iHome iH9 Alarm Clock Speaker System with Dock for iPod (Black) by iHome
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List Price: Our Price: $65.00 You Save: $14.99 (19%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of iHome iH9 Alarm Clock Speaker System with Dock for iPod (Black)
Digital camera Review: Good value for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
So far so good with the IH9. A couple minor complaints are: The turning dials on top are a little tricky to maneuver. You need to moisten your finger to get traction to turn. A raised nob would have done the trick. Also, the gloss finish is nice to look at but smudges easily. A flat or satin finish would have been a nice option. Overall a nice system for the money.Digital camera Review: Good value; some shortfalls
Summary: 4 Stars
This unit gives a lot for the money, but does bring issues with it. As previously mentioned, the volume control needs a divot so you can get a grip on it with a finger tip. The AM tuner sensitivity leaves much to be desired. If you have any dimmers or other sources of electronic noise nearby, you'll probably not enjoy AM listening. The FM tuner, (at least in mine) is quite acceptable.
My biggest complaint is that the dock doesn't accept an iPhone with a case or cover on it. The instructions admonish the owner not to attempt to use it with the case on the phone, and with good reason: it won't fit the dock cutout. With the Seidio case, in particular, (which is nearly impossible to easily remove), that was a problem for me. The only way to get penetration with the case installed is to not use any adaptor. Unfortunately, the plug by itself isn't very stable, and the slightest pressure could break something. I solved that issue by making a wooden back stand which I attached with two sided foam tape. The "prop" gives rigidity to the phone, and helps guide the phone down onto the plug. Problem solved.
One feature that was a pleasant surprise is that the audio "ramps up", there's no shock, just a pleasant increase in whatever audio source you've selected for an alarm.
Overall, once you figure out a few oddities that the instructions don't mention, you'll probably really like the unit. It's feature packed and a very attractive value.
Digital camera Review: Good with Nano, not with Touch
Summary: 3 Stars
As others have posted, the FM quality is very poor. The sound quality with my iPod Nano 1G is excellent. However, as a number of others have posted, there is static and noise when using the iPod Touch 2G. Others have reported that the company is unresponsive to this problem, I'm waiting to hear from them regarding exchange.Digital camera Review: Good, but not perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
Just set this up last night and I'm pretty happy with it. It's not perfect, but it's WAY better than the Homedics iSoundSpa and the Memorex iAwake. Here's what I like:
1) The eight different brightness levels for the display are really nice and you can easily read it from many angles. In my case, the clock sits next to my bed, above my head, and I couldn't read either of the other brands' display at all while lying down.
2) The buttons on the main unit are well placed, easy to feel without a light on, and intuitive.
3) The sound is good.
4) The remote is decent. It's no TiVo remote, but it's decent.
5) There are two alarm clocks and they have options to set them 7 days a week, 5 days a week (M-F), and 2 days a week (Sat & Sun).
6) Sleep mode will lower the volume incrementally as time runs out.
7) The clock sets itself automatically and there's a DST switch in the back.
8) The preset buttons for radio stations.
9) You can set the snooze length to any amount from 1-29 minutes.
10) The iPod integration is done well.
Here's what I don't like:
1) The lowest volume is still too loud for going to sleep to.
2) The FM tuner is horrible. I got really weird results, like finding 104.5 down at 101.7 and tuning one station across eight different frequencies while other stations came in behind it. There are also some local radio stations that it should get, but couldn't.
Since I probably won't listen to the radio nearly as much as the iPod, it's not that big of a deal that the tuner is so bad. Still, I expected more. The volume issue is a bit more of a problem, because it's just a little too loud for falling asleep to. Additionally, since you're already on the lowest volume, it can't fade anymore as the sleep timer runs down. I'll probably get used to it, though.
All in all, though, I like it and I'm keeping it.
Digital camera Review: Good, but not what I expected
Summary: 3 Stars
The Ihome is a good alarm, radio and ipod player. However the display is not like in the picture. The Ihome I got has the same display as the old one and one of the reasons I bought this one is becuase of the high contrast display. I was a little disapointed...
Also the remote is not that great, you really have to point straight to the IHome to make it work, I guess that's the most you can get out of such a little remote. Other than that I am happy with the product.