Customer Reviews

Apple Dock for iPod 4G (White)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

BREAKING NEWS: If you are buying a new video playback capable iPod, please look for the new iPod Universal dock, which has s-Video output for both photos and video. It is also ready to accept a control remote so you can control your iPod from your sofa.

Is this expensive? The answer is probably yes. This dock was included on the original iPod Photo of late 2004 (priced $500-$600), the dock was removed as Apple lowered the prices this year to their current levels for color iPods. However, for a couple of uses: high quality home audio and Slide Shows on hi-res TVs, it is a great alternative.

This dock basically serves three purposes:
- The traditional synch & charge function available since the early days.
- It helps you get "Line" output out of an iPod. Line output is a cleaner, higher quality sound output than the usual headphone output out of the miniplug jack. It is the best way to connect your iPod to a home stereo or home theater.
- The super Video out for color iPods. This function is something you cannot get without the dock. So, if you like to show your pictures to your friends & family using a hi-res TV (Plasma, LCD or a Flat Screen) this is a great tool to use. As an alternative, if you do not want to use s-Video and are OK with regular digital video out, a cheaper alternative is the "Apple iPod AV Cable" at $19 from the Apple Store or similar alternatives.

In summary, buy this if you hook your iPod to high quality audio equipment or if you regularly do hi-res slide shows on your TV. If you don't do it, it's just too expensive as a synch/charger, since anything you need is in the iPod box.

I guess the big question is "What does the Dock do?" Well it makes both synching and charging your iPod, as well as connecting it to a receiver a bit easier. In addition you can display high quality images of the pictures stored on you iPod onto a TV screen.

Getting those images on your TV is as easy as connecting one end of an S-video cable (sold separately) to the Dock and the other end to the TV. Presto! Instant slideshows on your TV that you can control from you iPod.

The iPod comes with all the cables you need to connect it to your computer (Mac or PC) for charging and synching. Connecting the Dock to this cable instead of the iPod gives you a permanent place to charge and synch your iPod mini. All you have to do is slip the iPod in the Dock.

The Dock also makes it more convenient to connect your iPod to a stereo receiver for the times when headphones are not practical and/or appropriate. You'll need to buy a separate cable to connect the Dock to your receiver, but once you have it set up you can play music from your iPod through the more powerful speakers attached to your receiver. The Dock angels the iPod for perfect viewing and access to the controls, making this a great set up and further evidence to the obsolescence of CDs.

To make this set-up even better, connect the Dock to an electrical outlet and you'll never have to worry about your iPod running out of power. A perfect solution for playing your music at long parties and other gatherings.

The power iPod user will buy two Docks. One to keep forever connected to the computer and another to keep connected to the stereo receiver. This way, you won't have to swap the Dock from one machine to the other.

The Dock works flawlessly and the iPod slips easily in and out of it while keeping it secure when it's attached. I only wish that it the price weren't so high. But it's hard to complain about that with all the options the Dock opens up for iPod users.

Unless your USB port is located in the back of your computer I recommend not buying this. This $40 dock looks like it cost about $2 to make and it doesn't even come with any wires. Just the dock for $40. They could send it in an envelope.

Works as expected, however, for ~$40, they should at least include a cord to go from this dock to the computer or stereo.

This iPod Photo dock is great for playing slideshows on a tv with the s-video out and a home for your IPod when you're charging or syching it with your computer. In the box is a the dock and two covers. One for the 30 gb model which only fits the 30 gb and one for the 60 gb model which fits both 40 gb and 60 gb models. There are no cords included but it doesn't need to come with cords. S-video out cords are not hard to find and the cord needed to connect your IPod Dock to your computer comes with the IPod. The dock is lightweight and sturdy and travels easily.

I bought the dock for my 60 gig photo iPod. I consider this a must have for the iPod. It makes charging and syncing with iTunes a snap. The audio out and S video are also very very handy.

The iPod photo Dock is a nice home base for charging your iPod, hooking your iPod to your computer, for connecting your iPod to your stereo or for hooking it to your TV to view Photo's. It is very convenient and easy to use; all you need is the right cable to connect it to your stereo (TV, computer-it especially comes in handy if your USB connection is in the back of your computer.), You can get Monster iTV Link cable that provides both S-video and audio. Its a nice place to set your iPod (and do all the above) when your home and I would recomend this product.

I only bought the cradle because of the S video out. But so far I am still not able to make it work.