- Establishes full functions of the iLuv alarm clock application (available from Apple iTunes app store)
- Stands horizontally or vertically to match your iPhone or iPod touch screen aspect
- Portable / desktop (6 x AA batteries or AC operated) speaker for your iPhone or iPod
- Plays and charges your iPhone /iPod.Built with dynamic acoustic speaker chambers to enhance sound clarity
- Compatibility (plays and charges): iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G,3G, 4G; iPhone 1G, 3G, and 4 (AT&T and Verizon)
HARDWARE:
The unit is light and simple. There are 3 buttons on the top (when configured in landscape position). On/Off, Volume control, and Snooze. I have the iPod Touch and the iPhone 4, both of which fit nicely in the dock. There is an adjustable rest (for use in the landscape position) that holds your device securely in place, and the docking pins are easy to access. There is also sufficient depth between the pins and the face of the unit, which, when coupled with the adjustable rest, allow you dock your device even with a skin or protective cover on it a big plus.
The default position is horizontal if you like the button on top the traditional location for a Snooze button, but the unit easily rotates to a vertical position if that is your preference. On the rear of the unit is the AC connection for the 120v power adapter, as well as an AUX IN connection.
The sound quality is decent for a device of this designed purpose. There is noticable distortion when you reach 75% of the volume band, but if want that much volume you probably want a dock for a more powerful amp anyway. There is plenty of volume available in the lower band (up to the 70% or so range). There is a nice range of tone from bass to treble (not an adjustment via the iLuv unit, but via your iPod/iPhone). But there is a noticable buzz at all volume levels. Not a good set of speakers. I'm okay with it for its purpose, but would certainly not use this to do any serious music listening.
Lastly, the unit is attractive and modern in design. It won't grab attention, nor will it look out of place wherever you place it. It also charges both my iPod Touch 3G and my iPhone 4 with no problem.
SOFTWARE (The iLuv App):
For features and functionality, you need to download the iLuv app to your iPod/iPhone. Be sure you get the latest version of the app, so that you can use all the newest features and avoid any bugs that might have been addressed from previous versions.
The app features a split screen or single screen display, and can disply time, date, weather, music art, photos, etc. Most of the above can be combined. I like to have the time and temperature on the split screen usually.
Just below the display mentioned above, there are a few icons depending on vertical or horizontal placement (which I find odd and a bit annoying). There is an alarm clock icon that takes you easily to the setup screen for an alarm setting. There is also a ticker style bar showing the current song playing. When in the vertical position, there is a "i" icon that takes you to additional (and very useful) options, such as Dimmer Level, Wall Paper settings, Sleep Timer (a must have feature), and Auto-lock selections, etc. What is annoying is that in the horizontal position, this General Settings ("i") option is not available. Quite odd.
Alarm settings are pretty good. You can create one-time or recurring alarms, and even choose the days of the week that you wish the alarms to function. The alarm sound is configurable to allow you to select from several built-in sounds or the "wake to music" option which lets you specify the exact song you want to wake to, a nice feature.
I don't know how often the app will be updated, I belive 2.0 is the most current version. One complaint I have about the current app is that is tends to "reset" your configured display every time you start it. So, if you want to have the time and temp or time and music art displayed, you have to set that every time you start the app it defaults to time/time. I hope they address this in an upcoming version.
Overall, I think this is a nice device to use as an alarm or just as a desktop dock/player for your iPod/iPhone. Not perfect but most of the imperfections are software related, and hopefully these will continue to improve.
Buy iLuv iMM190 App Station Alarm Clock Stereo Speaker Dock for iPod and iPhone (Black) Now
The ILuv App Station Alarm clock is a nice addition for iPod or iPhone. The station functions fairly straight forward. There is just an on/off, volume and snooze button on the station. The main functionality comes from the app that is downloaded for free off the iTunes apps store. There are parts of the app that require wifi Internet access. These are the Internet radio and the weather. Without the Internet wakeup to any playlist from you iPod. There are some nice wake-up options for those who need help in waking up. There are several sounds designed to REALLY wake you up. The app has some nice visuals with four unique clock styles that use the sharp high resolution retina display. These can be swiped sideways to switch between the different clocks. Speaker sound is average and not unexpected from this small of a docking station and iphones/iPods are charged when plugged into a wall outlet. Batteries are added for mobility but not for charging. A nice product to make use of iPods/iPhones and one that is well worth adding to any college student's or kid's desk.I'm on my second App Station. The first one had the on/off button stop working after three days. It was getting power, i.e. my iPhone was charging, but I could not use the button to turn the unit on to hear output from the iPhone.I returned the first App Station, and immediately upon receiving the second one, I find that the volume control rocker does not work. I can change volume using the iTunes interface, but the volume is completely unaffected by using the App Station control. This thing almost makes me long for the old days of analog.
Want iLuv iMM190 App Station Alarm Clock Stereo Speaker Dock for iPod and iPhone (Black) Discount?
If you are looking for high quality sound from the ILuv, you are going to be very, very disappointed. As far as alarm clocks go, I don't see the advantage of this over a $5 digital alarm clock you can pick up at Walmart, unless you are simply app crazy and want to use your iTouch for everything. And as someone who travels quite often, I was kind of hoping this would be small enough to throw in an overnight bag to use as a clock/iTouch charger when I'm on the road. The iLuv is "smallish" but not so small that it would slip easily into a carry on.It may sound as if the iLuv is useless, but I have found a great place to use the thing. If you spend quite a bit of time in your cubicle or in the office, the iLuv is perfect as a desktop iPod player. As a denizen of a cubicle farm, it's a nice workday distraction to have some music playing lowly at your desk as background noise. The iLuv is perfect in this setting as you usually have to keep the volume low when you're at work (and lower volume/low sound quality expectation are the iLov's friend), it's small enough to take up just one corner of your desk, and looks sleek sitting there too. On the plus side, you have your iTouch all charged up at the end of the workday, so it's ready to roll on the long commute home.
Would I recommend a purchase of the iLuv? Not really. While it works well in the scenario I've written about above, there are plenty of similar products that can do the same thing at a fraction of the cost.
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This is the second update to my review. I received a second unit because of the sound quality (see original reviews below) and the replacement unit had the same issues. I'm disappointed because I love the design but am returning them both because of the sound quality.I'm changing my review to 3 stars for now because the customer service of the manufacturer has been very good. They responded to my online inquiries very quickly and even called me to arrange for me to exchange the unit because of the sound quality issue. If the app is released soon and the new unit has the sound quality I expect then I will give it more stars. Original review follows...
I love the design of this alarm clock. It's sturdy but small enough to also use as a portable speaker so I can take it wherever I am in the house and listen to my music, podcasts etc. It's also really clever the way you can rotate it to have your iphone/ipod touch either vertical or horizontal. All that being said, it was a terrible idea for them to ship this without the app being available. Here's the response I got from customer service online:
"Thank you for contacting iLuv. We apologize for the confusion with your iMM190Blk. The iLuv app clock is in the process of being uploading and we are doing our best to be done by mid March. Until then the unit can be used as a speaker. Please let us know if we can assist you further."
My other problem is that the speaker makes a fuzzy sound as soon as it is turned on and the fuzz continues in the background when I play music or podcasts. I think I may have a defective one since other reviewers said the sound was good on theirs. If the app comes out soon I will try to exchange it and hope the sound is better on another one otherwise I am returning it.
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