Review: Altec Lansing inMotion Air

No cables, no docks, no complications. That’s how manufacturer Altec Lansing describe the inMotion Air portable speaker system. And, to be fair, their estimation of the device is spot on.

The inMotion Air IMW725 is a lightweight universal wireless speaker complete with a modern build, but an almost retro finish – the love child of the modern compact stereo and boombox stereo of a bygone era.

This wireless device has a smooth finish that makes handling comfortable,
as well as giving it that contemporary aesthetic edge design-minded consumers love. The discreet remote slips out from the back of the unit, which reinforces this and is once again extremely manageable.

Once charged the inMotion Air is effortlessly synced to your devices through Bluetooth. Every device we ran linked effortlessly with minimum fuss. Simply press the Source/Pair button on the speaker until it flashes red and blue, then find it in your device’s settings to pair it.

However, that’s easier done on iOS devices than with PC, and not to exclude multi- platform users, the inMotion Air ships with a USB wireless transmitter. The remote then becomes fully compatible with Windows Media Player.

Altec Lansing promise a wireless range of up to 100 metres (that’s a whopping 333 feet), but that’s more likely with the USB wireless transmitter attached and synced. Most modern Bluetooth-enabled iPod touches, iPhones and touchscreen tablets like your iPad instead have a range of ten metres (33 feet).

Hitting the Launch button on the device or remote fires it up with your full-featured remote control’s main functions in iTunes. However, with phone in pocket and fully synced, users can pretty much take this portable speaker everywhere and anywhere. The inMotion Air’s rechargeable battery delivers up to an impressive seven hours of playing time.

If coupled with the latest devices, say the iPhone 4S for example, and its power- efficient A5 chip and iOS 5 energy-saving abilities, it has more than enough juice to last in prolonged sociable occasions. This feature is certainly complemented by the inMotion Air’s apt-X technology, which works within Bluetooth to deliver CD quality audio of the highest calibre.