Sure, you can turn your iPod into a ghetto-blaster, plug it into your car, broadcast the sound to a radio… but up until now, you couldn’t dock it into your wall. Yup, that’s right… the people over at Sonance have made it possible to place your new iPod in your wall and have it be controlled through practically any local or whole-home audio system.

The Sonance iPort In-Wall Docking System also has a built-in IR emitter which let you operate the iPod via a remote (an optional 3rd-party IR receiver required); the iPod can also be operated directly from its own controls. Don’t worry about running out of battery power since the iPort supplies DC power to the iPod and recharges it while it is docked. The best part is that you can wire it to your whole-home audio system using only CAT5 cable.

The list price may be the only thing that will keep this out of most homes… at $598 (MSRP), it is tailored to the high-end custom home market, and you have to be a serious iPoder. I love my iPod and you gotta love a company that is willing to take a risk creating new products, but I don’t think I’d buy an iPort to display in my home. It doesn’t make much sense to me, sure it’s cool, but why not just share your music drive and access the files thru an embedded device like the Audiotron or a Windows Media Extender for half the price? Plus, I don’t think the iPod will be around in 30 years (the average home mortgage) leaving a weird hole/dock/port in your wall that would be left useless.

– Sonance Website
– iPort Image (Back Shot)
– iPort Manual (PDF)

[ Thanks Eric F. ]