JVC's dual-dock iPod speaker eases party pain

Control the music; control the party.

JVC has doubled up on the docks with its NX-PN7, an iPod speaker system that allows you to charge two players simultaneously and play songs from each.

In addition to sporting two spots for iPods or iPhones to call home, the NX-PN7 offers an AM/FM tuner, clock and timer. An analog audio input lets you get your musical kicks from non-Apple MP3 players, while a video output carries your still and moving images to a TV screen. To prevent you from having to reprogram any neural circuits, the layout of the remote control mirrors the iPod's scrollwheel.

As for the requisite snazz factor, a strip under each iPod dock lights up in not one, not two, but nine different colours.

The best feature as far as we're concerned is that the product may go some way toward resolving that perennial party issue: whose iPod to use for the night's musical entertainment.

The NX-PN7 is available in the US for US$149.95. JVC reps on our shores didn't have any info on local availability, but given some of the squabbles we've seen involving iPods and wannabe party DJs, an Australian release would be a shrewd move. Maybe it could be stocked in the Sydney Apple Store.