Digital Home Thoughts: Battling the Boombox Bust

"While portable digital audio player sales have soared over the past three years, sales of other audio components have seen double-digit declines in the same period... Portable music players serve their purpose well, but the large number of speaker docks that have sprung up under the iPod should be a sign of unmet demand for something simpler and less expensive. It may be time to start thinking inside of the box. Next week, I'll look at a product that does from an unlikely source."

Here's a quick short from last week's Switched On. I have wondered for some time now why there aren't more boomboxes or even shelf systems with iPod docks in them. I suppose for high-end shelf systems yer average iPod dock will do - just connect it to an empty line-in - but I would have expected there to be more boomboxes sold with iPod docks. CD players were incorporated into boomboxes almost immediately upon conception, so why is it taking so long for MP3 players? Is it really just because there's no one standard? Seems to me like it would be a $.10 addition to have a line-in headphone cable coming out the back...