Creative TravelDock 900

The TravelDock 900 looks neat. It has a foldable form factor, with a shiny white plastic finish. When closed it looks like a preschool pencil-box, which is good. The problem is that the price tag doesn't bode too well for your wallet. Indeed, it's probably the most expensive portable speaker system in the compact series.

However, it retains its portability and won't occupy much space in your luggage. Coming back to the form factor, the TravelDock 900 is designed mainly for flash-based players. There's a 3.5mm pin sticking upwards between the controls inside. However, since restricting the product to be compatible only flash memory based players wouldn't be a prudent idea, the pack comes with a mini-stereo connector (3.5-3.5mm) that connects through a jack at the back. This way you can connect anything with a 3.5mm plug.

The speakers are fitted with NeoTitanium drivers with a capacity for rendering 2 Watts RMS per channel (two channels). You will need four AAA batteries to run it, and these should last you a long, long while. We tested it for 20 hours, after which the sound started cracking.

The sound quality is really something! The bass is tight, but don't expect it to be very strong. The overall sound is quite uniform, but you cannot crank the volume up high, for it jars. The speakers are clearly aimed at clarity, not loudness. This means it's useless for in-car playback. Another problem is that the player catches a lot of interference when someone in the vicinity is using a mobile phone.

The TravelDock 900 costs Rs 6500, and it's this high price tag that kills the VFM factor. I like the sound quality, and the battery life is nothing short of awesome. But there are plenty of other options in the market that give you more value for money.