GrooveToons is a whimsical-looking little device that combines a charging dock, a speaker, and alarm clock functionality for use with your 1st, 2nd, or 3d generation iPod nano. On the front side you'll find the volume controls (the - and + on the left and right of 6 o'clock in the image below).

By the way, GrooveToons uses your iPod's built-in alarm clock so the clock face (and eyeballs) are non-functional and just for show.

Behind your iPod is a Snooze bar; tap it if you want to sleep a few more minutes.

Around back you'll find the on/off button (red), the speaker, and power and line-in ports.

That's about it. The speaker sounds pretty good for its size and the entire unit takes up very little space on your nightstand.

The dealbreaker for me is that there's no clock display. If you want to know what time it is, the only way to find out is by looking at the clock on your iPod. Well, first of all, that clock is tiny. But worse than that, it's not even visible unless you touch one of your iPod's controls to activate the backlight. I'm a little old-fashioned -- I prefer to look at my alarm clock and just see what time it is, without being forced to touch it first.

There is one last thing: If you don't care for the colors shown above (i.e. green or silver), GrooveToons also comes in pink, blue, and black. Here's what it looks like in all five flavors:

The Bottom Line

It's a cute little charging station and speaker that doubles as an alarm clock in a pinch. If you don't care that you can't see the time without touching your iPod first, it's not a bad deal.