Customer Reviews

Griffin AirClick Remote Control for iPod

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Ok! Here's the bottom-line first: (a) It's MEANT to be a remote-control for your PERSONAL use, not for placing the iPod connected to your $800 stereo-system and then trying to play music from another room. (b) It's handicapped by the availability of options of the iPod. What I mean is iPod gives you the options like pause/play/rew/fwd. Now, if someone is thinking why it doesn't allow (Alas - read such reviews); it will mean that GOING OVER what iPod allows. This means someone has to mysterically put the wires INSIDE iPod, reconfigure it to allow such options.
Now - what I felt. Being in New York and travelling daily to office in subway and later a long walk; I needed the ipod to be safely tucked away in my backpack with my Shure (excellent product, isolates sound completely. The iPod earphones are essentially junk) providing me the music and this remote giving me the flexibility to jump songs/replay a song/increase the volume or a simple pause. That - it does immaculately. Perfect. Being in RF range, I CAN place the iPod in my backpack. The previous remote of mine forced me to have the iPod in line of the remote (IR they called it..;) .. rather stupid. NEVER ONCE did the remote miss a beat, did ANYTHING horrible. Best part, they have the hold switch too. That means I can safely chug it along and not fear the buttons getting "accidentally" depressed. Built: Very solid and sturdy.

All in all - a good product. The main unit's connection points are gold-plated, so they are extremely reliable.

Macintosh users are familiar with the name Griffin. In their long history, they've made many peripherals and add-ons for those computers (and later, for PCs as well). Most have a massive cool factor (the PowerMate is a good example: it's just a dial and button, but it's perfectly suited to certain jobs; not only that, it's designed so well that you may be itching to get it for looks alone). The AirClick is no exception.

Is your 3G iPod remote getting as frayed as mine? The cable at the iPod end pulled free of the insulation, the clip separated from the controls? Have you EVER been able to clip it to something thicker than a T-shirt? Guess what? For about the price of a new Apple remote, with that too-long wire that has to be curled up somewhere, you can get a wireless one that works seamlessly-- and with considerably more "wow" factor-- than the original. (And be honest. Isn't showing off one of the perks of having an iPod? Wouldn't you like to one-up the other people in your office who bought one after you did? And completely flabberghast those pitiful souls who remain iPodless? Sure you do.)

Cool and timely as it is, that isn't the only reason to get one. The cord limits you. I know that I can only put my iPod in my breast pocket, because the remote has to clip to someplace where (a) it can be easily controlled and (b) where it won't get crushed. With the AirClick, you can carry your player anyplace-- in your backpack, in a belt pouch, under your hat, in that screwdriver pocket of carpenters' pants-- and not have to worry where to clip the remote. Because you can carry the remote anywhere else. The change pocket of jeans is a great place, or hey, how about the inside of your watchband? The clip on it is way better, too; I tried it on a winter coat and it stuck firmly to the thick wool lapel.

(Oh, and if you lose the earbuds, you can make it so that no iPod material is visible to the outside world. No longer must you be mugger bait!)

At home, one might set up a cheap pair of powered PC speakers near the dock, and plug them into the Airclick's headphone jack while the iPod charges. You can then control the music playback from a room or two away. (Do not expect this tiny device, one-half the size of a pack of gum, to control things from a block away. The range is sufficient for any reasonable person, though.) For use in the car or on a bike, it even comes with a handy hook-and-loop type band and a plastic holder to attach to the steering wheel, bicep, or handlebars.

I'm kicking myself for getting the NaviPod, an infrared-based remote. The AirClick is $20 less and 20 times as good. It's one of the few products that has worked for me perfectly right out of the box-- literally! Griffin, you make computer fans happy. I hope you stay in business for a long time to come-- and I hope you continue to come up with products as brilliant, useful, and affordable as the AirClick.

This remote is almost everything you could hope for. It looks PERFECT with the iPod - with similar finish and build - and it's a breeze to operate right out of the box.

Just a few shortcomings keep me from thinking it TOTALLY perfect:

1) Can't be used while in most cases. But this is a shortcoming of anything that has to be plugged into the top accessory port;

2) *** most critically - if your iPod is docked at all through the docking port, the remote has ***NO*** volume control. You must get up and go over to the dock and raise/lower volume on the dock. Just like the click-wheel volume won't work when the iPod is docked, neither will the volume control on the remote work.

I can overlook the case issue since it's a common issue with accessories. However, I would have liked it to have been made clear that I'd have no remote volume control when the iPod was docked. I guess I could have figured it out - but it didn't occur to me before I bought and used it.

That all said, I still give it a 4 out of 5 rating. It's great if you use the iPod alone, without a case (running, biking, etc). If you want ANY kind of remote for your iPod, you should seriously consider this one.

Based on reviews, mileage clearly differs on this device, but for my usage, it works quite well. I suspect that local interference with the RF signal affects some users who find they do not get good range.

