In many ways, the Kensington Stereo Dock for iPod is an improvement on the standard Apple iPod Dock. It connects directly to your stereo via an included 7-foot gold-plated RCA-to-stereo-mini-jack cable (in iPod white, naturally), and comes with a small white infrared remote that gives you wireless control over any iPod with a dock connector. While we like the design, we found one important thing missing: a way to sync your iPod with your PC while it is in the dock. Still, the sound quality is very good, and the remote works very well.

The dock is bigger than the standard Apple dock, but it maintains a fairly small footprint, at 2 by 3 by 4 inches. It is powered by an included AC power adapter that won't take up too much space on your power strip and that also charges your iPod. The unit is white with a chrome-plated metal bar that wraps around the front and provides a backrest for your full-size iPod. Although the dock accommodates the iPod mini and nano, neither of those models will benefit from the added stability of the backrest. A rubberized bottom keeps the dock from sliding around on smooth surfaces.

The Kensington logo on the front is backlit in orange, but it's not too obtrusive. We like that the buttons on the remote control, which include volume up/down, track skip, and play/pause, are also backlit in orange. The buttons themselves are embedded in a wheel-style interface reminiscent of the iPod's click wheel. The remote feels sturdy, and the buttons have a very good feel to them, though the surface of the entire interface is completely smooth, so you can't navigate by feel. The remote works from as far as 30 feet away and runs on two included triple-A batteries.

Setup is very fast: Plug the power adapter in and attach the stereo mini-jack end of the audio cable to the back of the dock and the RCA ends to the audio inputs on your stereo. Then just add your iPod. The overall signal output isn't as strong as that of the Apple Dock, but it is more than sufficient to drive most stereo systems. We didn't hear any audible distortion through our high-end reference stereo setup.

The ability to pass through a video signal so you can watch slide shows on your TV would be a nice addition, as would a 30-pin output allowing you to sync your iPod while it sits in the dock. Kensington representatives say the company is working to develop these features for future versions. Still, the Kensington Stereo Dock is a good alternative to the Apple Dock if you're more interested in wireless control than in video output and syncing.