The obvious worry is that such a system will just be a pile of components, cobbled together with little regard for usability and ergonomics. The ITC One is not that. The company has combined an Xbox 360, Wii, Apple TV, iPod dock and a DVR with various audio/videophilic hardware in a relatively graceful manner, packing everything into an attractive aluminum case. Space is at a premium in this setup, so most of the internal components are stripped of their shells, and in some cases augmented (optical audio out is bypassed to connect straight to the S/PDIF connectors on the Xbox and Apple TV, and the Xbox gets a new heat sink and fan).

Most of the hardware is plugged into a central supply, which ITC claims saves 50% power at idle and 33% during use over an equivalent traditional cabinet of hardware. Networking is shared, and the systems can be controlled with face-forward LCD or the all-in-one remote, which is simple and well designed, with motion sensitivity, 4-6 month battery life on 2 AA batteries with an Apple-esque charge indicator. It's also got a brilliant alarm that beeps when you press the "lost remote" button on the primary unit (honestly, this should be everywhere).

For $25,000 though, we expect more than a clean build and clever remote, and there are some departments where the ITC One disappoints. First, Blu-ray is not standard. Seriously . If you are the kind of person who is planning on dropping this much cash on a home theater setup you probably expect to be able to play the dominant HD format. A BR player will be available as an upgrade, but you'll have to say goodbye to your precious Wii to make space.

Second, it seems like a massive chunk of the hardware cost is for overpriced (and over-hyped) A/V hardware. The Vidikron upscaler, power conditioning hardware and aforementioned optical out bypass are all perfect examples of the cost-ineffective gimmicks that plague home theater today. You could buy all of the core hardware (Xbox, DVR, Apple TV, etc.) in here for less than $5,000, and it'd be pretty hard to justify the $20,000 premium for the slick presentation and under-the-hood hardware improvements.

It's clear that a lot of thought has gone into the ITC One, and it took some inspired designing and engineering to cram all of this hardware into an attractive, usable box. The strange decision not to include Blu-ray by default (or even at all, at until they finish engineering it) leaves the One crippled, and the pervasive A/V hypeware pushes the price way out of reach for just about anyone, into the realm of professional theater installs. The ITC One is available now.

[SE2 Labs]

When you look at the Braun products by Dieter Rams—many of them at New York's MoMA—and compare them to Ive's work at Apple, you can clearly see the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of color, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around the function with no artificial design, keeping the design "honest."

This passion for "simplicity" and "honest design" that is always declared by Ive whenever he's interviewed or appears in a promo video, is at the core of Dieter Rams' 10 principles for good design:

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design helps us to understand a product.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is durable.
• Good design is consequent to the last detail.
• Good design is concerned with the environment.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

Ive's inspiration on Rams' design principles goes beyond the philosophy and gets straight into a direct homage to real products created decades ago. Amazing pieces of industrial design that still today remain fresh, true classics that have survived the test of time.

The similarities between products from Braun and Apple are sometimes uncanny, others more subtle, but there's always a common root that provides the new Apple objects not only with a beautiful simplicity but also with a close familiarity.

Braun Atelier TV and latest iMac 24

Braun T1000 radio and PowerMac G5/Mac Pro

Detail of the radio perforated aluminum surface

Braun T3 pocket radio and Apple iPod

Braun L60 sound system and Apple iPod Hi-Fi

Braun LE1 speaker and Apple iMac

Some people will probably call these examples a "rip-off" but, in a world where industrial design and art is constantly being recycled into new work, I just see Apple's products as a great evolution to classic concepts. Now, as I look at Rams' work I can't help but to wonder: which of these old Braun designs will Apple revive next? Is there a MacBook Air—the rumored ultra-slim wire-free portable that seems to be the favorite bet for tomorrow's keynote—in there?

Hopefully, we'll discover at least some answers tomorrow. See you at Macworld! [Design Museum, Dieter Rams and O Globo Online]

The Hi-Fi was a massive mistake. Apple, don't you know? Only third parties can make money off of big, tacky speaker systems, so the launch of the HiFi was lose lose. Either the system would be too big, too ugly or too worthless to listen to. And one thing's for sure: it was too expensive. [tuaw]

After dissecting the thread on this deal over at the Slickdeals forums, it seems a few people are finding Hi-Fi units at their store with the clearance price and a decent amount are coming up empty handed. So it is best just to go check for yourself. Note that the $87 price tag does not show up on the sticker, but take the big 'ole Apple Hi-Fi to a price checker to find out if it has been discounted. Good luck. –Travis Hudson

[Via Consumerist]

Wenge TV Hi-Fi Stand [via OhGizmo!]

No price or release date yet, but if it's Sony, you know it's worth its weight in gold. Or something to that effect. – Nicholas Deleon

MDR-D777SL, the hi-fi headset for DAP [Akihabara News]

Although it's made for the Sony PSP, you can hook up other devices to its auxiliary input, and either way, you can control at least the volume with its remote. Too bad its design is so clunky, looking like a crude, homemade Apple iPod Hi-Fi. Oh well, it's your 200 (around $376). – Charlie White

Gamexpert launches the PSP Hi-Fi [Tech Digest]

The Apple Hi-Fi takes to the Hi-Way [Gadgetell]

The iPod portion of the dock works just like a standard iPod dock&mdash you plug in your iPod, plug the dock AC adapter into the wall and USB 2.0 cable into your computer and blammo, just like the official universal dock. The neat part comes when you use the RCA and S-Video cables to connect this to your TV.

