Apple is plotting a souped-up Nike+ style application for future versions of iOS, which would allow athletes to compete against each other in real-time, according to a recent patent filing.

The application would link up with specific pieces of gym equipment to write data to an iOS device in real-time and then share the results with another user to provide a competitive environment.

So, for example, if you're running on a treadmill in London, you could race against a bloke doing the same thing in San Francisco as if you were on the same running track.

iOS devices would link-up with each other and display stats like time, distance, heart-rate, calories burned and even blood oxygen levels.

Providing a competitive environment

The filing, entitled Interfacing Portable Media Devices and Sports Equipment says that information would be communicated between users via a third party website.

The abstract for the filing at the US Patent Office reads: "Circuits, methods, and apparatus that allow sports or other equipment, such as gym or other cardio equipment, to write data to a media player.

"Examples further provide the uploading of this data to a computer and third-party website. To monitor progress, the third-party website can be used to track workout data over time. The third party-website can also collect data from other users, which is particularly useful for providing a competitive environment.

"This data can then be graphically displayed in various ways to provide encouragement."

Nike+ in real-time

Apple has featured the Nike+ software, in various guises, on iPhone and iPad models down the years, but the suggestion here is that Apple thinks it can perhaps do better and turn iOS devices into essential fitness gadgets.

Nike+ currently uploads your workout data after you've finished exercising, but this innovation would allow head-to-head competition in real-time.

The app would, of course, require gyms to upgrade their machinery to be compatible with such a system, which is probably more of a reach than Apple creating the software in the first place.

You can read the full USPTO filing here.

Anybody who stuck by Apple in its underdog days should be feeling pretty smug today: after yet another record-breaking quarter, Apple now has all the money in the known universe.

Apple's profits now exceed Google's entire revenue, and the world is its oyster.

Tim Cook could commission a helicopter made of cheese, a robot army and a selection of intercontinental ballistic missiles to point at Samsung without making the tiniest dent in Apple's cash mountain, but that's not the most interesting thing about the latest financial results.

What's interesting to me is that once again, reports of Apple's doom have been wildly exaggerated.

For much of the last year, we've heard that Apple's doomed (John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame has been collecting the predictions). 2011 would be the year that everyone dumps the iPhone for other smartphone OSes. 2011 would be the year that rival tablets give the iPad a wedgie. 2011 would be the year that Apple's bubble bursts.

It hasn't burst. And it doesn't look like it's going to. Even if you hate Apple with a passion, it's worth looking at the numbers, because they're not just figures on a balance sheet. They're tea leaves, or runes, or crystal balls.

They're in the money

The numbers are extraordinary. The "disappointing" iPhone 4S drove sales of iPhones to a record high - 37 million in three months - with the 4S far and away the most popular model.

Sales are up 128%, and given that many iPhone 4 owners - me included - are hanging on for iPhone 5 before upgrading, and that Apple has barely begun to sell in huge markets such as China, 2012's numbers are going to be even bigger.

Tablets? 15.4 million iPads, up 111% on the previous year. Whoever's buying Kindle Fires, they aren't buying them instead of Apple tablets. Maybe they're buying them instead of BlackBerry Playbooks, or sheds.

Macs? Up 26%. Even the Apple TV shifted 1.4 million units. The only thing that isn't doing so well is the iPod, which Apple predicted would be replaced by the smartphone.

To do those numbers at any time is incredible. To do it in the middle of a global recession is bordering on the miraculous.

Apple's numbers are telling a story, and the story is that Steve Jobs was right: the post-PC era is here. Whether you're an Apple fan or an Android one, the chances are that more and more of your everyday computing is taking place on a post-PC device - a tablet, or a smartphone.

It's personal computing, but we're doing less of it on PCs.

iTunes users spent an incredible $120m (£77m) on music and apps on December 25th.

The company revealed the figure during Tuesday's first fiscal quarter earnings call for 2012 where it announced all-time record iPhone and iPad sales.

The whopping Christmas Day iTunes splurge is probably attributable to the masses of iOS devices and iTunes gift cards handed-out as presents over the festive season.

Apple said that the iTunes Store brought the company $1.7 billion (£1.09bn) in revenue for the quarter and also announced there are now 20 million songs to download.

More good news for Apple

Other noteworthy figures from the record-smashing earnings include news of 85m registered iCloud users, while there have already been 600,000 downloads of the iBooks Author app since last week's announcement.

Also, despite iPod sales falling 21 per cent year-on-year, the company still possesses more than 70 per cent of the MP3 player market.

All-in-all, everything remains spectacularly rosy in the Apple garden in the post-Steve Jobs era.

Apple has begun to ship the latest iPod nano as part of a replacement drive for faulty first generation models.

Back in November we reported that the company was asking all owners of the first generation nano to send them back.

The company had found that a small amount of nanos, sold between September 2005 and December 2006, may be partial to overheating

Initially Apple was sending reconditioned, like-for-like 1st generation models as replacements, but now customers are reporting that they're received the current 6th generation touchscreen model in the post.

6th generation nano in the post

One lucky punter told MacRumors: "Just received our replacement today - Fedex truck pulled up late in the evening. Inside was our replacement for our 1st gen iPod nano that was sent into Apple 1 month ago.

"It's a 6th generation iPod nano, serial number shows that warranty has expired. Not sure if that means that it's a refurbished model or if it's a brand new model and they've deactivated the warranty. It's silver."

It may be that Apple has now exhausted its reconditioned first gen stockpile and has been forced to begin sending out the latest model.

So, for those of you who hadn't bothered to send in the old nano, now might be the time to go digging through those shoe boxes full of retired tech.

Apple has finally launched its iTunes Match subscription service in the United States, two weeks after missing the end of October deadline it had set.

iTunes Match, which looks no closer to a UK launch in the near future, will scan your entire music library and replace all tracks with high-quality tracks from iTunes, which can be streamed from the cloud.

The service works for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and PC devices, which means you can either stream or download your tunes wherever you are without having to manually sync to iTunes.

Legitimising your collection

Apple is charging $24.99 (about £15) a year for the privilege of putting your entire collection on tap and with 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free offerings, it negates the need to tolerate low-quality MP3s ever again.

