iPod Hi-Fi brings music to the masses

With the number of rumors circulating about today's Apple product launches, at least some of them had to be right. And one was (no, we're not talking about the video shuffle). Apple has decided to go after the boombox crowd, as well as home listeners, with the iPod Hi-Fi, a $349 speaker system with built-in iPod dock that runs on D batteries as well as AC power. A rear-mounted auxiliary input works with the iPod shuffle (and third-party audio players, though you won't hear Apple mention that). That sound you just heard, by the way, wasn't the iPod Hi-Fi. It was the sound of a hundred iPod accessory makers moaning in agony.

[dan @ Feb 28th 2006 2:02PM]

ugly

[Baumann @ Feb 28th 2006 2:03PM]

Umm... I'm not sure it's large enough. I mean, make it 2, maybe 3 times bigger and it could also replace my sofa.

[Aaron @ Feb 28th 2006 2:03PM]

Complete. Waste. of. Time.

[Tom McGee @ Feb 28th 2006 2:03PM]

iFi

[Stone @ Feb 28th 2006 2:04PM]

NASTY! There are so many better looking aftermarket alternatives.

[jack @ Feb 28th 2006 2:04PM]

wow thats it? Boring....

[eddy @ Feb 28th 2006 2:04PM]

lovely

[shawn B @ Feb 28th 2006 2:04PM]

sucks, very disappointed no matter how great it sounds

[Sam @ Feb 28th 2006 2:04PM]

No, it was the sound of the internet scoffing at a $350 boombox.

[Rob @ Feb 28th 2006 2:04PM]

is it just me, or does the Bose ipod dock still look a lot nicer than this? hmph.

[J @ Feb 28th 2006 2:05PM]

Not only is it ugly, but completely impractical. If you want to make a real boombox you have to make sure the ipod isn't going to fall off/out when you pick it up.

[hap @ Feb 28th 2006 2:05PM]

Who's gonna buy this? $300 gets you a better looking bose and klipsch stereo.

[blah blah @ Feb 28th 2006 2:05PM]

huh...

The market for ipod accessories is totally saturated.

Will this sell? For this price? gah.

ugly too

[Willie @ Feb 28th 2006 2:05PM]

Kind of a dissapointing announcement today...How can this bring music to the masses. It is expensive, large, and ugly. Dissapointing...

[boogie_doggie @ Feb 28th 2006 2:06PM]

bah! That's it?

[rocafellaice @ Feb 28th 2006 2:06PM]

#4. NO, its them scoffing at a 350 boombox with no radio, cd player, or anything else a useful boombox has ;)

[Ben @ Feb 28th 2006 2:06PM]

Wow, that's possibly the worst Apple keynote i've seeen. But At least we got a new Mini with optical out.

[carter @ Feb 28th 2006 2:06PM]

No, it was the sound of the internet scoffing at a $350 boombox.

A $350 boombox without a radio or top carrying handle.

Bwahahahahahahaha!

[retsel @ Feb 28th 2006 2:06PM]

well...
how many watts does it put out...
can i attach external speakers to it...
does can it play music from a mac mini..
the price point is too high... thats just me...
Come on people...

[Chineyz @ Feb 28th 2006 2:06PM]

What The hell is that.I want a touch screen Ipod and instead you give us an overpriced mac mini and boombox accessory...No love loss though.:)..That better be the best sounding boombox ever for almost 700 dollars(including the cost of the Ipod).

[Nathan @ Feb 28th 2006 2:07PM]

Who would anyone want to buy this? Unless I've been living under a rock all these years why wouldn't you just buy a $10 cable and hook it up to your already exiting stereo?

[Brado @ Feb 28th 2006 2:07PM]

This kind of simplistic device was in my head all along, hating the crap from Altec Lansing and Bose. Kudos to Apple for re-instating the power of a big and capable boombox, the idea from eiher Ive or myself via mind-logging

[Tucluc @ Feb 28th 2006 2:07PM]

Watch as Apple's design team hits a boombox with an ugly-stick. only $349 per ticket!!!

[drew @ Feb 28th 2006 2:08PM]

that cheap looks cheap!

[Edward McIntyre @ Feb 28th 2006 2:08PM]

Fun!? Apple poo-on-a-stick was finnaly relasesd! yeah! More extrealy overpriced crap to buy! There is a reason Apple only has 4% of the market share.

[Bob Rutherford @ Feb 28th 2006 2:08PM]

What a pile of nonsense. But people will STILL buy this rubbish...!!