My setup: One of my iPods, on which resides my music collection, is connected to my stereo line input and power with a dock connector. This is the device that I want to control remotely, from my living room couch or nearby study.

Out of the box: the remote and receiver module. The receiver module has a pass-through headphone jack. The remote control has a bracket and velcro straps for different kinds of mounting or wearing. The remote can control volume (read below for one caveat), start/stop, and skip forward and back. There is a hold slider switch with an orange dot similar to the iPod itself. Also, there is a brief instruction sheet. It comes with all batteries needed installed.

In my experience, the RF control is good up to about 20 feet. This means it works quite well from any location in my living room where the stereo is, and from any point in the study next door. Indeed, as I sat at my desk writing this review, I cut my tunes off to make a phone call and then back on. It's just terrific in that respect, and accomplishes what I wanted.

My bedroom is about 20 feet away, and the device will work from the bedroom doorway--but not all the way to my bed. Now, if I could pump out the jams right until pillow time and then turn it off from the horizontal, I would have given this a "5." It doesn't quite make it, but what it can do is still nice and useful, and beats running into the living room every time I want to turn my music on or off!

A word about the volume--when the iPod is using the dock connector for the connection to the stereo, the volume is constant and cannot be controlled from the iPod's control wheel or the Airclick. That is a hardware feature of the iPod dock. If volume control is critical, use the Airclick's pass-through earphone jack for the stereo connection. Otherwise, you would use your stereo's volume control.

All in all, in my experience, a very successful device if you are using your iPod as a music input device for your home stereo. A 4 rather than a 5 because the useful range is just a few feet less than I would like.

The remote works quite well and is easy to use. BUT, I'm getting a range of 8-9 feet with no barriers, less with physical barriers. I haven't used it much because of this.

I could not be happier with this product. My only question is how they can market it so cheaply. I use my iPod mini for studying Japanese (Pimsleur course), and I constantly stop and start the playback as I listen and repeat. This product allows me to do so hands-free, both in the car and walking around. (Well, I still have to hold the remote, but it's a lot easier than holding an iPod tethered to your ears.) The response is virtually immediate, and I've tested it up to 20 feet through walls. A very cool product.

I've been looking for a way to listen to the iPod through my stereo but still be able to skip songs, pause, and change the volume. I tried using an FM transmitter but got frustrated with the interference and if you move the iPod you get static.

I had been looking at more expensive remotes but couldn't justify spending nearly $50 on a remote. I have a Griffin PowerPod and like it, so I felt better about buying one of their products.

The build quality is fair. The remote is kind of cheap including the lock switch on the side. When I first got it I didn't snap the receiver all the way down on the iPod and the remote didn't seem to be working. I thought the battery must be bad and unscrewed the back to change it out. The screw stays in place (good design), but the switch fell off when I opened the case (bad design). The buttons on the remote are not intuitive, placed in a zigzag and hard to make out in dim light. You learn to memorize them, but they could have come up with something better. The receiver seems pretty decent and snaps firmly into place on top of the iPod.

The range, as others have said, is limited. It may go through walls as advertised but only if you are within a few feet of the receiver. So you might be able to stand outside of a closet and control an iPod inside. Fifteen feet seems to be the maximum range without obstructions which isn't enough to make it all the way across my living room, but is enough to reach from the sofa to the stereo which is what I want anyway.

The fact that it is a RF remote opens up some nice possibilities. One is you can leave the iPod in your pocket and just use the remote. The iPod's wired remote always seemed so clumsy and left you with too much cord and the remote invariably in the wrong place. The remote has a clip and, though it looks kind of dorky, I can clip the remote to my watchband while walking my dogs and skip songs without fishing around for the iPod in my pocket or accidentally pushing buttons on it. Holding the remote is like having a 20 MB iPod Shuffle in your hand.

It's also useful for the car. I can leave the iPod hooked up to my car stereo (and power if necessary) and then control it with the remote without fumbling for the iPod and worrying about those cords. There is a velcro strap and plastic base you can use to attach the remote to handle bars or whatever. They include two straps of different lengths and I found that if I introduced a half-twist behind the plastic base that I could attach the base to my steering wheel using the longer strap. Without the twist the velcro wouldn't stick right.

If any of this sounds useful to you, I'd recommend the AirClick. If not, don't bother with it.

It's just a remote control. It does what's supposed to do.
The range is good enough as well.
I'm happy with it.

This remote works great and is great design for both home and car use. It uses RF, so it can work up to about 20 or 30 feet away through walls and floors. Also, it has 2 different size straps to secure the remote to a steering wheel or other stationary object.

Great product!

The Product works great. Instead of paying 300 to install an ipod controller in my car I used the DLO ipod car charger because it is small, with the iClick Leave it insidee the armrest between the front seats and the control is all I need or under 50 dollars. The only issue with the iclick I had is it arrived with a dead batttery. For some reason I had a spare in the house added it and it has worked great for 3 months no problems.