It also legitimises your entire music collection, meaning those tracks you may or may not have possibly downloaded through dubious means are currently on the right side of the law.

If iTunes cannot find the track in its library (and with 20m songs available on iTunes that's probably unlikely) it'll simply upload the track itself.

Apple's unique subscription offering is way cheaper than Spotify's Premium offering, but means you actually have to own the music.

Google Music, on the other hand, remains free while in Beta, but users of that service have been massively frustrated by the decades it takes to upload your music collection. iTunes Match by-passes that problem.

The much-anticipated UK launch of iTunes Match remains on hold as Apple seeks to thrash out deals with the major labels and publishers.

Apple is offering to provide a replacement for all first generation iPod nanos, due to an issue with the battery on some models.

In a post on its replacement program site Apple says a small percentage of nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 may suffer from over-heating.

The post advises owners to stop using the device immediately - if anyone is still using a six year old iPod nano, that is - and fill in the replacement form.

"This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages," said the post.

Shiny upgrade

Essentially, this is great news for anyone with a first generation nano as Apple will replace it, free of charge with a brand new model.

However, it's unclear whether it'll be the new seventh generation touchscreen model, announced in October, or one from a previous era.

Apple says it'll take six weeks to receive your new nano, so get digging around your boxes of haggard old tech, because a shiny upgrade waits in the wings.

Google has issued an invite to the media for an event on 16 November, which may see the company finally introduce a Google Music MP3 download store.

The company has channelled legendary British rock band Spinal Tap with a tag-line teasing "These go up to eleven." for the event, which will be streamed live on YouTube.

The reference is, of course, an homage to the guitar amps of Nigel Tufnel that were "one louder" than ten, but aside from a possible Spinal Tap concert at the event, we're not really sure what it means.

Google has been teasing "a twist" from the normal music download stores for a while now, so it's entirely possible that this will be revealed at Wednesday's event.

Primitive

Google Music currently exists in a rather primitive form, with account holders able to upload their music to the cloud and then access it from a range of devices.

It is presently a free service, but uploading music to the platform takes an absolute age, and Apple's $24.99 iTunes Match service looks a better alternative at present.

Whatever happens at Google's event, it's likely that the service will, at least, come out of Beta.

The "These go to eleven" event at 10pm UK time on Wednesday and we'll be on-hand to bring you all of the news. You can also follow the event at YouYube.com/Android

Best iPod iPhone speaker dock

Close your eyes and imagine, for a moment, that you've popped to town on a sunny afternoon to buy yourself a speaker dock for your iPhone or iPod. Easy, right?

Well it is until you get to the shops and are confronted by row upon row of the things. All shapes and sizes, from cheap and cheerful to those costing hundreds of pounds. Even if the store attendants encourage you to have a listen to each in turn, a noisy shop floor is hardly a good environment to make an informed choice about which sounds best.

So we had ourselves an early Christmas and collected together dozens of iPod and iPhone docks, put them through their paces and picked out 24 to tell you about.

And by put them through their paces, we mean repeated side-by-side tests - to the point that we're sick of hearing some of our favourite songs!

To make the tests as fair as possible, we switched off our iPod's EQ, although where the docks had built-in EQs, we had a play with these to see if you could boost the sound this way. None will set you back more than £150, and to help you choose, we've divided them into three categories based on price.

As always with our group tests, though, just because something isn't the winner doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it. Some offer extra features you may want, others may represent fantastic value for money. So have a think about the kind of place you want to use your dock now: By your bedside? In the kitchen? In your children's rooms? As a sound system for your TV? Bear this use in mind as you read on.

As with all things in life, you get what you pay for with speaker docks. But don't forget that the sound isn't the only factor here: some of these docks include LCDs, can be connected wirelessly using Bluetooth, have alarm clocks and other fancy features that have to be paid for, and this may come at the expense of good sound.

What we tested...

Up to £60:

01. Altec Lansing InMotion Compact iMT320 - £37

02. Altec Lansing Octiv 102 - £29

03. Gear4 Explorer-SP - £45

04. Gear4 HouseParty SmartDock - £50

05. iLuv App Station iMM190 - £25

06. iLuv Vibe Plus iMM178DAB -£55

07. Logic3 i-Station 26 - £55

08. Philips Fidelio DS3020 - £50

£60-£90:

09. KitSound Boom Dock - £87

10. Klipsch iGroove HG - £67

11. Klipsch iGroove SXT - £70

12. Logic3 i-Station SoundBar - £99

13. Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 - £75

14. Logitech S715i - £99

15. Sony RDP-M15iP - £90

16. ViewQuest Retro Radio - £87

£100-£150:

17. Altec Lansing Octiv 650 - £129

18. Gear4 HouseParty AirWave - £109

19. JVC UX-SG5B - £150

20. Lenco iPT-2 - £150

21. Panasonic SC-HC05 - £150

22. Sony RDP-X60iP - £120

23. Soundfreaq Sound Step Recharge - £150

24. TEAC Mini Aurb SR80iDAB - £140

iPod and iPhone speaker docks under £60

Test one: Sound quality

Regardless of what bells and whistles you can get on your dock, the most important thing is the audio quality: do the speakers do justice to your favourite music?

Let's start with our least favourite and work our way up to the best. Two that failed to impress us were the iLuv App Station and the Altec Lansing Octiv 102. There's little depth to the sound from the App Station, and while the bass produced by the Octiv 102 surprised us given how small the unit is, it doesn't offer much in the way of treble clarity.

That said, these two are the smallest and most affordable docks we tested, and will do a perfectly good job if you just want to listen to spoken word (or watch videos, in the case of the App Station, which is the only one here that'll dock in landscape), but for music, we'd recommend looking elsewhere.

The iLuv Vibe Plus sits at the top end of this price category, but much of the cost appears to have gone towards extras; the sound feels like an afterthought. To its credit, there's more treble clarity than you get with the App Station or Octiv 102, and the built-in EQ does let you boost the bass or treble, which improves things somewhat. But you can do better for less cash.

L'enfant treble

Logic3's i-Station 26 offers improved treble over the aforementioned docks so acoustic music comes out well, and its angled speakers do a better job of separating the stereo than most here. Sadly, though, the bass is missing in action, and the midrange is a tad flat and tinny.

