B&W Ships BMW of iPhone Dock with Audiophile USB Speaker

Audiophile manufacturer Bowers and Wilkins has sculpted a second iPod / iPhone dock speaker with the Zeppelin Mini. The Zeppelin is a dual function device acting as both a USB PC speaker and an iPod speaker. Looking a bit more run of the mill than B&W's usual avant-garde designs, the Zeppelin Mini is about half the size of its enormous, award winning predecessor. Only about 1 ft. wide, the Mini has a top mounted swiveling mount with an iPhone dock connector. You can also hook up any ....og music player to the Mini as well via a headphone sized input jack in the rear.

The Zeppelin line distinguishes itself by using the USB connection and not the iPod's ....og headphone output to stream sound. The digital connection allows it to pull music off your device in full fidelity (as good as compressed music can be) and use its own high fidelity processors to create sound. While connected, the Mini can also act as a USB speaker, and simultaneously charge and synchronize your device. So you can listen to great sound and be loading up your iPod at the same time. Unfortunately, all this tech comes at a price. You'll have to pony up $399 for this high end sound system which should be available in October.