Philips DC350 iPhone Docking System with Bluetooth

• Enjoy music from multiple sources - iPhone/iPod, MP3-link, FM radio, bluetooth enabled mobile phone
• Auto-sync iPhone/iPod to your PC via USB
• High quality built-in speakers
• Charge iPhone/iPod
• Hands-free calls from iPhone via Bluetooth

Unlike the other 2 users, I didn't have any problems with the shipping of this product. The original box came inside the Amazon.com box and was in good enough condition. The remote was included (which actually didn't really matter to me too much cause I don't use it).

SPEAKERS:

I bought this product primarily for it's speakers and bluetooth function and they serve quite well, although the speakers aren't wonderful, if you live in a small apartment or have it in a room it is well enough. Not powerful enough to blast music like party speakers though. The sound quality isn't as good as per se a JBL on stage sound system. I wish it had EQ, but it doesn't, but the speakers are good enough, I don't really mind.

BLUETOOTH SPEAKERPHONE:

The bluetooth speakerphone works very well and seamlessly. I never had the trouble that TechGuy experienced with the volume being to quiet. That only happens if you are listening to radio or music WHILE you are on a phone call. If you answer it, it automatically turns off the music (so you can hear the person talking). If you insist to play the music in the background of the call, it is more quiet. I can always however hear the person speaking, it's just the music that is more muted. When I have someone on speakerphone, I usually have them on volume 20 or so, and max volume is 32, so as you can see it's not a problem.

FM RADIO:

This is where I seem to have a tiny bit of problem, and it's probably more where I have placed the speaker and where my apartment is located, but the radio reception isn't particularly great and even moving it around doesn't work that well. It doesn't come with an actual antenna that you can adjust so I guess it's just too bad if you don't have good reception. I'm also not sure if weather affects the reception.

IPHONE DOCK:

Another big reason I bought this was because it has an adjustable size for the iphone dock. I have a pretty thin case on my iphone, but some docks you have to take the case off for it to fit, but this one is adjustable so you can keep the case on. That was a big deal for me as it would be the most annoying thing to do.

All in all I think this is a great unit, especially if you're using it for a small room and also use speakerphone.

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This is an excellent unit. Does everything as advertised. Sleek styling. Looks great with the new iMacs. Syncs perfectly with iTunes. Sounds surprisingly good for so small a package. FM reception crystal clear, no cellular static from the iPhone whatsoever. Make and take calls, nicely fades music in the process, picks up music where you left off. Set the iPhone to listen to Pandora, Public Radio apps, so even streams Internet stations. The sleek styling renders button names not easy to read immediately, but you quickly get used to what buttons go with what function. I could say much more, but just wanted to counter the rating of the jerk who because Amazon royally messed up the shipment of his actual unit, crashes the entire rating system for the unit itself. Grossly unfair way to let off steam--kick the dog because you're mad at your boss. Geez.

On the other hand, actually, in terms of Amazon, I agree with the jerk 100%! I had THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE. My unit delivered and clearly had been opened previously. The Philips box itself was scuffed up and had a few "creases" where the side had been pushed in some, even though the Philips box was inside an Amazon shipping box. My Philips box ALSO WAS MISSING THE INCLUDED REMOTE CONTROL, just like the other fellow. That's really weird. Amazon, what the hay is going on here? You really are stumbling on getting this new Philips unit into consumers' hands in factory fresh condition. Something is really amiss in your order/processing/shipping line. Get your act together, because your actions are hurting a really fine product.

I will report back when I get a replacement unit. That may take months. The first unit was ordered May 7 and did not ship until July 6, two months later. However, in my brief time with the Philips DC350, I was delighted with the unit, so I am willing to wait. This is almost the only FM radio, iPhone docking/charging unit out there that also has a USB port to sync to your computer. Definitely worth the wait for me. I love convergence to lessen desktop clutter.

REVIEW UPDATE--Aug. 19, 2009

OK. I have had my replacement unit for a few weeks now and have an update on the review. After settling into the unit, I've had a chance to notice some items. Some are just minor details. Other items, while they may or may not be deal breakers for you, perhaps for others they would. Here are my additional notations:

(1) Faulty shipping--the second Philips DC350 box was just as battered as the first one I got from Amazon, even though inside an Amazon box. I finally figured out why I had two units in a row show up on my doorstep that way. The Philips DC350 units are being shipped directly from their overseas source in the original Philips box--the overseas shipping label is affixed directly to the original Philips DC350 box. Boy, talk about cheap, and expensive at the same time, because individual units are much more subject to shipping damage, or pirating, as a number of original cartons do not have remotes or other accessories, like my original Philips DC350 was missing the remote.

(2) No landline--the unit has no telephone line in, even though marketed as a "business solution" device for executives, so I lost out on the convergence idea. I still have to have my old landline phone cluttering up the desktop right next to the unit. Even if no handset could be included in the sleek design, they at least could have used the speakerphone capability already a part of the unit and included a number pad on the remote control. I'm pretty bummed out about this.

(3) Missing inputs/outputs--no earphone out (very strange; I don't think I have ever owned any audio device that did not have an earphone out). Also, no audio out of any kind; hence you cannot hook the device into your existing desktop shelf, mini-stereo, or stereo system to supplement the sound. Fortunately, as I mentioned already, this unit has very impressive sound for its size. They use the Bose technique of funneling the base through long channels on either side (pretty much the entire height of the device; outputs on the side at the bottom).

