Slick, new, but no boombox

The SOMA Travel by XtremeMac is a dock-based speaker system for your Apple devices. It can fit your iPod, iPhone and iPads. Granted, many of these devices come with built-in speakers, but the SOMA Travel (Dh249) aims to improve the sound quality. Taking a few cues from Apple, the SOMA Travel is very simple and clean in its design, and is almost all black, except for a ring around the power and volume buttons on the top. The front features a pop-out dock base to connect your device, and fabric-covered speakers. The device connector can be pushed to adopt a different angle, thereby making it compatible with the various Apple devices out right now. The entire unit is just shy of 10 inches in length and is about 2 inches high. But here comes the best part — unlike most other docks, the SOMA Travel doesn't need to be connected to a power supply, or even batteries. It uses power from the device connected to the dock itself. However (and probably consequentially), the volume of the SOMA Travel is rather soft and won't really fill up the room. For the newer devices which come with a speaker — the iPhones and the iPads — the SOMA Travel dock offers a slight improvement in sound quality and volume. The convenient part about using the dock is that you're not left holding the device upwards and in the angle that is most conducive to a louder volume. The result is a fuller sound at a marginally higher volume. For devices that don't feature a speaker, the dock is a considerable step up. The dock also features a USB connection at the back, which will let you connect it to your computer to charge and/or sync the device. The SOMA Travel's small-form factor and light weight make it a truly portable product. But the unit's not-so-loud volume also keeps it from being a solid recommendation. However, if you're looking to bring a little bit of sound to your Apple devices when you're travelling, the SOMA Travel is a great device. Bhavishya Kanjhan is a digital marketing professional and an early adopter of all things digital. Follow his tweets on @bhavishya