change it before you travel you won't need to occupy a precious adapter keeping your iPhone or iPod touch charged, and you won't run out of music to listen to or games to play.

When unfolded, the inMotion Compact iMT320 features a speaker on either side of the iPhone dock and a 'front firing port' under each of these. Across the top are just three buttons: on, volume up, and volume down.

It's a basic and efficient set-up, maximising output while minimising space and complexity. You'll probably find yourself reaching in vain for the sadly absent remote control every now and then - even my camping lamp has one - but this is perhaps too big an ask from a device that excels so well in other areas.

Who wants to spend £60-odd on an object that they only use when they're travelling? For many, the inMotion Compact iMT320 will be as much a CD player replacement to sit in the kitchen or on their desk as it will a travel companion, so it needs to be up to daily use in the home or office.

Good news. For a relatively small object, the iMT320 is impressively loud and punchy, comparable with its predecessor the iM310. The front firing ports do what front firing ports (and sub woofers) do, adding bass to create a rich sound.

Unless you have the volume on your iPod turned all the way down, the first time you switch it on you'll be surprised at how loud the inMotion Compact iMT320 is. It performs at about the level of good quality desktop speakers, sans woofer.

The sound fills a largish room convincingly, and while you won't be able to use your iMT320 to provide the music for a party it stays intact at a respectable volume. It's only when you get into the last 25 per cent of the volume dial that things start to fall apart: a noticeable hiss fills the silences and the speakers start to blare reedily.

Turned up to ten (figuratively speaking) it sounds like what it is: a very compact iPod dock coughing itself hoarse.

At low to middle volume it sounds good, with clear treble, respectable bass, and decent separation. While not likely to impress sound buffs, it performs much better than you'd think an object you can fit in your handbag would.

As well as an iPod dock it has an 3.5mm jack at the rear into which you can plug another brand of MP3 player, a laptop, or whatever. It's primarily a device for iPhone and iPod touch, though, and if you plan to use it with an iPhone you'll be relieved to know that the iMT320, like Altec's other recent devices, eliminates GSM buzz - the robotic spluttering that speakers commonly emit when a nearby phone gets a call.

This neat touch underlines the general quality of the iMT320. It may not have a remote control or a particularly impressive array of features, but for a portable device that aims to give you little more than a book-sized object to make noise with it's difficult to fault.

The plug adapters, the GSM buzz eliminating technology, and the smart form factor bespeak a product intent on doing little and getting it right.

If you're looking for something to sit on your desk or in your kitchen semi-permanently, you'll probably find something more suitable for that purpose, but if you're buying what Altec is selling - portability with a relatively good sound - this one's hard to beat.