For a better, warmer sound at a slightly lower cost, there's the Gear4 Explorer-SP. We were surprised at how much bass oomph emanated from such a thin dock: it's not going to shake the glass in your windows, but there's a definite thump to it when you turn up the volume on a dance track. Even though this comes at the cost of a bit of treble clarity compared to the i-Station 26, we prefer the Explorer-SP's overall picture.

Fans of music that relies on lots of bass will like the Gear4 HouseParty SmartDock, because it can pump it out by the bucketload, especially if you switch its six-preset built-in EQ to the Rock setting. Dance tracks sound deep and punchy, R&B and bassy pop tunes sound nicely fullbodied, and it'll go reasonably loud without distorting. So while it certainly trumps the Altec Lansing iMT320 in the bass department, the latter does a better job of articulating and defining the mid and treble sounds, meaning that we preferred it for acoustic, classical and rock tracks.

Which brings us to the Philips Fidelio DS3020. Within minutes of having plugged our iPod into it, we were smitten, feasting on sound that's in a different league to the others in this category. That's not a slight on the rest, but a testament to how good this is. Most styles of music sound good on the DS3020, especially anything that benefits from its ability to produce crystal clear sound at the top end. Happily, though, that cleanliness doesn't come at the expense of the bass. Rock anthems, dancefloor fillers and R&B hits all have a nice punch to them. Admittedly, some may find it slightly too clinical, especially if you turn the volume up very loud, where the treble got a little bit overpowering. The stereo separation's not great either, but don't let these points put you off, because the DS3020 stands head and shoulders above the competition here.

Test results

Test two: Extra features

Pretty much any speaker dock will have extra features thrown in. Of the eight here, three can run off AA batteries (the Altec Lansing iMT320, Philips Fidelio DS3020 and iLuv App Station), while the Gear4 Explorer-SP has a built-in battery that charges from the mains.

If you want a remote control, the Logic3 i-Station 26 and both models from Gear4 come with one. All bar the iLuv Vibe Plus have aux-in sockets.

The iLuv Vibe Plus has a DAB radio built in, while the i-Station 26 and HouseParty SmartDock have a regular FM one, and all three have alarm clocks as well. In fact, the Vibe Plus takes waking you up in the morning to a whole new level of intimacy with a pod you put under your pillow, which will vibrate and play you music until you hit the Snooze button. Different, certainly!

Made for you

They're all 'Made for iPhone' or 'Works with iPhone' certified, and while none suffered interference when the iPhone rang, we found the iLuv Vibe Plus, Altec Lansing Octiv 102 and Gear4 HouseParty SmartDock buzzed if we left the phone docked during a call. Black marks for this.

Other features include on-board controls, which vary from none on the Altec Lansing Octiv 102 to comprehensive ones on the radio-bearing models. Though the Philips Fidelio DS3020 only has volume controls, they're easy to use even if you're not looking at them.

Gear4 has gone for style over usability with the controls on the HouseParty SmartDock: they look sleek, but aren't in intuitive positions.

Test results

And the winner is… Philips Fidelio DS3020 £50

However nice it may be to have an alarm clock or radio in your iPod or iPhone dock, these shouldn't be the be-all and end-all. For starters, a quick visit to the App Store will give you apps that provide this functionality and more.

For this kind of dock, your buying choice should be based primarily on sound. While the Altec Lansing iMT320 and Gear4 HouseParty SmartDock are decent enough options, they're blown out of the water by the brilliance of the Philips Fidelio DS3020, which is, without question, our winner.

As we sit listening to it, we have to keep reminding ourselves that sound this good is coming from a dock that's so small and only costs £50. Not only does it sound lovely, with clean treble tones complemented by powerful bass, but it looks stunning, and makes the others look quite, well, old-fashioned.

Its footprint is tiny, so you can squeeze it into even the smallest spaces around your home, and the volume control bar on the front is both functional and smart. It also does what few other docks do, and that's provide proper support for whichever iPhone or iPod model you dock in it, such that it doesn't wobble around as you tap the screen. Rather than have you mess around clipping in dock adapters, your device slots into the Dock connector and rests against the upper part of the speaker. Perfect simplicity.

And its use isn't limited to in the home: pop in some AA batteries and you can take your music out on the road with you, for great tunes on the go.

iPod and iPhone speaker docks £60 - £99

Test one: Sound quality

As we climb into this next price category, you get a noticeable difference in the sound over many cheaper docks: the only one we felt was sub-standard for its £87 price was the View Quest Retro Radio. Available in five colours, the casing looks the part, but the front panel seems cheap in comparison, and the sound is nothing particularly special. Unless you're dead-set on the looks of the thing, we suggest you go elsewhere.

Aside from the Retro Radio, all the docks have something to recommend them sound-wise. The Sony RDP-M15iP pushes out a reasonable amount of bass for such a small unit, but vocals sound a bit flat and lifeless, and the top end isn't as well defined as some other docks. It's by no means a bad system, but at £90, it sounds a bit mediocre compared to the competition in this price band.

You want bass?

The clue to the KitSound Boom Dock's strength is in its name: boy can this behemoth shake the floor. It gives dance music a powerful, full feel and is plenty strong enough to provide the soundtrack to your house party. Our criticism of it, however, is that it's a bit of a one-trick pony: by investing so much in the bass, there's little in the way of treble clarity, meaning that it doesn't do justice to rock or even R&B tracks.

If it is bass you want, there are other options, such as the Klipsch iGroove SXT. Though it doesn't provide the thump of the Boom Dock, the bass is picked out well, and it's certainly powerful enough to give a full sound. There's also more treble to the sound, making it an altogether more versatile option.

Roughly on a par with the iGroove SXT is the similarly priced Logitech Pure Fi Anywhere 2. It's a different kind of sound you get: clearer trebles and mids, and less powerful bass, though it's still well-defined. For their price tags - both around £70 - neither are bad products. But incredibly, you can come slightly down the scale and do even better.

The Klipsch iGroove HG, which costs just £68, is something of a dark horse in this category, since it gives the two most expensive options a real run for their money. Its bass is even more powerful than the costlier iGroove SXT, but that's not the reason we prefer it. What makes this dock stand out is that it doesn't neglect the treble, so rock tracks sound full and well-balanced, with the vocals clearly popping out. And although the front of the dock is concave, the speakers are actually angled outwards, meaning it does a surprisingly good job of separating the stereo, especially given how close together the drivers are set.

