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(More customer reviews)It seems that iPod/iPhone speaker docks are a hot item, and every company that has ever produced a magnet has decided to jump on the bandwagon. Of course, the competition is great for consumers. But a unit like this can be difficult to judge without actually playing with it. I have to admit, the concept of a motorized dock that rotates my iPhone for video viewing like some contraption out of 2001: A Space Odyssey was intriguing to me. And the price isn't that much more than a normal non-rotating speaker dock.
Well, as so often happens with those daydreams of having the outright COOLEST (fill in the blank) EVER MADE, reality fell pretty far short.Not that this is a bad dock necessarily, but...
Okay, let's talk about it.
===== Appearance =====
It's a pretty slick looking box, no doubt about it. The blue LED ring is noticeable but not distracting, and the face has clean lines and a high-tech minimalist feel. When rotated to movie viewing mode, the LED ring fades to white. The LED ring light is defeatable via one of the buttons.There are 5 low-profile buttons on top and a power jack on the back, along with a line in jack.
The manufacturer's photos are deceiving -- they did a good job making the unit look thin, but this is not the case. It's several inches deep, which is a mixed blessing. You might be disappointed in its size after looking at the photos, but the depth of the unit does allow Philips to utilize the space for improved bass performance.
Finally, the piece that the phone/iPod attaches to sticks out a bit more than the product photos suggest. It's not as deceiving as the depth, but worth a mention.
Speaking of the dock portion...
===== Motorized Dock =====
Some people are going to want to buy this unit for this feature. And I'll admit, it does have a certain 'cool' factor to it. The motor is fast, smooth and quiet, and the effect is pretty neat when combined with the LED ring fading from blue to white.
Sadly, it's just not worth anything in real-world terms. It's cool that you can use the remote to rotate the screen, but....Question: What are you NOT doing if you're far enough away to be using the remote?Answer: Watching a video on your iPhone. Nobody watches a video on their iPod/iPhone from 4 or more feet away. With a light press on the motorized dock, it will swing one way or the other for you, without the need for the remote. So, it may be useful if you're holding the speaker dock in your arms and watching a video.But then, it's just too bulky to be comfortable for that purpose, like holding a small baby (albeit less squishy).I'd rather just use headphones, or *gasp* the built-in iPhone speaker just for the convenience factor.
The unit will charge your iPod/iPhone, as long as its plugged into the wall. I didn't think it did at first, because the first time I plugged my iPod in it didn't charge. Every time after that, though, it did charge.I'm not quite sure why that happened, but it seems I'm not the only one that happened to.
===== Remote =====
The remote is pretty nice, much more solid than some others and with an attractive gloss black finish. It has the standard buttons, plus a bass boost toggle button and the rotate button. It takes a CR2032 battery, and while it's not as thin as the remote for the Altec Lansing iMT620 inMotion Classic Portable iPod Dock with Rechargeable Battery and FM Tuner, there is still a port in the back for storing the remote. Although, the only thing holding the remote in there is a rather weak magnet.I haven't had it fall out yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
===== Sound Quality =====
This is the big thing, isn't it?It doesn't matter how many cool gadgets they cram into one of these things, if it sounds like Colin Meloy is singing from the bottom of a well, the dock fails to serve its primary purpose. Well in this case, it's a mixed bag. The low frequency output is pretty outstanding -- certainly better than the aforementioned Altec Lansing iMT620. Of course, this is to be expected, since the Altec Lansing is actually as thin as they claim (roughly a third the depth of this Philips unit). Mid-range and high frequencies, however, are far better on the Altec Lansing.But keep in mind that I compared them side by side to notice this.When I first took the Philips out of the box, I played it by itself without any reference and it sounded great to me. Additionally, I believe the Philips has better sound when you're listening from a distance.When the unit is farther away from me, it has the power needed to push the sound to wherever I am. The Altec Lansing can do this, but the sound starts to get a bit tinny and thin at a distance.
===== Features =====
The features are all pretty much as stated above, but I want to give an example of what you are (or are not) getting for the money.Again, I will use the Altec Lansing for comparison since I have one sitting right here.
Altec Lansing iMT620: Current price is about $40 less than the Philips dock. Includes an FM tuner with telescoping antenna, a backlit LCD display (mostly useless but shows your volume level which is nice), has (in my opinion) superior sound quality, has a much smaller footprint, and has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts for several hours of constant use. The port feels more flimsy, like it would be easy to break with the iPhone/iPod merely "balanced" on its port with no other support.
Philips Revolution: More expensive, no radio functionality, no display, takes up more space, and requires 8 AA batteries if you don't have a place to plug it in. But it does have a motorized dock that you'll never use. Has a 'cradle' that the iPhone/iPod slides into, making it feel much more sturdy feeling than the Altec Lansing. The cradle comes with several different attachments for different sizes of iPod, so you're sure to have one that fits.
===== Documentation =====
Ha! What documentation?! It's actually pretty funny. The "instruction manual" is a folded piece of paper with pictures on it. They are mainly two-frame cartoons, in the pattern:
Frame 1: Finger next to a button
Frame 2: "Sound" lines come out of the dock.
That finger in each first frame points at a different button each time, but all they ever do is make lines come out of the dock.It's comical, and I guess you get the idea. You really probably don't need instructions for something this simple anyway. But if you buy this dock, definitely check out the documentation. Then consider how much the technical writers over at Philips probably get paid to do their jobs.
===== Conclusion =====
I don't dislike this dock, but I'm not in love with it. The motor feature that seems to be the major selling point is questionable in its usefulness, and there are other smaller units with more features for less money. On the other hand, if you really want to watch videos on your iPhone in landscape format and you have to use a portable speaker dock and you don't mind supplying it with enough AA batteries to power the city of Cleveland for two days and you don't mind having to cradle something the size of a loaf of bread in your arms to do it, then this dock may be for you.
Okay, the color-fading LED ring is more fun than it should be. So it's got that too.
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Philips Revolution Motorized Portable Speaker Dock for iPhone/iPodProduct Description: Philips Revolution Motorized Portable Speaker Dock for iPhone/iPod: Motorized dock rotates for watching movies and videos. Wireless remote controls all basic functions. Class D digital amplifier with Dynamic Bass Boost. Advanced speaker technology for rich, static free sound. Runs on batteries or AC adaptor (included).
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