Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing Octiv Mini Speaker System for iPhone and iPod (Black)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I really didn't expect too much from this mini speaker system for my iPod nano. But I was wrong. It is really great.

1. The speaker is smaller than I expected which is real plus. It measures about 4" (width) x 4" (height) x 4" (depth). I placed it on my desk and it looks nice and it doesn't take much space at all.

2. The sound quality while not mistaken for Bose, it is clear and generates decent bass sound. Plus, it can carry the sound far. It is powerful I must say. Even with the 1/5 volume of my iPod can fill the whole room with a clear sound.

3. I love the fact that my iPod is being charged while it is playing.

4. It has aux input at the back of the speaker, so you could connect other devices of your choice. (NOTE: However, there is talk that Altec Lansing will remove aux input from future models).

Overall, I am pleased by the product. Only thing you might want to consider is the price. It might be a tad expensive.

I've tried several small speakers in an attempt to easily bring my iPod music to rooms without a stereo system. This Altec Lansing is the best of the bunch, although I haven't yet tried any of the very high-end products out there.

Pros:
1. Set-up couldn't possibly be easier. Unpack it. Plug it in. Turn on your iPod. Done.
2. Small footprint. This fits nicely on a wide window ledge, so I don't have to rearrange table-tops when I move it from room to room.
3. Good sound, not tinny. Bass is obviously not going to be robust with a speaker this size, but overall the sound is good. Not "room-filling," but good.

Cons:
1. While it has a small footprint, it definitely isn't tiny. This isn't a speaker you're going to toss into a bag to take on a trip.
2. The speaker is covered with black cloth (like traditional in-home speakers). While this probably helps with the sound, it also makes it slightly less portable. And again, you're not going to travel with it.

So for my uses - easy-to-move in-home music without a stereo - this is about perfect. I docked a star because it's not really something I'd use anywhere else, and I prefer multi-use products. For what it is, it's a good product at a very fair price point.

Had the little dock for my very small nightstand. It's basically a dock with a speaker. Not a great one. But if you need a slightly larger alarm blast, this gets it done.

Until it doesn't.

Out of nowhere, and just a little past the warranty, it just stopped. No buildup. No major events leading to it. No drops. No spills. Just STOPPED working. And with no lights on the device it's not even clear it's not working till you discover your iPhone didn't charge all night.

So upshot? Skip it. It doesn't give you Altec's sound and it's not worth the lousy reliability.

Not sure why others are having issues with Iphone 4 operation. I plugged it in, worked just fine right out of the box. It requests that I download the Altec Lansing alarm clock application (not sure why). I didn't even recieve the "not optimized for iphone" message that I have recieved on other docks. Anyone that orders this expecting to use it at a house party has unrealistic expectations. Sounds great as a desk or counter top speaker. It does not come with an Iphone 4 dock adapter plate, so the phone is not entirely secured in the dock, but won't just fall out. The only thing that this is missing is a remote and/or external controls. You control the volume and navigation from the phone. If you are looking for a simple, good sounding speaker dock that works with Iphone 4, you can't beat this speaker for the price. If you are looking for audiophile levels of sound quality or a speaker that is built specifically for Iphone 4 be prepared to spend alot more $.

The seller advertised this as "Works with all iPhone and iPod models". It does not work with the iphone 4. the phone displays, "Device not compatible". On the box it only lists up to the iphone 3s. If you want this for the iphone 4 you need to order the Octive M112, not this one. This is the older model, M102.

I purchased this speaker via woot.com on one of their 2 for Tuesday deals ($45 shipped for two). Sound is excellent for the price and size. It's not audiophile quality, but for listening to music on your desk or dresser, it's perfect. Before this, I was plugging my iPhone into a wall charger, and this is a MUCH more convenient place to set my iPhone when I get home from work. When paired with an iPhone or iPod touch, the dock is great for running Slacker or Pandora when you're at home on WiFi, doing homework, browsing the internet, etc. It is definitely loud enough to fill up a bedroom, dorm room, kitchen, etc. That being said, I would not recommend it if you are throwing a rave or are otherwise trying to fill a large room with music.

The iPod dock is very deep so it can accomodate an iPod or iPhone with a case easily - in fact, I can't imagine a case that would be too large to fit in this dock. The overall footprint is very small, great size for your nightstand or the corner of your desk.

There's not a whole lot else to this speaker. There's an auxiliary line in, but I haven't found occasion to use it. There isn't a volume control on the unit, (you have use the volume buttons on your iPhone), an independent display of any kind, or a battery. The only thing that's a little annoying is the omission of a volume button - it would be nice to have a rocker on the unit. As it is, you have to do a thumb and forefinger grab of your iPod/iPhone to hit the volume rocker buttons on it (just pushing it with a finger will knock the phone out of the dock). As far as the Altec Lansing app: it prompts to install the first time you plug it in and only takes a minute to install. It's an alarm clock, which makes sense given the function of the dock. It's not all that useful, but it works and doesn't seem to hurt anything.

For $33 (current Amazon price), you might be able to find more features somewhere else, but you won't find anything more compact and dead simple to use. All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone.

I got this iPod speaker for my dad, and found myself borrowing it on occasion. I really like how it looks, its a stylish, modern design. It works perfect with my dad's iPod and my own, but I found that it didn't work with my brother's iTouch (but that wasn't too big of a problem for me or my dad, but other buyers should note this!). I even saw that it had a possible jack for connecting it to my pc, I haven't tried it yet but I hope that I could maybe also use it as a speaker for my laptop (since my laptop's speakers SUCK).

I tested this speaker dock with my iPod Touch (2nd gen, running jailbroken 4.0) and new iPhone 4. When both devices were first connected to the dock, they went to the App Store to download Altec's "Alarm Rock" app. This app really sets the Altec apart from other sub-$100 iPod alarm clocks/docks. This app turns your iPhone (or iPod Touch) into an alarm clock that is much more customizable than many competing devices that have a traditional clock radio format with the iPod dock added on simply for music.

I like the Altec approach much better, because of the customization. Specifically, if you see my review of the iHome iP9, I was very frustrated by the fact that I couldn't adjust the alarm volume. If I set it to low, the iHome would turn it up automatically.

With the Altec, the volume stays where you put it. Also, because the clock part is the iPhone itself, you can set the display brightness to anything the iPhone will allow.

As the other reviewers have noted, the sound quality is impressive for a speaker this size. For a desktop or bedside device, you can't do any better at three times the size. While it is light and easily movable, I wouldn't consider it a "travel" device.
On the minor details front, the wall wart is quite compact.
My only gripes are with some of the app features (which I suppose I should post to the App Store). The alarm settings all you to choose "album" or "playlist" or "artist", but they all send you to the "song" section of your music. If you try to change to one of the others groupings, you can still only pick a song. This is a minor quibble, but Altec needs to fix it.

This is slightly more money, but definitely a better deal than the Apple dock. However, it doesn't connect to your Mac/PC, so you still need another setup (dock or cable) to sync to iTunes. Again, a minor quibble. I highly recommend this dock.

My girlfriend and I bought this speaker dock a few weeks back; we wanted something for the kitchen we could drop our iPhones into when we wanted music, but we didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a high end dock. We've got a pretty big kitchen and eating area, and it does the job nicely. We'd happily buy it again.

I love this dock speaker by Altec Lansing. It is light, and it charges your iPod or iPhone. It has decent sound quality, with Altec Lansing Alarm App, it turns into a great alarm clock. Very strongly recommended!