Steve Jobs knows his market very very well.

[electronicat @ Feb 28th 2006 2:08PM]

Wait! What's that sound? No it's not the "Hi-Fi," it's Apple's stock plummeting. There better be something fan-freaking-tastic coming on April 1st...

[BobbyW @ Feb 28th 2006 2:08PM]

This did not warrant a special event. Big Apple mistake. I'd be pissed if I flew there for that. They could have announced this on the web.

[David @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

EH, isn't Apple like a year and half slow on this?? Didn't Bose release this a long time ago? How is this new box different?

http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=sounddock_multimedia_index&ck=0
[e-mail] went idle at 2:03:32 PM.

[Jake @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

1. It's a ripoff. There are plenty of cheaper speakerdocks.
2. Just look at the positioning of the iPod! Surely if it slotted in like the Hard Drive on the 360, it would be easier to move around?

[Pancake @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

Worst annoucements ever.

[dunxtv @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

did they fire ive? sad

[Chris @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

WGAS! I mean, really... a Boom Box with an iPod stuck on it? Has Apple officially jumped the shark with this whole iPod business?

Still waiting for that video touchscreen iPod... still waiting...

[Stephen Tordoff @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

http://www.apple.com/ipodhifi/design.html

It looks better on here

[Glancing Aft @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

How could you even cary this around while using it, if someone bumps into you, you're ipod goes flying out of the top...
worst product apple's ever made....

[John Hinds @ Feb 28th 2006 2:09PM]

All that fuss for a keynote and the only new thing was a stupid looking speaker dock for $350?

This is the dumbest idea ever.

[Bob Rutherford @ Feb 28th 2006 2:10PM]

With you on that one, electronicat.

This, plus the recent virus scare and all the stories of problems with Intel iMacs are not going to push Apple's stock higher.

[Jack @ Feb 28th 2006 2:10PM]

um... what a pile of crap! It's ugly, no top handle, no fm, ... no SIRIUS (or xm for that matter) and um.... did I mention UGLY??? Stevie needed a special event for this??

[daddy grace @ Feb 28th 2006 2:10PM]

W. T. F.
Audiophile? Audiophile??!! Did he forget that those 1 Billion songs were sold in 128K encoding??? Bah!

[bpc @ Feb 28th 2006 2:11PM]

This thing is almost as ugly as the HUNDRED DOLLAR leather case. Steve, dude......

[CK @ Feb 28th 2006 2:11PM]

Man - what a let down :(

[daddy @ Feb 28th 2006 2:11PM]

and no air tunes? or wifi. what crap. actually that sound was the apple stock taking a nose dive. lost over 2% since the keynote.

[joe @ Feb 28th 2006 2:11PM]

uggh. For 350 you can go to Best Buy and grab a moderate priced tuner and some decent shelf speakers. Drop the price by about 150 dollars and maybe someone would buy it....

I guess Jobs thinks if he slaps an Apple logo on it, the faithful will jump right in line...Not this time Steve...

[Jon @ Feb 28th 2006 2:11PM]

Why does steve hate the radio? If that thing had a tuner in it and the ability to play CDs then maybe, but it just plays from an ipod? I know the whole "keep it simple" thing, but come on! Please, I just want a FM Tuner!!!

This is not a boom box!!! It does one thing and no matter how good it sounds it will not replace shit! Replace my sterio?! Sorry, but I enjoy listening to the radio once in a while.

I am a total mac fanboy and this made me die on the inside.

Quote: "Mac killed my inner child"

[Pained Expression of Disbelief @ Feb 28th 2006 2:12PM]

LAME. And I say that as a charter member of the Apple Fanboys and a stockholder.

[TC in ATL @ Feb 28th 2006 2:12PM]

My new project is to burn and rip all my AAC protected files and look forward to moving on from iTunes until Apple allows me to use MY phuking music on ANY player.

This Apple announcement was a waste of Engadget's valuable bandwidth.

[Steven @ Feb 28th 2006 2:12PM]

That averages out to $116.67 a speaker.
What a total rip off Steve!!!!

[Steven @ Feb 28th 2006 2:13PM]

Wow, hideous. Absolutely terrible.

[dazzlindonna @ Feb 28th 2006 2:13PM]

Looks like a toaster oven.

[tom @ Feb 28th 2006 2:13PM]

Wow 350 for a crate.

Engadget, I notice you dont put this product down at all even though the majority sees it as a peice of crap. Whats the deal?