Customer Reviews

AudioVox XVSAP1V1 XM Skydock for iPhone/iTouch

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Ok I must say I am extremely impressed With the XM Skydock. The install was easy, took about 20 minutes, 3 minutes was waiting for the area of the car I had to clean to dry. The only issue I ran into was I thought the cable that they give you that hooks up the receiver is short by about 6 inches (installed on a 06 Honda Civic). Activating the radio itself was a breeze, i did it all on line and never had to talk to a human which I enjoy. But if you have to speak to someone, it will be Bob from India. The sound quality of the radio was far beyond what I was expecting, it was crisp and clear, sounded just as good as music from my iPod. The app for the iPhone is perfect, you can tell they took the time to do it right the first time. Listened to it for the past two days and found no glitches or bugs in it yet, its absolutely beautiful. Overall I am pleased with this radio and would recommend it to anyone.

First, some savings tips: Found an XM promotion online for a year of service for $77 (50% off the reg $12.95/mo rate); you have to call a special number (800-347-0600, which as a bonus appears to reach a U.S. call center) and ask for it. As of 12Nov09 it's still good but only for their basic package. I wanted XM Everything & the Best of Sirius, which is $16.99; the rep offered 3 months of service for $29.99 then the regular rate after that. Not nearly as attractive a deal but hey, at least they threw me a bone. Also saw online that XM will credit your account $12.95 for having a credit card on your account for recurrent billing. Asked for that and got it too.

On to the Skydock. Based on a few days' use, it's a very, very well done product. Installation was pretty easy, with the antenna obviously the hardest part. It sticks quite well to metallic surfaces but you then have to run the wire to a spot where you can plug it in to the Skydock when it's in use. So the challenge is hiding it behind panels, carpet, etc. along the way. A huge advantage over dedicated sat radio units is that you'll usually take your iPhone with you when leaving the car. One less thing for someone to steal, and it's also easy to detach and hide the Skydock if you're concerned about break-ins.

The iPhone app has been flawless except for a couple of minor irritations like occasionally having to tap several times before an input will 'take'. Also, when changing stations, the buttons and labels are small enough and far enough away while driving to require more attention than a typical car radio, so caution is definitely required. But the app is very intuitive and the ability to set alerts so you can switch over and listen to favorite artists/teams when they're on is a very nice touch. There are really too many cool features to list, like being able to choose favorite teams and see a little ticker with news about them.

It's a definite plus that all your iPhone/iPod functions work in the Skydock. When a call comes in, the programming or iPod music fades out and then back in when the call is over. I've seen complaints that the Skydock doesn't feed phone audio to the vehicle speakers but that's a 'so what?' for me since I use a Bluetooth earpiece anyway. It's very nice to have the iPhone handy in front of you when you're sitting at a light and want to take a quick look at e-mail or whatever. (UPDATE - Check your local laws. Since my original review last year, Georgia has outlawed texting/e-mailing or even reading messages while operating a vehicle. Please stay legal and, most importantly, safe.)

The sound is terrific using the supplied Aux cable, which we have in one vehicle. We live about 50 miles north of Atlanta and the FM method is good most of the time in the other vehicle, but this morning I drove downtown for the first time with the Skydock and it didn't work well at all. The problem in a large city like Atlanta appears to be that there are no empty FM channels that don't have a working channel on the next frequency up/down the scale, and the static/interference when driving near the city made the Skydock pretty much useless. In fairness, that's based on having chosen four empty freqs to use the Skydock with (another nice feature is that it can accommodate multiple frequencies) so I still have much of the FM spectrum to explore and may get better results in the future. Still, it's something to keep in mind for those in large cities.

One minor minus is that for bandwidth reasons maybe, Atlanta weather/traffic is on the same channel as Miami's. You sometimes have to wait for the Miami info to finish before you hear your own.

