Memorex Mi9490P High-Fidelity Sound System for iPod/iPhone (Black)

• Compatibility: iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G; iPhone 1G, 3G
• Play and charge your iPhone, with display of ID3 tag info on the LCD screen
• Front slot-loading CD player for playback of CDs and CD-R/RW discs
• FM radio with user presets for quick access
• Auxiliary input for connecting external audio devices

Looked for a iPhone radio/bedside cradle for a month without finding anything that I really liked. Finally I started shopping at brick and mortar stores, when I came across this model I wondered why I hadn't seen it before on Amazon, well, turns out that it was on Amazon, but without any ratings, it was at the bottom of the search results.

As a dock: Charges and holds my iPhone and doesn't have any speaker buzz YAY! Comes with a couple of bases for other apple ipods. Has an auxillary input in the back, which is perfect for hooking up any other audio device (I use it for my wife's iPhone which uses the standard iPod charger. Sits on top, which isn't my favorite, but nothing is perfect.

As a radio: Nothing special here, just your standard radio, but it has digital FM radio (not HD) and something like 30 presets.

As a sound system: 30 watts RMS power output doesn't really mean anything, but in "at-home use", this system is quite sufficient. I don't often listen to music at a high volume, but at the same time I wouldn't use it for a party. Has some equalizer presets, which seem to work well.

Functionality: Easy to figure out the functions, alarm etc., CD player works well.

iPhone: When using the iPod app, it pulls the data from the iPhone and displays it on the screen. This is a cool feature.

Bedside use: The display can be dimmed which makes it much easier to go to sleep. This was a deal making feature for me because it's intended use was bedside. The remote works well, and comes with a battery. It must be in the same room to use, but this is pretty standard for remotes.

Overall: It does what it should and looks good too.

UPDATE: (11/11/2010) The cd player started to skip one year after use. This is not really a problem due to the almost exclusive use of radio and iPhone/iPod, but still something to consider if you plan on using the cd player a lot. Some music apps on the iPhone don't output using the cradle and you are forced to use the aux cord to play them. I wasn't bothered by this until I observed it was possible on the Memorex MiniMove Boombox for iPod. Perhaps it has to do with being iPhone capable...

Buy Memorex Mi9490P High-Fidelity Sound System for iPod/iPhone (Black) Now

Like the other reviewer I've been looking for a while. I actually purchased 2 other systems before this one (returned them both). I just happened to stumble across this one at Best Buy. The key thing for me is that it has CD, radio & iPhone capability (very few systems do for this price). A few comments:

Radio I still listen to the radio a fair amount. The reception on this radio is very very good. I'm using it in a subterrainian metal lined garage and can clearly pickup all the stations I'm interested in.

Cost It's not cheap, but much less than Bose or Cambridge Soundworks models.

Size Very compact, which is important to me.

Sound I'm still playing with settings, but sounds great to me.

iPhone No iPhone buzz and my ipod works fine.

Read Best Reviews of Memorex Mi9490P High-Fidelity Sound System for iPod/iPhone (Black) Here

I probably researched and listened to about a half dozen Radio Clocks with an iPod dock before taking a chance and ordering the Memorex Mi9490P. I say I took a chance because I previously looked at what local stores such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Fry's had to offer in the way of these sound systems and found them each lacking in one area or another. I then saw this Memorex on a Golden Box sale, read the reviews and decided to take the plunge. Not a day goes by that I regret ordering this one. In fact my only regret is that I did not order 2 (one for the house and one for the office).

To hopefully help with your decision, let me start by listing my criteria.

1) Dock for charging and listen to my iPhone 4

The Memorex Mi9490 will fit the iPhone 4 with some limits on the size of case where other products sold by the likes of iHome and Phillips may fit the iPhone 3 but not fit the iPhone at all

iPhone will not fit if the case is an Otter Box defender, but you could order the dockXtender Premium Cable sold by CableJive, which works for charging as well as audio.

2) Had to have a clock.

The Memorex Mi9490 has a digit clock with alarm clock features

3) Had to have AM/FM receiver

The Memorex Mi9490 support standard definition FM and AM

No support for HD radio (definitely one drawback, but one that should be expected given the price range)

4) Had to high quality sound from the speakers

After listening to some of the units on the market, I was completely taken by surprise of how good the speakers sound on the Mi9490.

The Mi9490 has stereo speakers

Let me clarify and help set the right expectation.

Do the speakers sound like a live performance? No, it sounds like a system that cost less than $100. The speakers are clear with a good acoustic range (decent bass and decent tremble).

Can you pump up the music so loud the neighbors will complain? No, the Mi9490 seems to be designed to jam out to your favorite tunes in a bedroom or other small area without distortion

The bottom-line is this is not a $5000+ sound system like the audio room at your local Magnolia Best Buy. On the other side, the sound quality is at least a step up from the basic alarm clock radios.

5) Wanted CD

The Memorex Mi9490 has a front loading CD player that support CDR

Additional Features:

1) Comes with a remote

2) has a AUX input on the back

3) will control the iPod function from either the remote or the control on the top of the unit

4) When watching a movie on the iPhone, sound will play out the speakers.

Want Memorex Mi9490P High-Fidelity Sound System for iPod/iPhone (Black) Discount?

If you have an IPhone 3G, DO NOT BUY this product. You probably bought your IPhone or recently upgraded it in the last few months to work with Apple's most recent Operating System (Ver. 4.2.1) (Don't know your OS? Look at "Settings, General, About, Version" on your phone to find it.) If so, this Memorex unit will play NO SOUND (MUSIC, APPS, RADIO ETC.) As I learned from speaking on the phone with a product supervisor at Memorex technical support, this unit was made before the OS upgrade and is INCOMPATIBLE with it. As long as this unit continues to be advertised for IPhone 3G, Amazon and Memorex are making FRAUDULENT CLAIMS about it. BUYER BEWARE !!!

I bought this ipod player for my wife. The sound is excellent ! I saw it at Fry's, but the price was better at Amazon. Head to head with the other players on display, it was hands down the best sounding player. Expect this to be like a bookshelf player, not a mobile player. It is big and heavy, but to get the very good sound you need bigger speakers to get rich bass.

I wish it had an alarm clock, but that feature was left off for some reason. Baffling to me.

One thing I've noticed over time is that because the display light cannot be turned off, it can shine in your eyes with a rather bright light while trying to sleep. It looks really dim during the day, but in a dark room on the night stand next to our bed, it is too bright. I have to cover it up.

It comes with a remote, which is very nice to have. If it didn't come with one, you might not miss it, but I am glad it came with one. It works from any where in the room and is a big convenience when sitting at our computer on the other side of the room.

Rich clear sound is why I got an ipod player/ speaker system. It excels in this category. It looks good and has some nice features too.