For even better separation of the left and right channels, the Logic3 i-Station SoundBar is worth a look. It's a wide beast, but the sound is pleasingly fresh, with a little bit of a bass kick in there, especially if you have a play with the built-in equaliser presets (if you choose to download the accompanying app, you can adjust the five-band EQ yourself).

Our favourite dock, though, is the Logitech S715i. It combines good stereo separation and lovely clear top-end treble with punchy vocals. The bass hasn't been forgotten about either, though. It may not have the fullness or raw thump of the Klipsch iGroove HG or KitSound Boom Dock, but it's nicely balanced with the rest of the sound. This is the most versatile offering here.

Test results

Test two: Extra features

Wherever you look here, there's a sprinkling of extras to tempt you. While these shouldn't be the only things you consider, if you're torn between two or more docks after our sound quality tests, these could help you make up your mind over which to go for.

A 3.5mm aux input is standard across the range (except on the Boom Dock, which has red and white RCA phono inputs), with the Klipsch iGroove HG providing an interesting take: for devices without a dock connector (very old iPods, say), there's a cradle that sits over the speaker's dock connector with a short lead attached, meaning you can stand your device in the dock position, even though it's connected using the aux-in. A nice touch.

The Logic3 i-Station SoundBar has RCA inputs, as well as composite and component video out, and the Klipsch iGroove SXT has an S-video output, making these two docks potential complements to your home A/V system - especially the wall-mountable Logic3 model.

A couple include radios as well: the View Quest Retro Radio has a DAB tuner, offering the full range of digital stations, and the KitSound Boom Dock and Logic3 i-Station SoundBar have traditional FM/AM radios.

These three all have built-in clocks, too; the Retro Radio and KitSound Boom Dock can double up as radio alarm clocks, if you're so inclined. If portability's your thing, the internal batteries in both Logitech docks and the Sony RDP-M15iP will appeal. The View Quest Retro Radio can also run off four C-size batteries, though we always find built-in rechargeables more convenient, even if they do add weight.

Test results

And the winner is… Logitech S715i - £99

Before we get on to why we've awarded our Editor's Choice gong to the S715i, an honourable mention for the Klipsch iGroove HG. It's almost a third cheaper than the winning Logitech model, but listening to it, you wouldn't think it.

In fact, if you're into the sort of music that benefits from lots of full, punchy bass, we'd probably recommend it over the S715i. Even if you're not, it's worth a look if you don't fancy spending just shy of £100 on the Logitech S715i.

The Logic3 i-Station SoundBar is also a very respectable offering: its variety of audio inputs and video outputs mean it could sit (or hang) under your home TV to provide the soundtrack. The LCD does detract from the appearance a bit, though.

The coveted award for this sub-£100 category goes to the £99 Logitech S715i for one key reason: its versatility. Its sound attributes do justice to just about any kind of music you throw at it: rock sounds crisp yet powerful; pop is punchy; dance sounds deep and full but doesn't lose the top end; and classical sounds nice and clean.

The key thing is its ability to produce those crystal-clear treble sounds, but the bass is by no means left behind. There's an almost tactile thump to the sound when it's cranked up. It's not going to shake the floor like the KitSound Boom Dock or the Klipsch iGroove HG, but its all-round sound is better.

Its versatility goes beyond its audio prowess, too. As long as you keep it charged, the internal battery allows you to take the dock anywhere in your house and beyond to provide the soundtrack to your life.

iPod and iPhone speaker docks £100 - £150

Test one: Sound quality

We're moving well past impulse-buy territory here; as the price edges over that £100 mark, you want to be sure you're getting a good product for your cash. So let's first of all strike one of these off the bill, since it sounds, quite frankly, dreadful compared to the others.

We're talking about the Gear4 HouseParty AirWave. While it boasts plenty of extra features, the sound's about as flat as a open bottle of Coke that's been sitting in the fridge for two weeks.

The Soundfreaq Sound Step Recharge also failed to excite us. The whole picture was just a bit, well, meh, especially for £150. There's some treble clarity but not much, little in the way of bass, and vocals sound a bit constrained. Like with the Gear4 HouseParty AirWave, your money's paying for the added features, rather than pure audio quality.

The Panasonic SC-HC05 also left us disappointed with its lack of attention to detail at the treble end. There's bass aplenty - which makes dance tracks sound good - but with the top end so weak, you lose a dimension from most other styles.

Might makes right

Now, the giant Lenco iPT-2. You can feel the testosterone oozing from its imposing form even before you dock your iPhone in it. And when you do, Lenco is keen for you to know about its audio might, especially the thumpingly powerful subwoofer. It's the kind of bass you feel deep in your bones, and it goes loud enough to fill a reasonably sized room.

The caveat is that it's light on the treble. It does have a two-band EQ you can alter to taste, turning down the bass and boosting the treble if you wish, but even when you crank the latter right up, there's not the clarity that others offer. Decent for dance and R&B, but we'd recommend one of the other docks for some added sophistication.

The JVC UX-SG5B, with its separate speakers, produces the sort of stereo separation and spatial sound that you just can't get with a one-piece dock; big thumbs up, in our eyes (or should that be ears?). Its overall sound is solid and fairly balanced, if unspectacular. The bass isn't as full as you get with the Lenco iPT-2 or Altec Lansing Octiv 650, and the treble isn't as clean, but vocals come to the fore nicely. And because they're separate speakers, there's always the option to hook up different ones.

Moving to the understated Sony RDPX60iP, we at last get some of that treble crispness that's been missing so far. Songs that sounded flat on all bar the TEAC SR80iDAB and Altec Lansing's Octiv 650 suddenly have a sparkle about them. The bass won't pound in the same way as with the Lenco iPT-2, but it's adequate if you're just listening at lower volumes, especially with the Mega Bass setting.

TEAC's SR80iDAB impressed us, thanks to its excellent balancing of the different parts of our music. The treble's clean but not tinny, the bass is well-defined (if a bit weak for bassy pop and dance anthems) but the vocals stand out beautifully.

