Chicago (IL) - The reluctant mating of Sony products with Apple iPods is something the guys back at Sony Japan HQ will probably always kick themselves about. The digital version of the Walkman never really had a chance to get off the ground with the iPod dominance. One of the latest Sony devices to highlight this love-hate relationship is the Xross Fade (LBT-DJ2i), a "DJ-style" music system priced around $500.

As the catch phrase implies, the Xross Fade is targeted towards amateur hour DJs – particularily those owning iPods loaded with party music. It sports a dual dock for iPod devices as well as "an interface and two scroll wheel mechanisms that allow for easy menu navigation similar to that of iPod players." Now if that isn't Sony bowing down to the iPod, we don't quite know what is.

The Xross Fade has a total of 450 watts of power output and includes DJ-style features, such as "a cross-fader with monitor cue and a built-in two-channel mixer." It also includes a USB recording function that saves mixing sessions to a USB device in the MP3 format without a PC, sound enhancement and "traditional shelf system features." This latter item means old school stuff like a CD player, an AM/FM tuner and a line-in jack for listening to portable audio devices. All of these sources can also be mixed.

Sony says its iPod DJ mixing system will be available in September.