Review of Emerson iP100 iTone iPod Portable Docking Station
Written by valmg on March 29, 2008 – 2:29 pm
I received an iPod from my best friend as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. When I finally found myself in a situation where I was able to use it at work, I decided to look for a portable docking system. I wanted one that had am/fm capabilities included, so that during the winter I could listen to school closings and such. I didn’t do quite as much research as I should have before buying one. This is a review of the Emerson iP100 iTone Portable Docking Station for iPod.
The upper left picture is of the dock on my desk at work. The unit is 12.3″ wide by 5.2″ high by 3″ deep. I didn’t weight it but I’d guess it’s about 1.5 pounds. This dock accomodates all “dockable” iPod models including the Nano, Shuffle and Mini. The little display on the bottom is a soft blue and displays the time if you’re listening to the ipod and the radio station frequency if you’re listening to the radio. The built in clock also functions as a digital alarm clock. The upper right photo (sorry it’s blurry) is of the back and top of the unit. The buttons on the top are for selecting power, dbss and radio or ipod. The buttons on the back are for clock functions. The knobs on the top are for radio station and volume adjustment. There is an auxiliary input jack on the back for connecting to other devices.
I’d first like to address the unit. The size is perfect and the appearance is ok. The picture on the bottom left is of the unit with my iPod in the charger. I took it to work and plugged it into the wall outlet. The unit does not shut off, even when the power button is off. When plugged in the unit’s always on. I’m guessing something is wrong with the power button. I have to unplug it every day, which is a pain. Now I’ll address the sound. The sound when playing an iPod is terrible. I hear a sort of ringing and humming noise most of the time the iPod is playing. I can only guess it has something to do with the tiny hard drive spinning on the iPod. It was suggested to me part of this problem is because the speakers are not shielded. The sound when playing the radio is slightly better but it gets terrible radio reception. The picture on the bottom right is of the unit placed higher than me, which is where I have to place it on a clear day to get the radio station 10 miles away. One of other things besides the sound issues that I don’t like about this unit is that when you’re listening to the radio your iPod will not charge, you must have it switched to iPod for your iPod to charge.
I do not recommend this unit if you’re looking for quality sound or a clear radio signal. The Emerson iTone Portable Docking Station for iPod sells currently for online for between $35 and $60. I paid $50 for mine and it is not worth it. I bought mine over a year ago so I don’t know what, if any, stores physically carry it. If you buy an iPod radio docking station, let me know which one you got and what you think of it.
EDIT: I found the photos and added them.
