MP3 players and even mobile phones are great for enjoying personal music through earphones, but sometimes it would be nice to share the music with others, or just enjoy our collection playing in our own room. You can use a speaker dock for iPods and other players, but a better answer can be wireless Bluetooth speakers -- no wires, just playing music from any compatible cell phone or media player (see Portable Speakers in my Audio Accessories Gallery).
The new Samsung BS300 Bluetooth Portable Stereo Speakers are just about as portable as your music player -- just 3 3/4 x 1 4/5 x 1/2 inch, and 2 1/5 ounces. Yet they put out 1W per speaker, which you can still hear across a large room. (Shown with optional clip / speaker stand to set up on a table.)
Wireless speakers will make even more sense as MP3 / portable media players beccome more common -- like the new Samsung P2 portable media player and other devices in the product line (see recent post). The BS300 speakers support stereo audio, with Bluetooth 2.0, and a wireless range of up to 32 feet. And as a bonus, they do include a line-in jack for listening to wired audio devices the old-fashioned way.
The speakers have play controls (Play/Pause, Forward/Back) and volume for your music. They also include Samsung's DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine) technology to add 3D Surround Sound Stereo and/or Bass Boost, 3D effects. And since the speakers are so small, they're rated for up to 4 hours of music playback, and 150 hours of standby (they charge through an adapter that plugs into a USB port).
Even better, with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, the speakers can work as a hands-free and conference call device.
This is our wireless future -- the phone connection, media storage, headsets, and speakers, all interconnected to route and share our conversations and entertainment.