Customer Reviews
Great Sound, Great Product!, September 3, 2009
By Jeff Kraus (Orlando, FL USA)
I'm giving this product the full 5 stars because it does its job really well. I have found a few minor issues, but nothing big enough to merit the loss of a star. I'll mention those issues below.
So let's start with the good stuff! First of all, the build quality is excellent. No creaking or flexing in the plastic. The hinge that allows the handle to turn into a stand has a smooth motion and good positive feedback for the preset stopping points.
The LCD display works pretty well, though in most cases you won't need it for anything. In iPod mode, it will show you the song and artist information -- the same information available on the iPod itself, a couple of inches to the left, on a bigger screen. The LCD also shows the FM station, mode, and volume level when it's being changed.
The FM tuner and antenna are nice. Reception is surprisingly good and the quality is clear. You are given four radio presets, accessible on the remote. Pressing and holding one of the 4 preset buttons sets the station, and a single press brings it up.
There is also an auxiliary input that accepts a 1/8-inch jack.
The sound quality is fantastic. Certainly better than I had hoped for in a unit so small. It also has a good volume range and distortion is very well controlled at higher volume levels.
Initial charging of the battery was fast. While I didn't time it, I can say this: After taking it out of the box, I plugged it in and sat down to eat some food that I had brought home with me. I checked the unit again about a half hour later, and the battery level indicator was at full. It will charge your iPod/iPhone while it is plugged in, but not when it is running on battery power (which is to be expected).
The remote, while not perfect, is pretty cool. It's really thin and slides into a slot in the back of the main unit when not in use. When in that slot, you can't even tell there's anything there. It runs on a button-cell battery, keeping the profile as small as possible. You can control your iPod/iPhone menus from the remote, change volume, select FM presets, skip tracks, pause, etc.
As a whole, I love this thing. High quality in just about every way. Of course, nothing is perfect. Here are the relatively minor issues I have found:
While the iPod/iPhone connection seems pretty strong, the "basin" that it rests in is bigger than the base of an iPod Classic or Touch, and bigger than the base of an iPhone 3G, even with my case attached. It's good news that you can fit an iPhone with a case in there. But I'm not a huge fan of the fact that since this "basin" is so big, when placing one of these above mentioned products onto the unit, the actual port that plugs into the iPod/iPhone is the only real point of contact. The iPod/iPhone does not rest against the unit, so I'd be a little worried about accidentally bending that port if someone were to push the iPod back towards the base or pull it forward towards them. There are plastic adapters to get a snug fit for the smaller members of the iPod family, but nothing specific to the full-size line.
Because of the small profile of the remote, I always feel like I'm going to break it. And the unit doesn't always respond quickly to the remote commands. Also, when you first put an iPod or iPhone on the system, it immediately starts playing some random song. I wish it would just do nothing until I tell it to play something.
Lastly, if you plan on using this with your iPhone, you'll have to deal with your screen lock settings. Personally, I have my iPhone set to auto-lock the screen after a minute of not being touched. This happens while it is on the dock playing music. It's fine if you're just letting it go, but once it locks, you can't use the remote to navigate through the menus because the remote can't unlock the iPhone. So you have to get up anyway, to unlock it before selecting your new song. This is not an issue with the iPod line, and if you want I guess you can turn off the screen lock on your phone before using it.
Even with a couple of minor irritations, I love this thing. Certainly worth the money, and every one of the 5 stars I gave it.
Find out more @ Altec Lansing iMT620 inMotion Classic Portable iPod Dock with Rechargeable Battery and FM Tuner
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