7-In-One Dock Review
It’s 2010 and by now, if you don’t have an iPhone, you most definitely have an iPod or Zune that you bring along everywhere you go for those moments where you just need a little music in your life. One of the main reasons why iPods were invented though, were to replace the piles of CD’s that we all have lying around and even drag around in our cars so we can listen to music while driving. The only problem with this is there usually isn’t a very good place to put your iPod in the car where it wont slide around or fall off of inside your car, so that is where an iPod dock comes in. Now, not only does this dock hold your iPod, but it enables it to charge simultaneously, while also giving you an extra USB port for another device and just encase you don’t have an auxiliary port in your car stereo, you can always use the built in FM transmitter to play your music on your iPod or iPhone through your cars stereo!
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Now that I’ve gone over the practicality for one of these car docks, let me get into the details of how this gadget is constructed and everything this little guy has to offer!
Lets start out with the adjustable dock part. The overall build quality is solid and doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall apart in your hands, this thing can take a bit of a beating before it falls apart. The dock was constructed in such a way that it gives enough room to fit just about any iPod or Zune with almost any case on it in the dock without too much trouble. Granted, it is a little snug with some cases, but it saves you the hassle of having to remove your case every time you want to dock your iPod.
Next we have the FM transmitter portion of this handy gadget. Basically, this is one of the best, if not the best working car FM transmitter that I have used. There is some occasional static, but is easily self-resolved within a couple seconds. There is no need to have to find a radio station that isn’t being used, you can just send the signal over a station that is already in use and the FM transmitter will play your music right over whatever is currently being played on that station with no interference.
The other included features aren’t so major, but they do pack a large punch. For instance, on the right side of the device is an additional USB port that can charge anything that has a USB cable for it. This is by far the most useful add-on that this gadget has to offer. Nowadays everything can be charged by a USB cord and therefore, this makes this extremely practical and useful for the everyday traveler. You also have an included iPod cable out the bottom of this device for you to charge your iPod or iPhone while it is docked so you don’t have to ever worry about it running out of battery juice.
I’m just going to quickly cover the overall way this gadget does its job and then this review is all wrapped up! So, one thing you need to absolutely check before purchasing this item, is where your cigarette lighter ports or port is/are. For some cars it is really close to the steering wheel and when you plug the dock in it ends up being right behind the steering wheel and can interfere with steering or other necessary parts of the car. You should also know before purchasing this car dock that the practicality of using this dock turned sideways does not work very well. It will hold your iPod while the car is stationary, but as soon as you start to make a turn or even go over a slight bump in the road, the dock spins upside down because of the weight on the end of the dock.
Other than those things, there is really nothing else that is problematic with this car dock and it’s great that it fits iPods and Zunes with their cases on! Overall, this device is great for most people, but you just need to make sure it will work with your car, because sometimes the compatibility just isn’t practical and you will need to look into another dock that works better with your cars internal layout.