What's truly annoying is Sirius/XM's nickle and dime approach to customers. For example, I'd much rather have Sirius service but though the companies have merged, Skydock is an exclusively XM product. You can't have a Sirius subscription. The best XM package is $12.95 a month. But if you want NFL play-by-play or Howard Stern for example - not coincidentally, both highly popular Sirius products - you have to pay another $4 monthly. If you decide to drop the Sirius add-on, that'll cost you $5 to make the change. Have another, separate satellite radio? They make you get a SEPARATE subscription. Ridiculous. Nothing earth-shaking but irritating nonetheless.

And one more thing, not a dealbreaker but still very annoying, is that on Sirius' NFL play-by-play, there's a national feed but you can also choose either the home team or away team broadcasts. You only get that option on XM for prime-time games and of course that is never mentioned.

XM's crappy policies aside, Skydock is an outstanding product and highly recommended, especially for those who like me own an iPhone and have been on the fence about satellite radio.

I bought the SkyDock at BB last week and I love it! Sirius XM really did a good job with this. It was a breeze to setup. Just plug it in the cig adapter (it fits VERY snuggly) and plug in the antenna. Download the SkyDock app from the app store and call/go online to activate your subscription. Even before you activate, you can still use the SkyDock to listen to your mp3s or stream music from any other music app. When I first saw pictures of the SkyDock I thought the stalk looked a little odd and might be flimsy. But it's very sturdy and works great to let you position your device exactly where you want it. The new "PowerConnect" FM transmitter sounds very good and makes installation much simpler than other sat rad devices. I no longer have to have the extra SureConnect wires in the car that I was using with my XMp3. Of course if you have an aux in in your car that's going to give you better sound than using the FM transmitter. As for the app, it is extremely well designed and very intuitive. It's very easy to flip through categories, channels and select favorites while driving. There isn't a "scan" feature which would be nice, but it doesn't take long to figure out where to swipe and touch without looking (keep your eyes on the road!) to do your own channel scanning. Sirius obviously spent a lot of time designing and testing this. It's nearly perfect for a v1.0 app. This is an amazing device! Thank you Sirius XM!!!

I just got my SkyDock today from the BestBuy in my neighborhood. First, I was looking for a way to eliminate some radio subscriptions. Second, I was looking for portability. The SkyDock is the answer.

Here's an additional extra they don't promote:

Using the wireless FM transmitter built in, I was able to transmit not only my XM radio, but also the songs on my iPod as well, including my podcasts. I switched to the internet version of the XM app, and it streamed over FM as well. Same with Pandora, Slacker, etc. I hope this doesn't change with any firmware or software upgrades. It's a nice feature. Of course, this only works with the iPhone, since you get unlimited data with that. iPod users, sorry.

That's a big plus for me, as I can now run an independent AUX cable from the back of my radio to the unit, and get full sound for all my media.

Another revelation: As long as your iPhone or iPod Touch is running firmware 3.0, you should be good to use this. The online listings say only iPhone 3G and 3GS are compatible, but the in-box instructions say otherwise.

My only gripe is that the neck is a little short. Some cars have an easily accessible DC power outlet where this wouldn't be a problem, but thanks to Honda, I have to twist the neck a little to get it just right.

So far, so good.

The unit does what it says. FM transmitter is one of the best I have tried since 2004, it broadcasts to my radio through 88.3 without having the outside FM signal overwhelms it. However, once you've plugged it in and the unit sits snuggly inside the 12V power outlet, think twice before pulling it out, because it fits so tightly to ensure the unit provides a strong and non-pivoting base for your iPhone/iTouch, the pulliing/twisting force actually could damage the 12v socket itself.

I took mine out to try it in another car, and when I tried to plug it back it, the socket must have gotten dislodged while I yanked it out. I was being quite careful about pulling it out, but still that didn't prevent it from wanting to come out with the SkyDock. So the dock now turns in 360 degrees making it unusable to hold the iPhone in place - unusable. Now I have to find a way to get behind the console and secure the socket again. For this, I'm reducing two stars to three as the solution becomes too "permanent" when removing it could cause damage to the car's fixture.

