The RockStic has an aluminum construction and is available in a variety of colors (silver, black and pink). It comes with a full function remote that works well within a 10 or 12 foot range. A 5G iPod slips right into the RockStic; for the first and second nanos and older iPods there are various docking plates to accommodate their sizes. I THINK some of them will work with the 3G iPod nano and the iPod classic; however, I haven't confirmed this, so you'll want to before you buy one for a new iPod.

The sound quality is a mixed bag. The RockStick scores well on the volume scale; you can crank up the volume with less distortion than I expected on a speaker system of this size. The speaker has a high mid-range, which means you'll probably want to play around with your EQ settings to fix the right mix. As for bass, it's mediocre: not terrible, not great. I've also heard some complaints that the RockStick picks up iPod hard drive interference during playback, but I haven't experienced this.

The RockStic is rugged, durable and compact enough to make it easy to toss into a backpack or suitcase. On the other hand. a travel case should have been included since it is touted as a portable speaker system.

You probably won't want to use the RockStic as your main speaker system. However, as an extra speaker system/iPod charger for use on the road or when sitting outside, it works well enough.

Macsimum rating: 6.5 out of 10.