Finally, there's the Altec Lansing Octiv 650. We've always been in two minds about this one. It'll produce beautifully clean treble, creating a bright and detailed sound picture. Then there's its subwoofer, which - even when dialled right down using the built-in EQ - is constantly thumping away, just in case you forget it's there. We don't mind this, since it undoubtedly adds depth and fullness to your music, but some may find it too much. And if you push the bass EQ the other way, it'll shake your floors.

Test results

Test two: extra features

Plenty of good added features here: all eight have remote controls, and we especially liked the more substantial one that comes with the TEAC SR80iDAB. Those provided by Lenco, JVC and Altec Lansing give a good amount of control, too.

And speaking of wirelessness, the Soundfreaq Sound Step Recharge, Panasonic SC-HC05 and Sony RDP-X60iP let you send audio to them over Bluetooth, meaning your device needn't be docked, and the Sound Step Recharge has a built-in battery too, so doesn't even have to be plugged into the mains. Thumbs up.

Video outputs are also popular, with composite sockets on the models from Soundfreaq, Lenco, TEAC, and Altec Lansing. The latter also offers component video out. This feature is useful if you keep lots of videos on your iPhone or iPod and want to watch them on your TV, but remember that composite quality is low.

Good input

All eight have additional audio inputs for greater versatility. The Lenco iPT-2 and TEAC SR80iDAB have RCA (red and white phono connectors), with the rest all having 3.5mm aux input sockets. The iPT-2 also has an SD/MMC slot, while the systems from TEAC and JVC have USB ports for sound input.

While we're on the topic of the JVC UX-SG5B, it even has a CD player and FM radio. You'll also find FM and DAB radios in the TEAC SR80iDAB and Gear4 HouseParty AirWave. The latter dock even boasts a built-in internet radio receiver. Add to this the clock and alarms and it seems like the perfect bedside dock, but the control buttons are tricky to press.

Test results

And the winner is… Altec Lansing Octiv 650 £129

The importance of choosing a dock to suit your needs is highlighted here more than it ever has been. Our gong goes to the Altec Lansing Octiv 650, for reasons we'll get to shortly, but take a moment to consider the Sony RDP-X60iP and TEAC SR80iDAB.

At £120, the RDP-X60iP makes an excellent audio system for in a small room, such as your study, student hall or bedroom. It's relatively small and the sound that emanates from its speakers is balanced.

We also like the TEAC SR80iDAB, primarily for its ability to provide a nicely balanced sound picture where it picks out the vocals well. But we just felt its bass was a tad on the weak side to do justice to styles of music that require a bit of extra depth.

So our winner is the Octiv 650. Ultimately, speaker docks must fulfil one key purpose: to help you get as much enjoyment as possible out of your favourite music. And whatever genre we chose, the 650 delivered. The bass can be overpowering, we don't dispute that. We found ourselves turning it right down and boosting the treble using the built-in EQ to get the sound picture we wanted for a lot of genres.

But requiring you to adjust the sound to taste is no crime; different styles of music benefit from different settings, and the fact that you can tweak things here is a plus. And if you do want some pounding bass, the Octiv 650 will deliver it without fuss, without compromising treble clarity. The unit itself is fairly small and unobtrusive, and at £129, it's not prohibitively expensive either.

Apple has filed a patent that details how it could insert a speaker into the iPod nano and iPod Shuffle.

The patent retains the two iPods' existing clip-on design, but adds a little speaker into the back bit of the clip.

Although the patent doesn't specifically name check either iPod, it does feature technical drawings that look mighty similar to both diminutive MP3 players.

Banano

The speaker wouldn't necessarily be up to much – it is so small that it couldn't offer much in the way of quality playback (although some folk on the bus are quite content with incredibly tinny drum'n'bass so you never know).

But perhaps it would come in handy for accessibility for the partially-sighted, or for audible feedback when using the tiny iPod nano touchscreen.

Another possibility is that Apple is considering shoe-horning Siri into every possible device, although we can't see the humble iPod nano or Shuffle being able to provide the kind of grunt the assistant app would need.

But Apple files patents for hundreds of bits and pieces of tech that never come to pass, so we're not banking on a be-speakered iPod nano coming to light any time soon.

Sony, Universal and EMI could be planning to do away with the CD by the end of 2012 in favour of digital downloads.

It may not be an intrigue of 007 proportions, but the news comes by way of Side-Line which claims to have spoken to multiple insiders from major labels who told them the end of the CD is nigh (although none of the major labels will officially comment on the rumour).

The sources say that the only CDs set to remain in 2013 and beyond are special editions, which will be produced only for the biggest and brightest artists, and will be sold "primarily" via Amazon.

It's the end of the world as we know it

What this means for high street retailers like the already-struggling HMV is that ever-more focus will be put on gadgets and gizmos like MP3 players, headphones and speakers, and less on actual music.

But it's good news for Amazon, which already runs a burgeoning MP3 market and can sweeten the deal for superfans with the promise of limited edition discs – a service that Apple's iTunes service can't really offer.

It's a real shame for the humble CD though, once at the cutting-edge of music playback and now relegated to the bargain bin at your local charity shop - particularly given that it's only just now on the cusp of becoming legal to copy tracks from the disc to your computer and MP3 player.

First the record, then the cassette tape, now the CD. But who or what will kill digital downloads?

The Who guitarist Pete Townshend has launched a bitter attack on Apple, claiming that the iTunes Music Store is a 'digital vampire.'

The ageing mod-rocker likened Apple's download platform to the failed Northern Rock building society and says the store is 'bleeding dry' and failing to support up-and-coming musicians.

Speaking at a radio industry lecture on Monday evening, Townshend hit out at iTunes for only benefittng artists whose music it already sells.

Wild west internet land

He says the company should take on the same role as record labels and employ A&R people to help find and support new talent.

He said: "Is there really any good reason why, just because iTunes exists in the wild west internet land of Facebook and Twitter, it can't provide some aspect of these services to the artists whose work it bleeds like a digital vampire Northern Rock for its enormous commission?"

The Guardian reports that this isn't the first time the bearded My Generation star has criticised Apple.

He once said in an interview that he wanted to "cut Steve Jobs's balls off."

'Come and steal my son's bike too'

Townshend also hit out at illegal downloaders and said the theft of music online was a reflection of society's moral disintegration.

