- Wake to iPhone/iPod, playlists, AM/FM radio, or buzzer
- Plays and charges iPhone and docking iPod models
- Bass, treble, 3D, and balance controls
- Reson8 ported cabinet stereo speakers
- AutoSet clock adjusts to time zone
- It has Reson8 ported cabinet stereo speakers
- It plays and charges iPhone and docking iPod models
- You can wake to iPhone/iPod, playlists, AM/FM radio, or buzzer
- It has Bass, treble, 3D, and balance controls
In my opinion, the best features are:
* The alarm can be set to wake to a random song on an "iHome" playlist on your iPod. Only Sanyo seems to have a product with a similar feature, but I think theirs looks REALLY ugly.
* The backlight dimmer has 7 levels of brightness and can even be turned off.
* You can adjust the snooze time from 1 to 29 minutes in 1-minute increments.
* The alarm volume (for radio and iPod) gradually increases for "gentle" waking.
* The sound quality is quite good for such a small unit.
The things that annoy me about the unit are:
* The alarm set buttons are located directly behind the snooze bar, and hitting one of these buttons resets the alarm when the alarm is sounding. While the snooze bar is very big and has a bump that you can feel with your fingers, I fear that I will accidentally turn off my alarm one morning when just trying to snooze for a few more minutes.
* There is a beep when setting the alarm. While this offers audio confirmation of your alarm setting actions, it can be annoying if you are trying to set the alarm when your significant other is sleeping.
* The dial controls are cool in theory/aesthetic but are not so great in practice. It can be more time-consuming to use these to set the alarm time and other settings when compared to conventional buttons and a system where one sets the hour and minute independently. Also, the dials are mechanical (unlike an iPod) and lack an indent or other means for providing traction. So, your finger can slip, making them not so easy to turn. For this, I found a simple work-around: I stuck on each dial a small, round, self-adhesive, clear plastic bumper (something you can find in any hardware store). This makes it much easier to turn the dials, but it does not get around the fact that dials are not always the best interface.
* Personally, I find only the dimmest and off settings for the backlight to be of any use. Perhaps, the other backlight settings would be needed if the unit is placed in direct sunlight. However, I find them too bright, and it is very slightly annoying that I need to press the dimmer button to cycle through the 6 other "on" settings each time I turn the backlight off. While definitely better than some competing units whose backlight is always way too bright (e.g. the Sony ICF-CD3iP), even the dimmest setting can be rather bright in a totally dark room.
For me, the positive outweighs the negative when evaluating this unit as an iPod alarm clock. While not my primary usage (and paling in comparison to a dedicated home stereo), I found the sound on this unit to be surprisingly good when using the unit as an iPod speaker system for casual listening in a small room.
Buy iHome iP9 Speaker Dock with Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone (Silver) Now
I had been reading about the IP99 for months but was unwilling to pay well over $120 for it. When I happened across the new IP9 for $79.99 in a local warehouse that starts with "Cost" and ends with "co", I thought I would give it a try.The sound is slightly improved over my older IH5 and IH6 radios -which is to say excellent for the money -and so far I haven't heard the slightest GSM buzz. The iP9's 3D effect is richer than the Sony ICF-C1iPMK2's "Mega Xpand" feature. The overall sound of the iP9 is slightly warmer than that of the Sony but otherwise comparable. The Eq option is a big plus.
The one advantage the Sony has is that it supports an iPhone from the back via and adustable block. That somewhat negates the need for a dock insert. This is a nice convenience for people with an iPhone shell that is small enough to fit in a universal dock as you may not have to remove the shell to dock the iPhone securely. You NEED an insert on the iP9 as you would on any device with a universal dock on top and nothing substantial behind the dock. Fortunately, the iPhone insert iHome includes seems to work as well as an iPhone 3G Universal Dock Insert from Apple... and it's black! The iHome website currently states that the IP9 does not ship with an iPhone 3G insert but perhaps iHome wised-up.
The dual alarms work in a similar manner to the Sony. The 2-5-7 day setting is a plus. I have not used the snooze feature though it is supposed to be configurable. Our dogs do not allow us to snooze, in case you were wondering. At night, one big advantage for the iP9 is that the dimmer allows you to turn off the backlighting entirely. As anyone with a Sony will tell you, their dimmest setting is way too bright. The iHome's numbers are also a little larger.