Wow, I have been using the skydock for 3 days now and I love it. I needed something simple and did not want to go and get XM installed by a bestbuy technician. I did not like the way it made my car look (2005 Z4). Now, my interior is still nice and I can take out the skydock when I want to. I think it is fantastic. I cannot believe I did not try satellite radio sooner. Plus, it charges my Iphone!

Ordered the skydock and received it in less than a week. This unit is worth the purchasing even if you don't activate satellite radio. The mount powers and charges your iphone/itouch, holds it securely (better than any windshield mount) and plays your itunes / movie audio through your car radio.

Works perfectly with both my iphone and ipod touch.

There are no problems installing this unit in my BMW Z4 it fits perfectly but you have to push really hard to get the unit to go all the way into the 12v accessory socket. This is because there is a rubber grommet on the end of the sky dock plug which fits very very tightly and holds the skydock securely in place. The flexible connector allows perfect location of screen for viewing.

I have been using the integral fm modulator to connect to the radio and it works perfectly. The XM app controls the radio beautifully - this is how a satellite radio should work.

Definitely a worthwhile purchase.

I just got mine at Best Buy like these other people. I love the product and the sevice. $1 per song at apple vs unlimited amounts of content for a small monthly fee (no brainer). This is the only gift I'll be buying for people. I know people will be using this for years to come.

I have had the XM SkyDock for over a week now and feel I can give an honest opinion. This iPod Touch / iPhone docking system allows you to listen and or watch your iTunes library and all that XM Radio offers. There are two ways to get the tunes to your vehicle's sound system. The new Sirius XM PowerConnect which transmits the music wirelessly to your FM enabled radio and sound system. There is a wried auxiliary in cable included and this method eliminates the need for setting up unused FM channels in your area and the sound quality is a little better.

You will get full functionality of the iPhone or iPod and the SkyDock charges either. There are three spacers included that are for the iPhone and Ipod with and without a case. The XM channel line up speaks for itself and I personally do not understand anyone that spends time in a vehicle that does not have Sirius or XM. Back to the SkyDock; like all Apple products it just works. It took me less than two minutes to set up the SkyDock in my truck. The XM antenna is magnetic and will stay on the roof of your vehicle with no problems or you can Velcro the antenna to you dashboard for the ultimate portability between vehicles.

You can tag songs for purchase. You can set up alerts for a specific song or artist. You can follow your stocks and sports team scores. You can set up alerts for your favorite XM shows or when a sports team is starting a game. Game schedules are also scrolled in the portrait mode and scrolling was not necessary in the landscape mode.

I bought this as an easy way to add XM to my wifes 02 Suburban after buying her a new vehicle. I had always had XM in my vehicle but decided to drive her old Suburban. My first mistake was assuming that XM still only charged $6.00 for a second subscription. After recieving and installing the Skydock, I called to activate it. Now they charge $8.99 (50% increase) for an add-on subscription($12.99 per month for 1st). I'm OUT! I know they are not in the best financial shape, but niether are the rest of us. I might suggest to them that they CUT the cost of their subscription service to stimulate business. If you really want to know frustration, just call their customer service. I called 4 times and was transferred at least as many times just to find someone who's english I could understand. I was so frustrated, I sold the 20K shares of SIRI I owned as soon as I got off the phone.
Now on to the SkyDock. This product does work well and is well built. The way I know is I subscribed to XM online for $2.99 per month (as an add-on subscription). The only problem with using XM online is it fades in and out in rural areas. You can also use Pandora. It also charges your phone if it's good for nothing else.
There is another issue that prompted me to finally write this review. If you use a protective case on your iPhone it may not fit in the SkyDock. I had an Otterbox (I dont recall the model, but it's very bulky). It was too wide to fit in Skydock. I just recieved the Otterbox Commuter I ordered from Amazon. I Thought it would work because it's thinner. It does fit in the SkyDock, but the connector is too short to make connection. I'm sure there are less protective cases out there that would work, but I like my iPhone better than this SkyDock. I gave it three stars because other than the connector being too short, it is a good product. If it did'nt play my daughters iPod, I'd be selling it.