Philips Speaker Dock for iPod/iPhone/iPad DS1210/37

• This sleek Fidelio fills your mornings with delightfully rich music. Perfect for the bedside,
• Philips iPod/iPhone/iPad Speaker Dock
• Philips Product
• It tells time, wakes you up, works as a nightlight and charges up to two iPods, iPhones or iPads together.

After purchasing the Philips Fidelio DS7700, I was excited to try the Philips DS1210 Speaker Dock. The DS1210, made in China, seems like a technologogically advanced alarm clock featuring dual charging capacity, speakers, an internal battery incase of power failures, a digital clock, and glowing night light in a stylish black weave exterior with brushed aluminum accents.

Like the Philips Fidelio DS7700 Docking Speaker, the DS1210 is compatible with all 30-pin connector based iPod, iPhone, and iPad models and can typically be used without removing your iDevice from its case. Both speaker docks produce full rich sound, significantly improve iDevice audio, and make use of the Fidelio app.

The Fidelio app, when connected to the internet and used with the DS1210, includes playback controls, a multi-function alarm clock, music collection browsing, sharing via Facebook and Twitter, access to more than 7,000 internet radio stations and podcasts, and displays current local weather conditions.

When I originally installed the Fidelio app on my iPad 2 and iPhone 4, the app would intermittently fail to work with seemingly no pattern to the problem. I browsed Philip's speaker dock product page and found the solution in the frequently asked questions. This problem occurs when the app is installed on devices with iOS 4.3 or prior. To resolve the issue, delete the Fidelio app from your iDevice, install the latest iOS, then reinstall the Fidelio app from the app store.

Once the Fidelio app stabilized, I found I didn't want to use it. The alarm clock requires the app to be running for use, browsing and listening to the internet radio stations quickly loses its interest, podcasts require more effort than using iTunes, and the app doesn't integrate with Pandora accounts. Philips attempts to enrich the Fidelio experience may be successful for some, but not for me. If it weren't for the audio setting capabilities on the DS7700, I would remove the app from my iDevices.

The DS1210 docking speaker, unlike the Fidelio DS7700, hides the Fidelio app's Dynamic Bass Boost (DBB) and equalizer settings for sound customization. There isn't much difference between these speaker's default output, but the DS1210 sounds a little flat by comparison and could use some adjusting. The DS1210 doesn't have Bluetooth connectivity either, requiring the iDevice to be docked for listening to audio while preventing use of your iDevice for other activities. The absence of these features significantly diminishes the DS1210's value which the price difference attempts to address.

The inclusion of the night light with two settings and a 15 minute auto shut off is a nice touch. The brightness settings are visually different; however the brightest option is too dim to see anything beyond the general docking speaker area. Plus the ability to charge two items, using your own USB charging cable, simultaneously allows me to charge my iPhone and iPad together. Since my bed side outlet powers this speaker dock and a table lamp, the duo charging option is nice to have, even if I don't regularly make use of it.

When it comes down to it, the Fidelio DS1210 speaker dock is nothing more than a speaker charging station with a no frills digital clock. This speaker dock feels like an alarm clock, but its capabilities rely on a tedious app. If it were priced in the 50-60 dollar range, I'd consider it a worthy purchase, but at its current price I wouldn't buy nor recommend purchasing the Fidelio DS1210.

PROS:

One year limited warranty

Certified to meet Apple standards

Dock any iPod, iPhone, iPad, in many cases

Charges two items simultaneously

CONS:

MSRP overpriced and poor value

Relies too much on a tedious app

Cannot listen to audio while using your iDevice

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I have been looking for a nice dock for my iPhone for awhile, my old iHome unit not being compatible with my newest iPhone. When the Philips Docking Speaker came available via Amazon Vine, I jumped at the chance to review it. It has all I want in a docking station and even more. Its unique design enables the user to dock/charge one item while charging another via USB port hidden at the rear of the unit. But, wait! There's more! The Fidelio app (it's free) turns your device into an internet radio, multi-function alarm clock, and, for you in tornado alley (and others), a weather alert system. As a middle-aged grandmother I'm still nearly as obsessed with my electronic toys as the younger generation is. What I am really happy about is that this has a limited one-year warranty. That tells me the company stands by the quality of its product. Something I think is super cool is that the docking station will automatically synchronize with your electronic device. The unit is compact --just a little bit wider than the iPad itself. But the compact size seems to have its limits. The first time I placed my iPad (with its cover) on the dock it was very wobbly. It wanted to bowl right over the front. I finally got it balanced -but it was still not very stable, despite the fact that it's advertised it works for iPhone (have one) iPod (have several) and iPad -with cover (my latest obsession). I'm really leery about just leaving it there for any amount of time. There is a small plastic "kickstand" for want of a better description--that you'd think would hold it in place. But it doesn't I think I will just use it for my iPhone for the most part. Hopefully with future designs. Philips will change this small kickstand for either a bigger one or provide several sizes for use with the different devices. As a speaker/dock system for the iPhone and iPod, this unit delivers. The jury is still out on whether it is totally functional for use with the iPad. I'll amend this review should I decide it works well, or doesn't work at all for the iPad.

Read Best Reviews of Philips Speaker Dock for iPod/iPhone/iPad DS1210/37 Here

I just received this item this morning. I was looking for a dock for my iPad that I could have on my desk at work since I use my iPad all day long in meetings, etc it would be nice to have a home for it when I'm at my desk working to keep the battery charged. This dock works great for that purpose. I don't really utilize the speakers that much since I am in an office environment however down low it is clear and easy to hear.