I have read about some quality problems with the IP99 and am hoping that the IP9 is as solid as the IH5 and IH6 clocks I have had for a few years without any problems. The iP9 seems to be built more solidly than the Sony, particularly with respect the buttons. The dials take a little getting used to, but if you're tying to adjust the volume in a dark room they are much easier to adjust than the tiny Sony volume buttons, which have an annoyingly loud click. I also give the iP9's remote an edge because it includes a few more functions.
In summary, the iHome iP9 is a solid performer with an excellent attention to detail that puts it ahead of the Sony ICF-C1iPMK2, despite its more iPhone shell-friendly design.
Read Best Reviews of iHome iP9 Speaker Dock with Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone (Silver) Here
First of all, THIS IS THE ONE TO BUY IF YOU HAVE AN iPHONE, because the other model just doesn't have sufficient shielding to work with the iPhone. You will have constant buzzing and interference due to the iPhone constantly polling.Now to the review. The product comes nicely packaged and protected, and with good instructions. Set up is simple, even setting the time, which is just a selection of a time zone if needed. Mine came perfectly timed (it has a battery backup for it's internal clock) and so I just selected my time zone and I was done. Most of the setting are intuitive, except perhaps turning off the alarms if you don't want them to ring the next day... But, read the instructions (I had to finally turn to them as I couldn't work it out... and you know, turning to instructions is the last thing any man wants to do!:-)))))
In function the unit deliver acceptable sound for what is basically a clock radio. And being able to access all your favorite music on the iPod or iPhone, with a remote control no less, is great. Even the alarm works well, with a gradually increasing volume (and irritation... exactly what is required to pierce my slumbering brain...). And being able to wake to radio, MP3, or buzzer is great. The dual alarms can be set for 5 or 7 day setting, so that if you don't have to get up quite so early on the weekend, you can...
FM & AM reception are acceptable, and the tuner has pretty good lock and definition (stays on station, and doesn't pick up much "bleed through" of stations that are close to each other on the dial...). Finding a place to hang/hide the antenna cables can be challenging...
Answering the phone while in the cradle works fine, but isn't the greatest sound.
So, great sound, great time keeping, great access to favorite tunes, great that it charges the phone whilst in the cradle, and it looks good too. So why do I say "almost" does everything? Well, the one think I would change would be to fit a small light sensor, and have it maintain one illumination setting for day and one for night (illumination level of my choice of course). It does have plenty of graduations of light intensity, but it seems I am forever adjusting the illumination, from the bright setting for day, and one of the night... Setting them once as a preference and having it automatically set to that selection as needed would be wonderful...
Anyway, it's a nice solution to keeping your iPhone by the bed, and charging it without cables everywhere. And it does it all whilst looking good, and performing other tasks... Pretty good value if you ask me...
BrianB.
Want iHome iP9 Speaker Dock with Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone (Silver) Discount?
For some reason finding a well designed clock radio is quite difficult. Poorly laid out, confusing and/or hard to use controls are the biggest problem. Finding all the features and functionality you want is also a challenge, even more so when you add iPod integration to the mix.After trying units from two other manufacturers, the iHome iP9BR was the charm. Here's why:
1. Well organized and easy to use controls.
2. Easy to read display with brightness control (can be turned off completely).
3. AM and FM radio with good reception.
4. Sleep / wake to iPod.
5. iPod Touch navigation from remote.
6. Decent sound (for clock radio).
7. Compact and attractive.
8. Reasonably priced.
Overall, I am very pleased. The only pain is that the AM radio requires an external antenna that is hard to find a good place for on my nightstand.
PROS
-sound is great, fills bedroom nicely
-radio is crystal clear works as advertised
-alarm function has been working flawlessly for 2 months
-plays and controls my iTouch 2nd generation great( charges it too)
-comes with cradle for a nano and iphone as well as itouch
CONS
the remote is poorly laid out and leaves a lot to be desired
selecting a radio preset from the remote is a chore having to go through them all each time, can't select one (not a big deal)
cradles are hard to remove once in place( seem to be fragile too)
Overall, all the functionalities work as advertised and this is well worth the money in my opinion.
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