I'm a huge fan of the original iBoom from DLO (which I reviewed in January 2005 and is now EOL). For those unfamiliar, it's an excellent iPod speaker system that runs off batteries or AC power and when combined with the excellent case is one of the best iPod speaker systems that I've used–hands down.

The only problem is that the original iBoom can be a little heavy when carrying it to the beach with arm loads of other gear. Enter the iBoom Travel (US$90) the lighter weight, little brother of iBoom.

iBoom Travel is a portable iPod speaker system and travel alarm clock that's small enough to tuck into another bag and light enough to take with you just about anywhere. Since the speakers are smaller than the original iBoom it doesn't have nearly the bass response as the original, but it's more than adequate to entertain a few people at the beach, park or on the boat.

iBoom travel runs off 4 AA batteries and weighs in at about a pound. The original iBoom ran off 6 D batteries and weighed in at over 7 pounds. The only nit I have with the Travel edition is that it doesn't have an AM band which I sometimes like for listening to talk radio. But then again, neither did the original iBoom.