CES 2013: best speaker docks

£TBC, uk.jbl.com

JBL has launched a triple whammy of Lightning-equipped speaker docks this year. The OnBeat Mini is a portable, travel-friendly model compatible with all Lightning-equipped iOS devices. It features two full-range transducers and a built-in DSP that serves up “crisp, room-filling sound”.

Then there’s the JBL OnBeat Rumble, which totes Bluetooth and JBL parent company Harman’s TrueStream technology alongside a Lightning dock, making it compatible with pretty much any smartphone, tablet or laptop. As the name suggests, this is a hefty speaker designed to produce a booty-shaking quantity of bass.

Last in JBL’s line-up is the OnBeat Charge, which eschews a physical dock in favour of Bluetooth wireless streaming (although it does come with a USB port for topping up your phone or tablet’s battery). Designed to be taken out into the wild, the dinky little Charge sports a rechargeable battery that delivers up to 12 hours of on-the-go music playback.

JBL OnBeat Mini, OnBeat Rumble and OnBeat Charge

£TBC, panasonic.co.uk

Panasonic has unleashed a veritable torrent of iOS-compatible gear this year – far too many items to cover in this round-up – but we’ve picked out a highlight in the SC-NP10, a speaker dock designed for pretty much any tablet (the pic shows a 9.7-inch iPad, so anything bigger than that might not fit though). The device features a 2.1-channel speaker setup, and uses Bluetooth for audio streaming. It holds your tablet (or phone or, ugh, “phablet” we suppose) at a nice viewing angle, too. UK availability is yet to be confirmed, but it’ll cost around US$200 (around £125 at the current exchange rate).

£180, belkin.com/uk

The dramatically-named Thunderstorm works with the iPad 2 and 3 (a Lightning version is coming in the spring), encasing it in a snug plastic shell and pumping out its sound via an amp and a pair of front-facing speakers. There are three settings to tune the audio for different types of material. Look out for it in shops from February.

Panasonic SC-NP10

£TBC, ihomeaudio.com

This 2.1-channel alarm-clock-radio-dock is a charging maestro, boasting not only two Lightning docks but a USB output for topping up batteries on multiple devices at once! It also offers a line input for other stereo audio gear, and its clock automatically syncs with the time on your iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch. There’s no UK price confirmed as yet, but it’ll cost around US$150, roughly £95 in the Queen’s currency.

£TBC, iluv.co.uk

Designed for the iPod Touch and iPhone 5, the Aud 5 “features reinforced bass through a passive radiator” apparently, as well as Bluetooth for wireless streaming. We’re just pleased it has a bunch of physical controls up top allowing you to control music playback without having to awkwardly prod the docked device’s touchscreen.

Belkin Thunderstorm

£TBC, logic3.com

Would you buy a speaker dock just because it has the famous prancing horse Ferrari logo on it? Probably not – but the GT1 might be worth a look anyway, thanks to its unusual “2.2.1” speaker array, which incorporates a 6.5-inch subwoofer to deliver bass lower than a F50’s engine growl (probably). There’s a pull-out dock for iOS gear, as well as Bluetooth for wireless streaming from pretty much anything.

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