The PocketDock is the Swiss Army Knife of iPod connectivity. A non-standard, compact cable and small dock with several AV connectivity options, it replaces a bag full of adaptors and cables and makes life easier, especially if you spend a lot of time traveling and staying in hotels. Mine lives in my laptop bag and goes with me on regular business trips to Australia, so I can plug my iPod into hotel stereos and even hotel TVs to watch video podcasts via S-Video. I've yet to come across a situation where I haven't been able to output satisfactorily. The key for me - aside from the fact it's significantly cheaper than Apple's AV Connection kit - is how the audio is line-out, rather than from the degraded headphone jack connection. The sound quality, therefore, is higher: I can barely hear the difference between AIFF tracks playing on my iPod through my Linn hi-fi at home and tracks being played via CD on my CD player.

-- Chris Hunter

PocketDock AV Cable
$30
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by SendStation