However, the Orb is indeed cute. Like I said, it looks like a bowling ball with a slot on top for inserting an iPod. It's also flat on the bottom for stability (hey, it were totally shaped like a bowling ball, it would be a rolling speaker system -- which is somewhat impractical). The Orb is designed to be portable, measuring just eight inches in diameter. Also, it's available in several colors (black, white, silver, blue, green and pink) so the cuteness factor is maintained.

But how does it sound? Quite good. Its 30 watt amplifier drives left and right two-inch speakers and a single subwoofer. The bass is more powerful than you'd expect from a speaker system this compact. Midrange are treble are also solid, though a bit lacking in detail at very high and very low volumes. The Orb also produces a slight hissing sound, though you won't notice it unless you place your ear right next to the speaker system or jack up the volume (and the Orb offers plenty of volume) while no music is playing. Also, there's not much stereo separation, but you really can't expect that in a small, ball-shaped speaker system.

The Orb doesn't have a universal iPod dock. Instead, mStation includes six dock adapters, including the new iPods (yes, including the iPod touch). There's no video out for video enabled iPods, but there is welcome support for older FireWire-based iPods.

Just below the iPod dock are the power on/off, volume down, volume up, reverse track, forward track and play/pause buttons. Below the control buttons is an infrared receiver that communicates with the included remote control. On the back, bottom side of the Orb is a recessed bay that's home to the power adapter, USB plug and 1/8-inch line-in port are located. As for the remote itself (which is larger than you'd expect), it's a 10-key device that lets you navigate from within playlists.

What can I say? The Orb is cute and fun with good sound quality. It doesn't offer the great audio of, say, the [url=http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language=ENG&cat=MME&prod=HKGOPLAYBLK&sType=C]Harman/Kardon Go + Play[/url], but it's lighter, easier to transport and costs less.

Macsimum rating: 8 out of 10