iHome Rotating Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPod Review

See more picture
After 12 years with the same alarm clock, I thought it was finally time for a new one (as my wife wife strongly agreed). I wanted one that played my iPod Touch, as well as being an alarm clock. I preferred one that, obviously, looked nice and sounded nice, and one that didn't have that loud, heart-stopping BEEPING sound when the alarm clock goes off.br /br /This was all of that.br /br /The setup is real simple. It allows you to set the time and alarm by selecting the hour and then the minute (a major upgrade over my old one that started at noon when you plugged it in, and then made you go forward or backward by the minute). There are only a few buttons on it, so not too complicated. When the alarm goes off (with your iPod plugged in, which it probably is since you've bought an alarm clock/iPod dock), it begins playing a random song on your iPod at a low level and gradually gets louder. Such a better way to be woken up.br /br /As an alarm clock, I love it. As an iPod docking station with speakers, you can do better. The speakers aren't the best (though not terrible), but, to be honest, if you want an iPod docking station, you're probably not looking at this anyway. It does a great job of easing you into waking up...and does an adequate job of playing my iPod in the morning while I'm getting ready for the day.br /br /As an aside, the pictures above (right now, anyway) currently show it coming with a remote control. When mine arrived, there was no remote. I contacted the seller and within 20 minutes, they had solved the problem. The manufacturer doesn't include the remote control with the new alarm clock (in fact, when I opened the package, there was a note in it stating, "order the remote, send .99..."). However, this seller sent me the remote and it arrived 2 days later. I would definitely buy from them again as the original package arrived quickly, and their customer service was quick to remedy my problem. I purchased from [...], by the way.
iHome Rotating Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPod Feature
- Wake and sleep to your iPhone/iPod music or movies
- EXB Expanded Bass and Reson8 speaker technology for great sound
- Charges iPhone/iPod
- Change orientation to watch videos
- iHome Rotating Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPod
The iP41 is specifically designed to take advantage of the iPhone iPod's variable aspect screen. Place the iP41 on its side to watch widescreen video and the clock display will adjust to match. Compatible with most docking iPods./ptable width="300" cellpadding="20" align="left"trtd align="center"img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/B001RYK2Q0-1-th.jpg" border="0"psmallbiA docking alarm clock designed to take advantage of the iPhone iPod's variable aspect screen. Click to enlarge./i/b/small/td/tr/tabletable width="200" cellpadding="10" align="right"trtd align="center"img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/B001RYK2Q0-2.jpg" border="0"psmallbiPlace the iP41 on its side to watch widescreen video and the clock display will adjust to match./i/b/small/td/trtrtd align="center"img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/B001RYK2Q0-3.jpg" border="0"psmallbiWireless remote included./i/b/small/td/tr/tablepbiPod/iPhone or Buzzer Alarm/bbr Wake to your docked iPod/iPhone or bring out the heavy artillery with a buzzer alarm. pA snooze of about 9 minutes is handy when you're not quite ready to face the day. pbLandscape/Portrait Rotation/bbr Change your viewing orientation to enjoy some iPod video. The LCD changes to match orientation on certain iPod models. pbProgrammable Sleep/bbr Drift off to your iPod/iPhone with programmable sleep times of 90, 60, 30, or 15 minutes. Gentle Sleep gradually decreases the music volume as you drift off to dreamland. pAn Adjustable Sleep volume solves an age-old alarm clock problem, allowing you to select a comfortable "sleep" volume level without affecting the "wake to" or listening volume levels. pbPlay and Charge Your iPod or iPhone/bbr The iP41's Universal dock plays and charges most docking iPod models (in addition to using them for alarms), along with the iPhone. So when you do finally wake up, your device will have a full charge as you head out the door. pbDST Switch/bbr Switch to Daylight Savings Time at the flick of a switch, rather than pushing buttons for that whole extra hour. pbBig Sound, Small Package/bbr The iP41 delivers powerful audio with stereo drivers in specially designed Reson8 speaker chambers. pReson8 is iHome's through-body ported speaker chamber technology. Porting speakers gives better bass response characteristics, and helps the iP41 deliver sound beyond its size. pbAuxiliary Input/bbr Connect external devices like MP3 or CD players to the rear auxiliary input for your enjoyment. pbFull-Function Remote Control/bbr Enjoy convenient control from a distance with the included remote--control both radio and iPod functions. pbWhat's in the Box/bbr iP41 Main Unit, Remote Control, Docking Inserts, AC power adapter, Owner's Manual
iHome Rotating Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPod.
Check price now
Suits my purpose but not perfect - Diane - San Pedro, CA USA
I wanted to be able to charge my phone, play music, set an alarm, and also tell the time. This clock does all that very well. However, the face of the clock is hard to read in the light (LCD read out at night is perfect) and the sound quality of the speakers is pretty poor. Great about this clock: very compact, has an option for a battery back-up (battery not included), is easy to set time and the alarm, and attractive looking in the bedroom, bath, even the office. If you turn the clock on its side to watch a favorite iPhone movie or video, the clock face adjusts too - no need to contort around to tell the time. I would buy this clock again.
This was what she wanted. - Mark B. Fisher - Manheim, PA
My daughter asked for this for her birthday to go with her I-Pod Touch we got her for Christmas. It was just what she wanted and I was really impressed with how cool this little gadget is. Sound quality is surprising given it's size and we are very pleased with it over all.

May 22, 2010 10:56:34