"If someone pretends that something I have created should be available to them free," he added. "I wonder what has gone wrong with human morality and social justice.

"I once suggested that people who download my music without paying for it may as well come and steal my son's bike while they're at it."

The history of the iPod

Ten years ago on Sunday, the iPod was launched.

And it was with more of a whimper than a bang. The launch event on 23 October 2001 was held at Apple's Cupertino campus for a small gaggle of invited journalists, and not even deserving of a proper MacWorld keynote.

Despite the lack of prestige, Steve Jobs obviously knew he was onto a winner, because he launched iPod with the following words:

"The biggest thing about the iPod is that it holds 1,000 songs. This is a quantum leap because for most people it's their entire music library. This is huge."

Then came the killer line.

"The coolest thing about the iPod is that your whole music library fits in your pocket."

That was the hook that did it – a simple concept that everybody could understand. With those words, Steve Jobs had created an entirely new industry based around a portable digital music player – an industry that Apple would dominate for the next decade, and probably beyond that.

Companies like Creative and Diamond Multimedia were there first, but it was Apple that made the market take off.

A winning design

A great idea without great implementation wouldn't cut it though, and it was also the design of the iPod that made it successful. It was ultra-thin (for the time) and had a huge capacity (again, for the time) at 5GB.

It also had 20 minutes of skip protection, so you could take it jogging, cycling or wherever you wanted without skipping a beat. It was fast, too. It had a FireWire connection for quickly getting your music off your Mac and onto the iPod. Over time, as the comparable USB 2.0 standard evolved, Apple quietly dropped FireWire support altogether, but at the time it was a big selling point.

Back then it would take roughly five minutes to transfer a CD to a music player over USB, but FireWire cut this down to 10 seconds. That's 30 times faster! Even the original iPod's ten hours of battery life was considered 'extraordinary'.

The first iPod only worked on a Mac, but Apple soon realised that if the iPod was really going to take off it needed to have a wider vision – a vision that encompassed Windows and a digital music store from which people could purchase and download digital music with ease.

Nobody thought it could be done, but somehow Apple managed to get all the big music labels to come on board, with iPod at the centre of the whole thing. The rest, as they say, is history.

Join us for our look back at the last ten years of the iPod. The range starts small, expands and then concentrates on what it does best as Apple broadens its horizons with the iPhone and iPad as its new darlings.

2001-2004

1st gen iPod
Released: October 2001
Details: 5GB, FireWire, battery: 10 hours audio
A 10GB version was released later. This model contained a mechanical scroll wheel that physically turned when you moved it with your finger.

2nd gen iPod
Released: July 2002
Details: 10, 20GB, FireWire, battery: 10 hours audio
The first Windows compatible iPod also saw the introduction of the first touch sensitive scroll wheel to the iPod. Original Windows support was via Musicmatch.

3rd gen iPod
Released: April 2003
Details: 10, 15, 20, 30, 40GB, FireWire (USB for syncing only), battery: 8 hours audio
The first all-touch sensitive interface was part of a complete redesign of the entire device. At the same time, iTunes becomes available for Windows.

1st gen iPod mini
Released: January 2004
Details: 4GB, FireWire, USB, battery: 8 hours
A new smaller iPod that was available in five colours, and the introduction of the first Click Wheel, which contained the buttons themselves.

4th gen iPod
Released: July 2004
Details: 20, 40GB, FireWire or USB, battery: 12 hours audio
The first full iPod to use the new Click Wheel from the iPod mini. The Click Wheel has been a staple ever since.

4th gen iPod photo
Released: October 2004
Details: 30, 40, 60GB, FireWire or USB, battery: 15 hours audio, 5 hours slideshow
This was the first ever iPod with a colour screen. It could display photos synced from your Mac or PC.

2005-2006

1st gen iPod shuffle
Released: January 2005
Details: 512MB, 1GB, USB, battery: 12 hours audio
The first screen-less iPod. Used flash memory and came with a lanyard so you could wear it around your neck.

2nd gen iPod mini
Released: February 2005
Details: 4, 6GB, FireWire or USB, battery: 18 hours audio
Brighter colours and much longer battery life than the previous version, plus a new larger 6GB capacity.

4th gen iPod colour
Released: June 2005
Details: 20, 60GB, FireWire or USB, battery: 15 hours audio, 5 hours slideshow
Essentially just a refresh of the iPod photo line, but with different hard drive sizes.

1st gen iPod nano
Released: September 2005
Details: 1, 2, 4GB, USB (FireWire for charging only), battery: 14 hours audio, 4 hours slideshow
Replaced the iPod mini range entirely, which caused uproar at the time. Using flash memory, the nano came in black or white only. The 1GB model was introduced later.

5th gen iPod
Released: October 2005
Details: 30, 60, 80GB, USB (FireWire for charging only), battery: 14 hours audio, 2 hours video (for the 30GB model), 20 audio, 3/6.5 video (for 60/80GB)
A complete redesign that also brought video playback to the iPod for the first time. In September 2006, minor updates were made: brighter screens, more memory, a search feature, but the visual look stayed the same.

2nd gen iPod nano
Released: September 2006
Details: 2, 4, 8GB, USB (FireWire for charging only), battery: 24 hours audio, 5 hours slideshow
The iPod nano got a colourful refresh. The new anodised aluminium casing came in six different colours.

2nd gen iPod shuffle
Released: September 2006
Details: 1GB, 2GB, USB, battery: 12 hours audio
Completely redesigned with clip-on case. Four colour options were added later and the colours have so far been refreshed twice.

2007-now

6th gen iPod classic
Released: September 2007
Details: 80, 160GB, USB (FireWire charging only), battery: 30 hours audio, 5 hours video (80GB model), 40 hours audio, 7 hours video (160GB)
The first iPod to have the 'classic' suffix, and the largest capacity so far.

1st gen iPod touch
Released: September 2007
Details: 8, 16, 32GB, USB (FireWire for charging only), battery: 22 hours audio, 5 hours video
Originally only in 8GB and 16GB, with the 32GB being added later. The first iPod with WiFi and multi-touch.

3rd gen iPod nano
Released: September 2007
Details: 4, 8GB, USB (FireWire charging only), battery: 24 hours audio, 5 hours video
Completely new design with a 2-inch QVGA screen, video capability and new colours.