What I love most about this dock is that I use the Incase Convertible Magazine Jacket Hard case for web tablet rubber black Apple iPad and a lot of charging bases including apples own don't allow the ipad to be docked without removing the case. This dock however has plenty of room to allow the iPad to sit on the dock with the case on and the cover folded back behind it. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I also love the lighting and clock built into the dock. Early mornings when I am at the office before everyone the lights are typically off. Having the little light on it and clock are just nice touches.

I also downloaded the free Fidelio app mainly because when I docked my ipad it said it wasn't installed and allowed me to go straight to the iTunes app store to download it on my iPad. Made it very easy. As for the app, I'm not impressed with the "home screen" of it and wished they would spruce it up to look better. But it does show you the current audio you are listening to including album art, the time in either analog or digital format and also the weather for your local area based upon where the GPS thinks you are.

Overall very pleased with this, it is exactly what I wanted since it charges the iPad without having to remove the case, keeps my iPad on so I can view documents, etc without battery drain and doesn't sound bad at all down low.

One con I do have is there is no audio out or sync ports on this which means you can't use headphones with this dock (minor point) and you can't connect this to your computer to sync through it. Although with iOS 5 and the new wifi sync that really is no longer needed.

I recommend this so far from the few hours I've been playing with it. Very nice.

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To visualize this unit on a nightstand, it is a bit longer than a rectangular DVD case, and a tinier bit wider. Or, if you open up a standard CD jewel case and lay it flat, the length is from one edge of one side of the jewel case cover to the center of the spindle on the opposite side of the jewel case. So this Philips Speaker Dock has a fairly compact footprint, making it only slightly more obtrusive than my Sony Dream Machine Clock Radio with Dual Alarm.

When its nightlight feature is used, the pleasantly soft dimmable light emanates from the lower rim of the unit (as can be seen in one of the photos in Amazon's display). The light of the clock is also dimmable, and when lit it shines through the sheer black fabric that covers all but the night light portion, bottom, docking section, and USB and AC power port areas of the unit. (The areas on the unit's bottom that come in contact with your nightstand or whatever surface the unit is on are rubber.)

If you are curious about the Fidelio app which this unit works with, you can download it for free at iTunes, check it out, and then delete it if you decide not to purchase one of the Philips docks the Fidelio app is designed to work with. Or you can watch a short tutorial video about the app at the Philips website (go to the site and enter DS1210/37 in the search box on the upper right, from the search results list select the result that has an url ending in "support" the first one on the list as I try it now, and on the support page click on the link that reads "Fidelio App" at the bottom left of the screen, below "instruction video's" [sic]).

What about the sound? Philips markets this unit as having "Surprisingly rich sound...Rich omnidirectional sound to fill your bedroom." It's true that the unit's monaural speaker is omnidirectional, but my experience is that the audio quality of the unit declines as the volume is raised, and that when the volume is set to a listening level that does not result in a noticeable decline in audio quality, it's hardly room filling (I tested it with rock and classical). The sound is superior to that of the aforementioned clock radio and the bass is better than I expected given the size of the unit, but I would rate the audio quality as just okay. (I heard better quality sound from the iHome iD84BZ App-Enhanced Dual Alarm Clock Radio for iPad/iPhone/iPod with AM/FM Presets that was in the last business expense Hyatt Regency hotel room I was in.)

There is a USB port next to the AC power port on the back of the unit, meaning that users can have one Apple device (iPad, iPhone, or iPad) charging on the dock and another charging via the USB port (for which users must have their own charging cable). I like this feature not only because it allows two devices to be charged at the same time, but because it allows one to use a device, e.g., an iPad, out of the dock while its sound is playing through the Philips DS1210/37 speaker. (Of course the charging cables that come with i-devices are short. I use a 3 meter or nearly 10 feet long, rugged Griffin iPad USB to Apple Dock Cable when I want serious freedom of movement; and BTW, if you're in the market for a Griffin 10 foot long cable, check your local WalMart for the best price.)

Another nice feature of the Philips DS1210/37, as reviewer J. Haggard mentions, is that the docking cradle can accommodate a first generation iPad when it is in a case or sleeve that many other docks will not accommodate (for example, the DS1210/37 is the only docking unit I've tried that enables me to dock my iPad when it's in the clever, useful, but at times awkward Joby Gorillamobile Ori Multipositional Aluminum Case for iPad.

I'm rating this unit 4 stars (for "I like it") rather than 5 ("I love it") mainly because I was underwhelmed by the audio given the MSRP. Like I said, I consider the sound quality okay, but for a single speaker unit with a MSRP of a hundred bucks, I think one should get better than okay. For purely subjective aesthetic reasons I don't care for the sheer fabric that covers the unit. I'm one of those guys who removes speaker grills whenever possible, so that may just be my idiosyncrasy. I do think the DS1210/37 would make a nice gift for yourself or anyone at all who is in need of a compact bedside table docking speaker alarm clock for an i-device (especially if the intended user has two such devices).

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Update 3/19 Philips just updated the app and amazingly it is worse than the previous version! Forget using this as an alarm clock, the app just crashes. Clearly Philips doesn't quality test their apps before releasing them.

This Philips alarm clock/speaker dock requires the Philips app to do anything other than set the time. (You cannot set an alarm with out the app installed on your iphone/ipad).

The app must continue to run in the background for the alarm to work, however the app constantly crashes! It crashes when you have an alarm set, it crashes when your listening to music from your iphone, radio station or pandora.

If Philips fixes the poorly designed app the Alarm clock/Speaker dock will be a great device. It has amazing sound and styling. However, until then it is a large mostly unusable digital clock.

Avoid this and any Philips device that requires the app.