That was in late 1970s. By early 1980s Morita’s vision had proved inspirational. The Sony Walkman became iPod of day and it was hard to walk down a street, travel on a train or sit in a waiting room without seeing someone with a pair of headphones on. And this wasn’t just restricted to trendy young things. Middle aged people and elderly people also got Walkman bug.

Quarter of a century later and headphones haven’t changed that much. The current craze, started by iPod, is for white in-ear ones, but if you look closely enough you’ll still see lots of other colors and varieties adorning people‘s ears.

But what happens if you want to hear your music without aid of headphones? What if you want to share your music with world at large, or maybe just your friends and family?

Well, thanks to a burgeoning band of accessory manufacturers you can now get speakers (and other gadgets) to cover almost every possible situation. Whether you want to use your iPod as audio focal point of your party or just want to enjoy some Puccini on beach - there is sure to be something to suit your specific needs and requirements.

At very top of tree, in terms of price, is SoundDock from Bose. Since 1980s Bose have really made a name for themselves for making high quality small footprint speakers, and their offering for iPod is an extension of this philosophy. At a touch less than $300 this might not be an affordable option for everyone, but if you have money to spare and top class sound quality is important to you then SoundDock is certainly an option worth considering.