This sleek anodised aluminum sheath for the iPod nano holds within it an ultra-compact speaker with an unbelievable volume.

About the size of the iPhone, the Creative TravelSound i80 fits comfortably into your pocket. Slot in your iPod nano, and it belts out tunes loud enough to share with 20 friends, provided that you don’t mind the metallic sound.

The treble is strong, and songs with strong acoustics turn out decent. But if you play bassy stuff like Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back, you’ll see your friends cringe.

What’s great: No need for a manual

Using it is a breeze and there’s no need for the manual. There’s just a switch, a volume control knob, and a standard mini-USB port for charging the device.

The TravelSound i80 charges itself and your iPod nano at the same time, and you can choose to sychronise your iPod nano while it’s still in the cradle of the i80.

According to the packaging, the TravelSound i80 is for the third-generation iPod nano, but UrbanWire also tried it out on a first and second generation iPod nano – both work too.

However we lament the lack of an auxiliary audio input jack for it means that there’s no way we can use the TravelSound as a booster for our laptop speakers.

What’s not: What’s it really for?

The design of the box is typically Creative, being visually chocked with too many words for its own good, a total stranger from the clean lines and solid build that the TravelSound i80 is.

Aside from that, Creative claims the i80’s built-in battery lasts 15 hours. One thing’s for sure: dancers will love it. But other than being in a dance studio, there aren’t many places it seems to be able to go.

Well, except maybe the occasional picnic.

The TravelSound i80 is priced at $129.00 at Creative stores
(Out of stock on Creative Singapore Online Store as at Aug 16)
Photo courtesy of Rawart Weblog.