iHome iP4GZ FM 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock Boombox (Gunmetal)

• Pivoting connector charges and plays iPhone and docking iPod models
• Powerful amp pushing two 4" woofers and two 1" tweeters for huge sound, with SRS TruBass and 5 band EQ
• Digital tuning FM radio; also works with iHome Radio app for access to thousands of internet radio stations
• Operates on included 100V - 240V universal voltage AC adaptor or 6 D batteries (not included)
• Magnetized remote control and aux line-in jack

I actually ordered this from the iHome website, but regardless I decided to write a review since there aren't many on this, seeing as it's fairly new and I know some are wondering about the quality and if it is indeed worth purchasing or not.

First off let me say that I love the look of the product, the retro boombox style looks great. The rubberized coating makes the surface smooth and gives it a nice matte tone. It's lightweight, and you have the option of using an AC adapter or batteries (6 D I believe, so you can carry it aroundit is a boombox, after all). It comes with a remote (battery included), an arm strap for carrying, AC adapter, FM antenna, the unit itself and instructions/warranty information. The iHome itself has a handlebar on it in case you don't want to use the strap.

The unit itself has a volume knob, tuning knob for FM radio, on/off button, mode button, play/pause button, SRS audio enhancement button, and 5 graphic equalizer buttons. On the back there's the AC adaptor jack, remote button (disables remote when operating on your batteries if you wish), and a line-in for the included FM antenna or you can hook up another audio device with a standard 3.5mm jack.

Now for the soundI've owned two iHomes before but none have compared to the amazing sound this has WITH the enhancer on. According to the one review I found online, it's iHome's best sounding system yet. I'm not sure about that, but I'm very pleased with the sound. The SRS TrueBass makes all the difference, I always keep it on lol. Basically it enhances the audio, and the equalizer buttons at the top let you adjust for your optimum sound. Without the SRS on, it has mediocre sound and I'm not sure why you would need to turn it off, it's nice that they give you the option however.

I was also a little hesitant in buying because it doesn't have a clock display, and there wasn't any app enhanced sign on the product on iHome's website, and I was worried that it wouldn't let me set alarms. However it's all in the appif you download the iHome app from the app store, you can easily display the clock on your iPod/iPhone while it's docking in the iP4, set alarms, sleep times, wake times, reminders, etc. etc.

Basically it has everything I wanted and I'm very pleased! If you like the look of the iP4 and are in need of a new or your first iHome I highly reccomend this one. Very unique and cool :)

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I don't normally buy things for the looks, but the design of this boombox hooked me the first time I saw it. Eagerly awaited it's arrival in the mail. My plan was to replace an old stereo in my room for private listening, with a line-in to my iPad stand. I was also sold on the idea of tossing some D's in there and jamming outside. On my bookshelf, the thing looks like a work of art.

Unfortunately...the sound is not anything to write home about. Granted, this is a boombox, not a full-fledged stereo. It's not meant to stand toe to toe with the Cambridge Soundworks I have hooked up to my PC. But the sound that came out of this thing just sounded cheap and hollow, like the mid range had no substance, and the bass had no oomph. I would have been okay with it if the thing had sounded close to or the same as my 10 year old stereo, but it couldn't even manage that. Despite finangling with the equalizer and keeping SRS turned on, I just could not coax a listening experience out of this thing that I felt happy with. At the end of the day, I want to listen to something that sounds good, not just looks good. Thus, I returned it.

It could be that I just had too high expectations for a boombox, but I don't really NEED anything that portable...it was just a nice option to have. Sound quality, in my mind, is still the most important thing.

For reference, these are the sorts of sound systems I'm used to and therefore end up getting compared to: a set of 2.1 Cambridge Soundworks PC speakers, a pair of Koss Portapro headphones, and an old Phillips 2 speaker stereo (which I am going to continue to use since it sounds better than the iHome).

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I never EVER buy anything impulsively but man when I first ran into that pink boombox at the store, I had to touch it, and once I felt its unusual rubbery texture, I had to ask for an audition.