By doing so, you can watch your iPod Video's movies on your regular TV screen—yes, this dock comes with both cables. You can listen to your tunes on your home stereo system, which is honestly going to sound much better than any standard dock's speakers. Navigation from the couch is fairly easy using the wireless remote. All the functions are there: scroll right, scroll left, menu, ok, play/pause, and volume adjustment. The only problem we had was actually seeing the iPod's screen from the couch. It would have been much better if they could replicate its UI on the TV instead of having to squint at the iPod to find the next video or song to play.

This dock also works with a PSP, but unfortunately we didn't have a PSP to test it with, so we can't tell you how well it works. The audio jack and power port fits directly into where the PSP's ports are so it can charge and play simultaneously.

You can also plug in a standard MP3 player (read: Non iPod) into the audio jack to pipe the music over your TV or Stereo. Just don't expect any video usage out of it like an iPod Video. Cellphones like the Sony Walkman series also work fine with this too. All three device types give pretty great sounding audio without any kind of distortion from passing through the dock.

The other fun item is the Wireless Hi-Fi headset. This thing was super easy to use. All you had to do was put in the included AA batteries, click the "RF Power" button on the wireless remote for the dock, turn on the headset and instant audio. The dock uses 2.4 GHz to broadcast audio for the internal wireless version (the one shown), and 900 MHz for the external wireless one. That means you'll have to cycle through the available channels to find one that doesn't get interference from your WiFi. The range was pretty good, and we could hear music all the way from the living room into the john.

All in all, the headset's sound quality was nice, if a little lacking in power. The construction feels a little plasticky, but solid enough so it could fit around my giant noggin.

So, if you're looking for something to hook up your iPod/Cellphone/MP3 player to your home stereo or TV, this is it. Lots of functionality with little to no problems with the execution. – Jason Chen

Product Page

The speakers boast 15 watts each. Also included is a remote control. Unfortunately, like the Apple branded Hi-Fi dock, this speaker system carries a pretty hefty price tag of 299 Euros, or roughly $382.

Hi-Fi System with iPod [AVING]

a removable, padded shoulder strap, felt lining, and a small case for the Apple remote.

If we see you on the street with this thing, we're going to rob you. That's not a joke.

Available in June.

Concerto Bianco [Tunewear via iLounge]

Underwhelmed by Apple's iPod Hi-Fi, PC Magazine's Bill Machrone gutted an old boom box and retrofitted the cassette player to hold an iPod, creating the iBook Lo-Fi for under $50.

If you like the idea, you can make your own by following his detailed walkthrough; if you're lazy but feeling lucky, just enter the contest to win the one he made.

A DIY MP3 Boom Box [PC Magazine, via MAKE Blog]

Sony announced a 40GB hi-fi jukebox earlier this month, and now they've got an even bigger one out on the market: the new NAS-M7HDS has 80GB of storage onboard, which translates to being able to hold about 40,000 songs. It plays and records the ATRAC and MP3 formats (no AAC love for you, Apple), and can receive songs from the built-in CD and MiniDisk players, a Memory Stick slot, and via USB (to your PSP, even) and Ethernet. If you've got it online, you can purchase cds through Sony's online store via the 4.3 inch color screen. ¥84,800, currently only in Japan.

Sony NAS-M7HDS Press Release [SonyStyle] (Translated)
Sony Net Juke 40GB NAS-D5HD [Gizmodo]

You can't really judge speakers without hearing them, but the iLounge EIC Jeremy basically said there are better speakers systems out there and without any of the wireless/video bells and whistles iPod lovers have been clamoring for, this thing is kind of a let-down.

Apple Computer iPod Hi-Fi Speaker System [iLounge]

iPod Hi-Fi Unpacking [Flickr]

New Sony Net Juke 40GB Hi-Fi NAS-D5HD [i4u]

Here are the specs: It will have an integrated power supply for the traditional wall outlet power or it can run off six D-size batteries for "several hours outside" of playtime. It uses two 80mm mid-range drivers in sealed acoustic suspension. It uses a 130mm dual voice coil woofer with a ported bass reflex design. And best of all, it has a universal dock for iPod goodness, including an auxiliary input. It is built in a sealed resin enclosure that doesn't vibrate.

There will be an iPod software update to put a speaker menu item in the main menu. And it can all be controlled with the Apple remote.

iPod Hi-Fi

Two new Apple iPod trademarks could mean more iPod products coming soon. Looks like the term "iPod Hi-Fi" is one of these terms, and could possibly reference the Video iPod, but hopefully means something that can reproduce sound, images and video at a better rate than the products out now. The description Apple uses for the Hi-Fi in the filing is ""Computers, computer hardware, computer peripherals, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, electronic organizers, electronic notepads, apparatus for recording, transmission and reproduction of sounds, images, or data." We're also hearing rumbles of an iPod model with a higher-resolution display and about an inch more of viewing area. But that's it folks. No other information—like when we might see it.Then there's the iPod Boombox, which has been rumoured to be called the iBoom and was planned for release sometime this year (we certainly didn't see it at MacWorld). The description is the same as the iPod Hi-Fi in the Apple filing. And take note, these Trademarks were only filed with with Hong Kong's Intellectual Property Department for trademarks, not in the US.

Apple files for iPod Hi-Fi, iPod Boombox trademarks [Appleinsider]