Customer Reviews

Griffin AirCurve Acoustic Amplifier for iPhone (Clear)

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I purchased the Griffin AirCurve as a bedside charging cradle for my iPhone 3G (cable and AC adapter not included). My thought behind this was that it would allow me to listen to content casually and would make the iPhone function better as an alarm clock. The Griffin AirCurve doesn't disappoint.

The construction is solid polycarbonate with metal hex-screws in the corners holding it together. The dock has soft silicone inserts for both the first-gen and iPhone 3G that provide a snug fit. On the bottom is a cable routing channel so that when you attach a dock cable the unit still sits flush on the table. All in all, the build quality is excellent.

In terms of performance, it is surprisingly good. The air channel inside the unit really does amplify the sound quite well. It isn't exactly "room-filling" and it isn't stereo, but it is perfectly acceptable for casual listening at a office cubicle or for my use as a bedside alarm-clock. The Griffin AirCurve uses the same principles that Bose does to create small speakers with big sound. But keep in mind that this isn't a Bose, and you only paid under $20 for it.

The only issue I can think of is the need for a non-Apple cable for the dock to work well as a charger. The Apple Dock Cable has a very short dock connector which does not reach the base of the docking well where the iPhone sits. It is useable with the Griffin AirCurve, but it has a hard time making connection with the iPhone when docked and often requires you to pull it out of the base and manually connect it to your iPhone then re-set the phone in the base. Griffin's dock cable has a taller connector which works perfectly. Unfortunately it is not included.

Overall I am thrilled with this product and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a small, space saving dock that will allow for acceptable casual listening on their iPhone.

Works great, especially since it does not require power.
We have other speaker systems for the iPhone which give a little higher-quality sound, but they are powered units and the AirCurve allows you to take it anywhere.
Of note: when the iPhone volume is up 100%, the AirCurve seems to make the sound a little tinny. This goes away if the volume is decreased a little.

I am going to purchase a second AirCurve for my office.

I bought this item hoping to find a nice stand to go next to my bed. Like most people, I imagine, I charge my phone overnight and prefer to have it next to me on my dresser. While it's functional to just use a USB cord, a stand is preferable.

I picked this one out hoping its simplistic design would go with the iPhone nicely. The designers almost got it. It fits snugly into the base and amplifies sound nicely, considering how small the speaker really is.

What it does poorly is work with a USB cord. I was hoping to have a stand that I could easily plop the phone into and start charging. Not so with this stand. You have to reach in, pull the cord out, connect the phone, then reach underneath to pull the excess cord back, pulling the phone into the stand. Once it's in place, it's nice, but getting there is quite a pain late at night and early in the morning.

I'm all about functionality, and for a phone that makes sense on all fronts, this stand does not match. I'm using it for now, but as soon as I find one that's better, I'm moving on.

Considering the price, I expected a thin-plastic product. I was wrong. It is constructed of clear polycarbonate (per the manufacturer's site, [...]) with four chrome screws each ending in a surface-protecting foot. It is heavy enough (aided by its four feet) to not slide about. I don't know plastics well enough to identify the material used to make the three small snap-together adapters (one each to create either an iPhone or iPhone 3G/3GS cradle and one to hold the charging plug in place) but it is a perfect compromise between rigid and conformable.

Bose doesn't have to worry; AirCore will not outperform an active amplifier/speaker system. But it does a more than adequate job for patio, desk, bedside, bathroom... use. The sound improvement is... well shockingly impressive is probably a bit much to claim, but just a bit. Greatly increased quality, greatly increased volume.

I misinterpreted reviewers as saying you had to remove the charging cable and plug it into the iPhone every time you inserted the phone in the cradle. It does take a few seconds to insert the charge/sync cable into the adapter and press it in place, but you can then leave it there. If you need the cable for use elsewhere, get an extra low cost cable (such as Apple's Dock Connector to USB 2.0 Cable for iPod and iPhone (White) for $2.98 including shipping) and leave one cable in the AirCore. Surprisingly, I didn't have to remove my protective Silicone Skin Case Cover For Apple iPhone. Though my iPhone would probably fit further into the cradle with the skin off, it fits securely without removing it.

AirCore costs $14.99 and provides much more value than most similarly priced products. It is also attractive.

Nowhere did it say that it was NOT iPhone compatible but it is NOT. The phone not fitting to the base isn't the biggest problem as it could be effective without a good fit. The problem is that iPhone 4 has a speaker on the opposite side, the right side and placing it in the cradle with the sync cable makes it face backwards if you try to align the speaker to a hole to the acoustic chamber of the cradle. You do need it connected to the sync cable to keep it stay in the cradle due to the loose fit of the phone to the cradle. It does sound better but not like room filling sound like someone mentioned. Don't expect a Bose speaker quality sound.

I returned this product because I didn't want to have to take my phone out of the case every time I used it. Just something to keep in mind. I didn't think it worked much better than traditional speakers and the sound was a little weird.

