Ten... bedside iPod docks
Wakey, wakey!
Product Round-up When Reg Hardware last looked at iPod docks, we focused on premium offerings intended to take pride of place in your living room. This time we turn our attentions to some of the best speaker docks for more intimate surroundings.
All the docks included can sit on your bedside table and many have an alarm clock to wake you from your slumbers. If you don't want to get up to your favourite tunes - Judas Priest might, for some, be a tad aggressive for the start of the day - a fair few have DAB and/or FM radios built in too. Some are large, some are small; some cheap, others a bit more pricey. But one, I'm sure, will be right for you. In alphabetical order, we have...
Edifier iF350 On the Go
As its name suggests, the iF350 is primarily pitched on its portability - there's a built-in rechargeable battery - but with an FM tuner, an alarm clock and a compact size, it has all the makings of a good bedroom dock. The two forward facing 3in speakers don't make for a widely separated sound, but this boy can play it loud. The mini remote latches safely within a slot in the iF350, as does the spring-loaded but beautifully damped pop out dock and stand. A nicely designed, good sounding option.
Reg Rating 75%
Price £113
More Info Edifier
JBL On Time Micro
For a bedside sound system, the JBL punches out one heck of a sound. Whether sourced from the iPod dock on top - universal and accompanied by a range of inserts - the FM/AM tuner or the 3.5mm aux, this hemispherical unit gives a clear, loud and surprisingly well-separated sound that's not short on bass, either. And it doesn't distort if you need it to go to eleven to wake you up. Seven alarm slots are provided, each of which can be set for specific days, weekdays, weekends or all of them.
A mini remote means you can keep it up on a shelf rather than next to the bed, and you can power it with three AAAs if you want to take it down to breakfast with you.
Reg Rating 85%
Price £180
More Info JBL
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COMMENTS
How can there be ten essential bedside docks?
Surely you only need one, but if they're essential that implies you need them all.
i suppose the english language can suffer the pollution and loss of just one more word...
i'm confused
I did have a whole diatribe written up about And Clover's post but I've realised that I can't be Arsed so i'll summarise my thoughts as follows; this is a round up of iPod alarm clock things. given that iPod is the dominant force in the mp3 player market companies make accessories for it. if there were some other equally successful device then manufacturers would make a broad range of accessories to suit that as well or instead.
oh but wait... there is no competitor close.
good thing I don't have an android phone... try finding me an alarm clock that will dock with any android phone... or a windows phone 7 for that matter....
You say closed and expensive.... i say standardised, integrated, reliable, dependable.
say for argument's sake I splurged £300 on one of those alarm clock radio dock things....I could say that there's a fair chance that I might well have it ten years if not longer (given that I've had my current alarm clock twenty years it's highly feasible. At least I can say that i am 90% confident that the next iphone or ipod i buy is going to be able to dock with it... and the one after, and the one after that.
For non-iPod users
How about some alternatives for those of us who prefer not to buy in to Apple's closed and expensive MP3 player ecosystem?
For example, can the Sony device play audio from SD/MS as well as video, and can it do it on a wake-up timer?
This device works well as an MP3-playing alarm clock for me (from USB memory stick): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Naf-Clock-MP3-Stereo-Radio/dp/B0028YGY1K
Ten Essential... bedside iPod docks???
Essential? All ten of them?? Good grief... So glad I don't own an iPod!
How bright?
I have an iPod dock / clock / radio that looked & sounded great in the shop... but the LCD display goes from 'light up the room' blue when switched on, to 'dim' at night which is still bright enough to read by.
Setting alarms and time is also pretty easy, but still largely made more difficult because they use buttons & a limited LCD display. Its stupid to manually have to adjust the dock time after say daylight saving kicks in or when the power has gone out, when the iPod docked to it has already has the correct time; and can offer a far nicer UI for setting stations, alarm times etc.
In the end, I use the dock (with a book over the display so I can sleep at night) as a charger & to play music at times, but use the cellphone or iPod for an alarm.
Would like to see reviews that mention this sort of detail.
Makes me wonder of course, if any of the product designers actually use the things beside the bed as intended?