Revision of 6th gen iPod classic
Released: September 2008
Details: 120GB, USB (FireWire for charging only), battery: 36 hours audio, 6 hours video
New greener build materials and audio-in capability. Only available in a single 120GB memory size.

2nd gen iPod touch
Released: September 2008
Details: 8, 16, 32GB, USB, battery: 36 hours audio, 6 hours video
New speaker and volume buttons added, plus it became even thinner than before.

4th gen iPod nano
Released: September 2008
Details: 8, 16GB, USB, battery: 24 hours audio, 4 hours video
A new design in nine different colours and a built-in accelerometer.

3rd gen iPod shuffle
Released: March 2009
Details: 4GB, USB, battery: 10 hours audio
Another redesign reduced size even further by moving the controls to the earphone cable.

Further revision of 6th gen iPod classic
Released: September 2009
Details: 160GB
New version replaces 120GB version with larger 160GB capacity single platter drive amid rumours the classic was going to be killed off - these have continued to this day, but the 160GB version is still going strong. Despite its age, the classic remains till the player to beat for those with large collections.

3rd gen iPod touch
Released: September 2009
Details: 32, 64GB, USB, 30 hours audio, 6 hours video
Updated with upgraded graphics and other hardware from the iPhone 3GS. Also includes Voice Control support remote control headphones. 2nd gen 8GB model still available.

5th gen iPod nano
Released: September 2009
Details: 8, 16GB, USB, battery: 24 hours audio, 5 hours video
Capacities remain the same but a new video camera is introduced among rumours one was also coming to the iPod touch. There's also a speaker, pedometer and improved colour finishes. How they pack it all in is beyond us.

Revision of 3rd gen iPod shuffle
Released: September 2009
Details: 2, 4GB, USB, battery: 10 hours audio
2GB model added alongside 4GB, plus new colours.

4th gen iPod touch
Released: September 2010
Details: 8, 32, 64GB, USB, 40 hours audio, 7 hours video
After the previous generation was based on the iPhone 3GS, the fourth generation got the innards of the iPhone 4, with the Apple A4, revered retina display plus a front facing webcam for FaceTime chats. The iPod touch began shipping with iOS 5 in October 2011, enabling wireless sync while a white version was also introduced.

6th gen iPod nano
Released: September 2010
Details: 8, 16GB, USB, battery: 24 hours audio
Despite the success of the click wheel iPod nanos, Apple decided to take the nano in a completely different direction, dumping the physical controls from the face, introducing multitouch and getting rid of the video camera and video playback ability. The interface is similar to iOS but is not called as such as there are no downloadable apps. There is a built-in accelerometer for the Nike+iPod to work without an additional attachment.

4th gen iPod shuffle
Released: September 2010
Details: 2GB, USB, battery: 15 hours audio
Is this the first time Apple has dumped a newer design to return to (almost) a previous one? The 4th gen bears more than a passing resemblance to the 2nd gen Shuffle - not least because it returns to the familiar circle button design rather than having the controls on the headphones. There's also the familiar power/shuffle switch as well as a button for the VoiceOver function.

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Songs purchased from the forthcoming Google Music store will be available to share with friends, according to reports.

Business Insider says this is the big "twist" referred to by Android's Andy Rubin, when he spoke of the iTunes-bating service this week in Hong Kong.

The report claims that users will be able to share songs bought from Google Music with friends, who can then listen to the tracks a limited number of times, or for a limited time period, for free.

BI's source says that it's likely that you can send your pals an email, offering them access to your music locker.

Offline listening expected too

The sharing privileges will cost Google a fortune in licensing fees according to the report.

It is also thought that Google Music users will be able to "pin" songs to their mobile devices for offline listening in the same way that the Spotify Premium apps allow songs to be stored.

Google Music is expected to mimic the iTunes and Amazon MP3 stores in offering straight pay-per-download music, rather than a subscription like Spotify.

The store is expected to launch before the year is out, with the latest reports suggesting a November outing.

Beats by Dre, the expensive headphone company started by expensive rapper Dr Dre and expensive lead company Monster, is considering a UK store in London's trendy Shoreditch.

According to our friends at T3, Omar Johnson, Beats' US head of marketing, said that the company was looking to establish a UK presence.

"We've been looking at the Shoreditch area of London," said Johnson. "We're very excited about how much the UK has embraced Beats."

Christmas rapping

The company is set to launch its first store in Lower Manhattan, New York over the Christmas period - just in time to fill up little Jimmy's stockings with some overpriced earphones.

"It's going to be about experiencing Beats the way you should experience it," Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine told T3. "We're going to make sure there's the right demonstrations. We want people to feel it right."

Beats' distinctive red-cabled headphones are becoming more ubiquitous, while HTC has released a number of phones featuring Dre-approved audio processing.

But our hands (ears?) on with a set of Beats headphones left us a little cold, the worst problem being that they "get tangled up in your hair and make you look like an idiot".

Sony has not had the best time with the Walkman brand since the dawn of the MP3, given that the company has had to play second fiddle - like everyone else - to Apple and the iPod.

But the company's latest device may well change that, and it's all because of Android.

At the moment, the Android OS is the only viable alternative to iOS when it comes to mobile devices, so it is refreshing to see the system power up the Sony NW-Z1000, the latest addition of the Walkman range.

This Android-toting Walkman was shown off at IFA but it was very much in prototype stage.

It's great then that it was shown off at CEATEC and has under its hood some decent technology, which is there to enhance the NW-Z1000's main job – to play music and play it well.

One of the big bits of tech to make sure this is happening is something called S Master X digital voice cancelling technology. This helps you listen to the device, without the fear that the noise on the Underground and what-not will get in the way.

We tried this out on the crowded floor of CEATEC and were impressed with the results. Usually, noise cancelling technology is something that is put into headphones, so it is good to see it in the device itself.

The Sony NW-Z1000 is a good-looking device – the 4.3-inch 480 x 800 screen pinged with quality and, along with the Tegra 2 processor, it has been equipped with Android 2.3.

The PMP has connectivity options too – including Bluetooth, GPS, and it has a G sensor as well. When it comes to space, there are three options: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.