This product does exactly what it claims to do, acoustically amplifies the output of your iPhone's tiny, tinny external speaker on the bottom of the device, and it does it amazingly well! I bought it to use so I could listen to music while in the shower and I didn't want to buy an expensive powered dock with speakers just for that use and this was the perfect solution. I'm not fussy about the sound quality so much in that environment, but this thing does a pretty amazing job of boosting the volume and sound quality with no power what so ever. It appears that there is a channel for the microphone also, but I haven't had a chance to test if you can use it effectively in speaker phone mode while in the dock.

You can buy or use your original USB connector cord to charge or sync your iPhone while it's in this dock and I don't recommend you buy one of the extended length connectors like another reviewer suggests, it is designed and fits just fine with the low profile connector like apple supplies.

One caveat though: the little cradle inserts for both the first gen and 3G iPhones are made to hold phones without any external covers or cases so you can do a couple of things. One is to not use the little inserts at all but then the phone and connector are a bit floppy and don't seem well supported. Probably not the best situation for your expensive device and amplification is reduced drastically. The most obvious is to take your phone out of its cover every time you use this dock, but if you're like me you find that a small hassle and would rather not have to fiddle with it. However, if your cover is very slim like mine is (Apple iPhone 3G 3Gs Rubberized Hard Plastic Slim Case Cover - Black or similar), you can modify one of the holder inserts to work just fine. Here's how I modded the insert for my first gen phone.

I took the cradle insert for the 3G models and carefully trimmed about ¼ of an inch off each end, just enough to eliminate the tapering curve for the 3G. I then carefully trimmed the very small, hair-line ridge from where the front of the phone would fit. The 3G is slightly deeper and wider than the 1G and with these minor alterations your phone will fit very snugly in the dock and is well supported even with the case on. This is important because the speaker needs to be sealed against the cradle insert for the device to achieve the maximum acoustic amplification and for the little back support tab to provide the best support. I suppose you could do a similar operation on the 1G cradle for 3G phone.

This is a good value for the money and I don't think you'll regret it.

I use this with a small charger and the apple sync cable when I'm at work. It allows me to have a nice looking docking station, plus the speaker phone function is much improved. Who knew a piece of plastic could make an elegant functional amplifier. I suffer from industrial hearing loss, and sometimes the speaker is hard for me to hear, especially in the higher freqs. Well, the high end is all the iPhone's little speaker can produce, but the added 10 DB lets me have a normal conversation at my desk.

It works without using any external power.

It directs the sounds in such a way that it sure seems like its amplified.

I use it as my default dock since it matches the decor.

TWO Important Caveats:
1: You need to supply your own cable, the standard apple one works fine for me.
2: If you have any sort of case, you'll most likely have to take it out in order to use it. Seems like there should be a way around that, as most people I know leave their case on all the time and its a pain to take it off, but there are no adapters allowing for the possibility of a thick case, I even tried to use it without the adapter.

All in all a handly little gadget considering the price. It alls looks pretty cool and blends in well!

I wanted a small bedside dock for my iPhone 3G S, and felt [...]
for the compatible JBL On Stage was too extravagant. Then I found the Griffin AirCurve, which seemed to fit the bill nicely - simple and inexpensive.

I was a slightly concerned after reading about potential struggles with the cord (not included, but a cord and outlet adapter come with the phone), the kind of minor issue that would exasperate me. But after finding a video review that demonstrated the amplification, and reading a review response that mentions that a cable adapter now comes with the device, I decided that I could comfortably risk [...]

[...]

The AirCurve arrived today, and it turns out that my concerns about the cord were almost entirely unwarranted. The new adapter for the cord works well, but must be fitted securely. Once I had pressed it firmly enough into place (a dull letter opener helped) I could easily dock and remove my iPhone without fussing with the cord, which stays securely in place (so I put away the glue). A minor aggravation is that the cord doesn't snap into the channel under the device, but it stays in place pretty well as long as the AirCurve isn't moved too much (why would it be, really?), and a piece of clear tape would secure it unobtrusively. A reviewer said that the Apple supplied cord is too short to be useful, but a $2 extension cord is all you really need if an outlet is a little too far away.

The phone is fairly secure in the dock, but if I would pick it up for anything more than a couple of taps, like turning off the alarm.

There is a small gap in the dock adapter to accommodate the microphone. It worked well from a few feet away and the caller's voice was amplified nicely.

The sound quality is what it is. It amplifies the mediocre sound from the iPhone's speaker. If you are looking for rich amplified audio, spend the appropriate amount of money. I have a Bose Sounddock (with a new lease on life thanks to the Scosche passsPORT) in another room for that. But I simply wanted an inexpensive bedside charging dock. The AirCurve is perfect for that. I will happily toss my ancient and malfunctioning alarm clock to make room for it. It would be appropriate for my wife's cubicle, too, or her side of the bed, so we may be ordering another.

I am quite satisfied with my purchase. For [...], I got a nice little iPhone accessory that does exactly what I need.