I docked my iphone in, turned it on and the EQ LEDs started dancing. WOWWWWW! I was not expecting such a good sound from such a hot looking little thing, well, especially for under 200 bucks!!! Let's be honest here, don't expect "audiophile sound" by any mean but as an iphone dock? It really sounds awesome! Add a little remote , an AC adapter and the option to use batteries... Yeap, I simply love it . The only setback is I'm now afraid my girlfriend will steal it from me (she's been drooling over it the entire evening)

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I ordered the Altec Lansing Mix boombox for two hundred bucks and I enjoyed its sound and features. However, I had to return it because it was having battery issues that many others had the same issue. It kept on shutting itself off. I decided to try this iHome boombox and I am happy with it. I paid like 35% off the retail manufacture price. I use it mainly as a portable boombox for the tennis court. For about a 60' and 120' outside area, it is plenty loud enough. I pretty much keep it in the 27-32 volume range when it goes up to 40. I never went pass 35 on the volume because I never had to. With my altec lansing mix, I had the volume in the same area as well which was surprising to em even though the Altec Lansing puts out more watts. Here are my pros and cons for the ihome boombox:

Pros:

1. Sounds great! It does a solid job with the lows, mids and highs. It is very close in sound quality to the Altec Lansing Mix but the Altec Lansing Mix sounds better because it has the better bass. The iHome boombox is still a great sounding boombox. And as I said before, it really does get loud. No you won't have enough watts pumping out for a huge backyard party. Look at the size of the boombox and it only runs on 6-D batteries so that should give you an idea of its watts power. The iHome boombox runs on 15 watts of power but it is very similar in loudness to the 60 watt Altec Lansing Mix. The Altec Lansing Mix is using their watts to power their bass which you can see the subwoofer moving. It is probably why it has trouble with the batteries because the sub drains them too much. The iHome boombox has good bass with the SRS trubass but don't expect it to be pumping the same bass as the higher priced and higher watt boomboxes.

2. Very stylish retro/modern look! It has the old school look but it also looks modern with the rubberized feel, bright equalizer and design. When I first felt the rubberize grip, I thought it would wear or show markings but it actually holds up really well to wear and tear.

3. FM radio reception is a key feature for me and the radio sounds clear.

4. Remote works well and it is magnetized to fit nicely on top. The remote has never fell out of its slot. Awesome little magnet feature there.

5. Great value... I wouldn't spend $200 on this boombox but you can find it much less. It is much cheaper than some of the crazy expensive boomboxes like dre boombox and tdk boombox that is like 3 times more than the iHome boombox. JVC boombox and Altec Lansing is also lot more than this iHome boombox. Even though the iHome boombox doesn't pump out as many watts as the other very expensive competitors, it still sounds great. Are the other expensive boomboxes worth up to 3 times more? That is your choice but I don't think so even if they sound slightly better.

6. Battery powered! Not just battery powered but it runs on only 6-D batteries and I am already approaching like 35 hours on the same set of batteries and they are still working great. I would have been happy if I reached 25-30 hours. And D batteries aren't expensive when you buy them on sale.. With those really expensive boomboxes that run on batteries, they are getting more around 8-15 hours if lucky and running on 8-12 D batteries.

7. Portable... This is very easy to carry around because it is only 17"x9"x5", comes with shoulder strap and only weighs 7.5 pounds. My altec lansing mix was portable but this is much easier. Some of these other boomboxes reach around 30" long and some even weigh close to 40 pounds with their batteries. This iHome can be carried around much easier than the others.

8. 5 band graphic equalizer... If you know how to use it, you can tailor your music just the way you want.

Cons:

1. FM antenna... It has a built in antenna but to get great reception, you need to use the wire antenna. I said the FM sounds great earlier but the antenna is a wire antenna that is plugged in the back. I kind of preferred a regular telescope antenna and don't know why they didn't add it. To get the best reception, the wire antenna should be straightened out and pointing upwards in a certain direction. I put a piece of transparent shipping tape on the shoulder strap. When I listen to the radio, I simply take off the piece of tape from the shoulder strap and tape the straightened out antenna wire to a post. Put the tape back on strap when I am done with fm radio. Problem solved and I got great reception. I would have returned the boombox if I didn't discover this method. I order a 3.5mm antenna for like 2 bucks but the antenna is only like 10 inches and doesn't improve the reception at all.

2. No presets... There should have been like 6 radio presets on the remote.

I would give this boombox an 8.5 out of 10. It isn't perfect as it has some flaws but it does sound great (ipod or fm), looks awesome and has some nice features so I am keeping my boombox and I would recommend it to others. It is also much cheaper than some of the crazy expensive boomboxes like dre boombox and tdk boombox that is like 3 times more than the iHome boombox.

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This is a great boombox! I didn't buy it for a home theater system so it is not that quality of music. But for the pool and camping the big speakers work very well (and loud too!). We looked at a lot of units and this one has the best sound for a portable unit that will work on batteries. Couldn't figure out how to adjust the display brightness as it was not in the manual. Their tech support responded to my email promptly and told me that tuning knob will adjust when in iPod mode. Initially, I couldn't get left channel only when using my iPhone 4s, but it turned out to be the phone. My wife's iPhone 4s worked fine. I love this unit.