(4) Remote conflicts--if you own ANY OTHER Philips device in the room, the DC350 remote triggers functions on the other Philips devices. You can tape over the IR receiver port of other devices, but then you cannot remote control them. Unfortunately, I have other Philips devices in the room. I found ways to get around the problem, but what a hassle.

(5) EQ challenged--you cannot customize the sound with an EQ of any kind. However, they do give you 4 EQ presets (Pop, Jazz, Classic, Rock). I still think the sound overall is good, but some really like to fiddle with EQ settings.

(6) Alarm settings--you get two alarms, but with unnecessary limitations:

(6.1) For example, both volume and source (buzzer, FM, iPhone) are hardwired to ONE SETTING for BOTH alarms. Very shortsighted for those looking to use the unit in a bedroom, such as spouses with quite different sleeping habits, waking up ability, or audio source preferences.

(6.2) Another limitation is the failure of the designers to think the alarm setting could be used for anything besides waking up, that is, besides assuming that the unit invariably would be off when set for alarm. What about setting the alarm for your favorite FM program, such as NPR every afternoon? No go. The alarm works in STANDBY MODE ONLY. That is, the alarm will not interrupt your listening to background music from your iPhone playlist to cut in with the FM for your favorite afternoon radio program.

(7) Non-rotational dock--Movies are out, obviously, because of the fixed vertical orientation of the iPhone in the dock, so you cannot watch movies, YouTube videos, iPhone videos, etc. Other Philips devices have rotating docks for the iPhone connection. The length of the base of this unit could have accommodated the iPhone in landscape orientation nicely, so really could have been more designed with a rotating dock for the actual use of an iPhone. Now that iPhones have video capabilities, this is a definite limitation.

(8) Remote miniaturization--the remote control got shrunk in the Philips dryer. You have to MEMORIZE REMOTE FUNCTIONS, because the font size on the screen prints on the remote buttons requires a well-lit room and magnifying glass to read. No kidding.

(9) Speakerphone volume--the speakerphone volume is WAY TOO LOW. At first, I thought my DC350 Bluetooth connection to the iPhone was not working. I would receive a call, try to answer on the Philips DC350, hear nothing in response, and think the call failed. Then my wife said she could hear me fine when she called, but could tell I was not hearing her for some reason. So, I thought to turn up the speakerphone volume on the DC350. I was listening to FM radio at about level 10, and had to turn the DC350 all the way up to MAX VOLUME (level 32) to hear the other party making the call well enough not to miss words here and there! Then, when the call ended, the FM radio function would come back in, but now at max volume! What a blowout shock! I have gotten used to this idiosyncrasy and have habituated myself to turning the volume down with the remote immediately upon ending a phone call.

So, the Philips DC350 unit has limitations that may or may not be deal breakers for you. While I really get aggravated with some of these limitations at times, they still are not deal breakers for me personally, for reasons that I identified in the original review. Those original impressions about the Philips DC350 continue, even after living with the unit for a while now. In other words, I still would buy the Philips DC350 again, even with its limitations, if this unit broke after warranty.

Still recommended. Probably, realistically, four stars instead of five.

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I'll keep this short and sweet it's a good looking unit with decent sound and a nice set of features. That said, I bought it with the primary intention of using it as a hands-free speakerphone unit for my iPhone 4 on my desk and it fails miserably. Callers complained of static and not being able to hear me while using it to the point where I shut it off and took the call on the phone itself. Even more maddening, you literally have to pair it with the phone every time you turn the Philips on.

In other words, at least once a day, you have to:

1) Turn Philips dock on.

2) Hold down pairing button on Philips dock.

3) On iPhone, go into Settings, General, Bluetooth.

4) Select Philips DC350 and pair.

I have a separate car handsfree speakerphone that works flawlessly with my iPhone if the phone is on and the speakerphone is on, they automatically pair, that's how it should be.

Moving on from the product, in returning it, I found that Vann's couldn't have been more understanding and helpful. I spoke with Ryan and he was the best customer service representative I've ever spoken with. He was polite, funny, understanding and efficient. The experience with Vann's was just fantastic if only Philips new what they were doing.

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I got this for my husband to use with his iPhone The sound quality is excellent However I bought it because other reviews said that the iPhone or iPod Touch would dock without taking off the case that protects the phone. Not true. However, since he has blue tooth he works it that way, just can't charge the phone on the docking station as hoped. If you don't have a case on your phone or iPod it will work perfectly!

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(EDITED, RATING IMPROVED FROM 3 to 4 STARS). I bought this unit primarily because it is about the only thing on the market that can be used both as an audio source and a speakerphone for an iPhone (and I admit I'm baffled why there aren't more of this type out there). In those capacities, it does both fine--not great, but fine--but it has some real annoyances, mainly that when I remove my iPhone from the unit's cradle, I have to go through the re-pairing process all over again. Also, the manual explains how to receive calls but not how to make them. Hint: if you put your iPhone in the cradle, you'll need to make sure the unit's audio source is set to 'Bluetooth,' because it will default to 'iPod.' I have to make this change every time I put the phone back in the cradle.

The speaker quality is adequate for playing music in the background, but nobody's going to be rocking the joint with these speakers. They are on par with really cheap computer speakers.

Only the poor speaker quality and the connection annoyances keep this from a 5 star rating, because in the end it does exactly what I want it to do--charge my iPhone while it plays music in the background, while letting me make calls using the unit as a speakerphone. There's precious little in the market that offers those features as of early 2010.

That said, it works. I do think this unit's price point should be a fair bit less than it is, but it's not like there are really other good options out there.