By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
FIRST off, there are a host of iPod docks to choose from, and Philips has its own family of iPod docks. It really depends on what you want. You want a simple dock to plug in your iPod, they have one. You want to have one of those that support Bluetooth, they have it. Name it, and most likely they have it mapped out. This review is about one of its models, AJ300D iPod Go Gear dock.
This baby is perhaps the most “basic” dock Philips has to offer. Quickly, the AJ300D features an alarm clock, a remote, a dual wake-up alarm, a built-in radio FM tuner, and five speakers. It uses Philips’ wOOx technology (more on this later). All these at the suggested retail price of P4, 999. Yes, boys and girls, it’s relatively cheap considering what it offers.
Just to give you an idea what this iPod dock is like, let’s consider these basic points.
Sound quality: I currently own a Jabra Klipsch dock. I tried comparing the sound quality of both docks. I must say the Philips AJ300D’s sound quality is surprising. Its wOOx technology delivers a distinctive deep bass. At maximum volume settings, the dock’s wOOx technology is capable of handling music that had a lot of bass thumping without becoming too distorted. That passes one of my tests. You can actually see and feel (yes, feel) the wOOx behind the speakers. Apparently, the wOOx technology was also used in products made by Kenwood and Microsoft.
When I took the dock out of its box, I was intrigued by its size and design. It weighs 1.34 kilograms, light enough to move around. Its white and silver finish also hint that this is meant to attract iPod users (it does have auxiliary line-in for 3.5 mm stereo jacks that would allow you to plug in other MP3 players), and, of course, Philips Go Gear portable music owners. This dock supports all types of iPod units up until the sixth generation, which I’m currently using. It also has a remote that could be used to adjust volume, to choose tracks (includes fast-forward and review), to switch from the dock to tuner function, to mute, to set sleep time, to move in five preset radio stations, and to turn it off. The remote, however, does not allow you to scroll down the iPod’s playlist or move up and down the menu. You have to do that on the iPod itself. The above-mentioned functionalities are also available on the dock itself. All in all, I really didn’t need to figure out how to use this dock. I just took it out of the box, and let it rip.
The dock’s design is simple. The front view looks a bit squarish, but if you look at it from the side, it appears like an inverted curvaceous letter “T.” Your portable music player sits on the front, where the dock is located. An LCD display indicates the time, the function (iPod or tuner), and if tuner is on, the radio station (frequency). There are also buttons on the left side to turn the power on or off, to adjust time, and a three-way switch for dock, buzzer, and tuner functions. On the right side, you have the five preset buttons for the tuner. And finally, on top are buttons to adjust both alarms, and also to turn off the alarm and adjust the LCD backlight brightness. The dock also allows you to charge your iPod while on or off. This dock is small enough to sit on top of my bedside table, so space won’t be an issue.
There’s room for improvement, however. One review notes that some users didn’t like the power supply adapter that comes with this dock. It looks, well, hideous. The power adapter supports 100 to 240V, 50/60Hz of power supply. The power supply also awkwardly connects to a pin at the back. Yes, it has to be connected, and as experience tells me, any moving part is prone to damage. But on the other hand, if you trip on it (kids, don’t do this at home), the line could break loose easily, sparing your dock. The tuner’s antenna is also something that looks irritating. It’s a thin wire that protrudes out of the dock. In this age of wireless networks and Bluetooth, they had to have this tuner antenna sticking out like a sore thumb. I also have to point out that I still couldn’t figure out the settings for the alarm since I don’t really find it very useful.
All in all, despite some minor irritants, this dock has kept me good company in the past months. Its price tag makes it attractive especially for iPod users who don’t want to spend too much on another accessory. But since there are a host of docks out in the market, your taste would ultimately decide which one to choose. For now and for me, this iPod-ready dock makes the cut.