The Sony NW-Z1000 release date is December in Japan, and we are hoping it will be coming to the UK soon after.

This week was always going to be about Apple, but sadly not in the way we expected: a typically exciting Apple product announcement was overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs.

The week started on a much brighter note, though, with the usual excitable predictions about the forthcoming iPhone 5. It would be bigger, faster, completely different, filled with tiny elves and able to make biscuits fly, the rumour sites said, but our resident grump Gary Marshall wasn't convinced. "We'll get the iPhone 4S," he wrote, "an evolutionary step rather than a revolutionary one."

Marshall's prediction? "It will have an A5 chip, more storage, more RAM, [a] better camera and the same basic form factor as the iPhone 4," he wrote. "There will be a black one. There will be a white one. There will be Facebook integration alongside the Twitter integration we already know about. The iPhone 4 will take the 3GS's place as the entry level iPhone."

He was pretty close - the Facebook integration didn't materialise, and the 3GS lives on - but he was right when he said "if that's all Apple announces, there will be groans." But were the groans justified?

Patrick Goss's Hands on: iPhone 4S review admits that "it's difficult not to feel a little underwhelmed" but pointed out that "Apple has a way of making the features that rivals implemented years ago seem shiny and new." For Goss, "the iPhone 4S lives up to its billing as the best ever iPhone."

"The interesting thing here isn't the iPhone 4S," Marshall wrote after the keynote. "It's the 3GS... what's happening here is history repeating." Just like it did with the iPod, Apple is expanding its iPhone line-up so there's a device for everyone.

"There's an iPhone for the early adopters, one for the "I'll wait until the price comes down" crowd, and one for people who fancied an iPhone but couldn't justify the cost. That's a lot of market coverage."

iPhones for every pocket

Apple now has three iPhone models on sale: the 3GS, the 4 and the 4S. Wouldn't it be great if somebody compared all three? Enter Dan Grabham, who's done just that. We've also found out the iPhone 4S UK price, and we're tracking the iPhone 4S UK deals as and when they're announced - although we suspect some firms will keep schtum until the iPhone 4S goes on sale on 14 October.

iOS 5 is released on the same day, so even if you don't buy an iPhone 4S you'll be able to make your 3GS or 4 feel shiny and new too.

One of the most interesting things about the iPhone 4S is its camera, with Apple providing some utterly stunning demo shots - but were they realistic, and if they are, would you be better off with an iPhone 4S than a point-and-shoot camera?

Amy Davies investigated, and found that "the iPhone 4S is unlikely to be able to compete with some of the premium compacts on the market", but as smartphone cameras get better and better, budget camera manufacturers should watch their backs.

Sad news

Just as everyone settled down into the usual Apple-yay, Apple-nay arguing, we received sad news: Apple founder Steve Jobs died on Thursday, aged just 56. As Bill Gates put it: "the world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come". The world of technology has lost a giant.

Apple will continue to sell the iPod classic, despite widespread fears that the company would put the iconic, click-wheel music player out to stud.

Prior to Tuesday's iPhone launch event, speculation had been rife that Apple would wave goodbye to the famous device after ten glorious years.

Those suspicions looked to have been confirmed when Apple announced a tweaked iPod nano and a white iPod touch and displayed them as a family alongside the iPod shuffle.

The iPod classic was nowhere to be seen and, with the Apple Store down, there was no way of telling whether it would reappear when the online shop came back online after the event.

The grandfather stumbles on

Thankfully, for fans of the 160GB device, the grandfather of the family lives on and can still be bought for £199.

Rumors of the iPod classic's death were partly due to Apple's perceived distaste for the chunky hard-drive.

The iPod nano and iPod touch use super-thin flash memory, but the highest capacity device is the 64GB touch, leaving fans with masses of music out in the cold.

So, the iPod classic gets a stay of execution. It's like the old relative that lives in the granny flat away from the rest of the family that no-one really talks about.

Apple has taken the wraps off a new iPod Touch, which will launch in both black and white.

It offers Retina Display, and will launch running iOS 5 which means you'll get a host of delicious new goodies to play with.

These include iCloud, Apple's Cloud storage/syncing system and iMessage for realtime chat among reams of other features.

FaceTime

The new iPod Touch also offers HD video playback, a gyroscope and FaceTime all cased in its ultra-thin design.

The new iPod Touch UK release date is set for October 12, and it will launch in 8GB, 32GB and 64GB iterations.

No word on UK pricing yet, but US pricing will be $199, $299 and $399 respectively.

Apple has unveiled a new iPod nano, which features an updated user interface, multi-touch, an integrated clip, new fitness functions and FM radio.

No more grid to contend with, on the updated iPod nano you can simply swipe between apps.

Those fitness functions include a pedometer that tracks your walks and runs.

Clock off

Apple seems quite pleased with all the third-party watch casings available for the dinky MP3 players, so much so that it has updated the clock faces that it can display.

The new iPod nano will launch today with 8GB and 16GB versions available. No word on UK pricing yet, but the 8GB version is on at $129 and the 16GB verion at $149.

It wasn't all about tablets and smartphones at Samsung's IFA 2011 conference; also unveiled was the Samsung Galaxy WiFi 3.6, a personal media player with a Wi-Fi connection.

It offers what Samsung calls a 'powerful' multimedia experience, with a 1GHz OMAP processor chugging away under Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

It has a 3.6-inch HVGA touchscreen and a dinky little 2MP camera on the back with LED flash - and it looks just like the Samsung Galaxy S.

Media mogul

Given that its raison d'etre is to play media, we're pleased to report it can handle most major video and audio files, and can handle both Android and Samsung-made apps for email and so on.

If you still want to make calls with the device, you'll have to make do with VoIP – luckily Google Mobile Services are bundled on the handset so you can use Google Talk, or check out the Skype Android app.

Samsung reckons this is the one for those who want an Android smartphone but don't want a monthly contract deal, although why you wouldn't just go for pay as you go, we don't know.

Other nifty little additions include an accelerometer, compass and the Galaxy Wi-Fi 3.6 comes in 8GB and 16GB versions (with a microSD card slot for additional storage).

It's not long to go until you can get your hands on a Galaxy Wi-Fi 3.6 – UK release date is set for early October, and you can pick up the 8GB iteration for £149 while the 16GB device is £169.