The Apple iPod no matter what version or model or generation you have is a very small, very portable juke box. Just imagine what it would have been like in 1950 and the drive-in with a chocolate malt in one hand and an Apple iPod in the other. Just imagine what they would have thought about a device so small, so light weight that could hold hundreds of times more music than their half-ton not so portable jukebox’s of the time.
Well, it isn’t the 1950’s and LP’s aren’t the music format of choice any more. The Apple iPod is here, it is small and it is light weight and it does hold several hundred times more music than a jukebox and it is definitely more portable than a jukebox. But, you have one problem. No speakers. You either have to use headphones which can be tricky if you are trying to let a crowd listen to your music. What is one to do? Well, you can thanks to the vast popularity of the Apple iPod choose from any number of boom box add-ons for it.
One such boom box is from SDI Inc. (iHomeAudio.com), it is the model iH31 Product Shot and it comes in several colors including white, black and silver. This small, light weight boom box has a built-in dock for your iPod and it supports iPod and iPod Shuffle. I tested it with a fifth generation video iPod and found it very easy to use, the sound quality is excellent and it has a couple of features that you don’t normally find on iPod boom boxes including a sealed and protected iPod compartment that not only makes your iPod look like it is part of the boom box instead of an add-on, it also protects it from dust, water spray if you take it to the beach, sand, and things like that. It also has a small wireless remote so you don’t have to run over to the unit when you want to adjust the volume, move backwards and forwards through the music files, etc.
It measures a small 15.07 inches wide, 5.60 inches tall and 5.57 inches deep and it weighs in at just over 4 pounds without the iPod. Some of the other things I like about this unit is the external antenna what I mean by this is it is on the outside of the unit instead of on the inside so it can be raised up and adjusted for better reception. It has a line-in and head phones jack on the front of the unit. It has a built-in FM radio with buttons on the top for each radio preset programming and access. It has a small LCD screen on the top to tell you volume level and other status information. It even has music playback buttons on the top for moving from one music file to another as well as play and pause and volume up and down. The connector port for the iPod shuffle is on the top under a door so the port is protected when not in use. It has a nice comfortable carry handle as well.
On the back of the unit you have the power connector, the unit can be run off house current (power adapter is included) or 8 “C” batteries (not included) . There is a place to store the port cap for your iPod shuffle on the back so you don’t have to worry about misplacing it while the shuffle is plugged in to the unit. There is an on and off switch for the remote as well as an FM stereo/mono switch and of course the FM antenna. The battery compartment is on the bottom of the unit and holds all 8 batteries in one place. I have seen some units that have two battery compartments with each holding half the required number of batteries. I like the all in one location on this unit better.
As I said the sound quality is very good given the units size. The unit has 4” speakers and according to the literature a powerful amplifier though I could find no watt rating for it. However, from my own use the unit goes from low volume to party/crowd pleasing high volume without a problem. Battery life is also pretty good, however without more scientific testing for battery life that is all I am willing to say. Battery life was pretty good.
Now for the downside, the iH31 is not the first and only boom box available for the Apple iPod. However, it is lacking a couple of what I consider very basic features that prevents me from giving it a top star rating. The controls on the unit as well as on the wireless remote are basic. You can go forwards and backwards through your current album, as well as fast forward or rewind through the current song. You can pause playback and restart playback. You can increase the volume and decrease the volume. The remote also offers you power on/off, mode, mute and buttons for easy access to each of the preset FM stations.
What is missing from both the boom box and the remote is a way to navigate your iPod. Say for example you are listening to a Madonna album and you have just finished listening to it for the 5th time and you now want to switch to a new album on your iPod. You have no way of doing this unless you do it on the iPod itself. Basic menu navigation and option selection functions are missing completely. There is also no buttons for quick and easy access to shuffled playback and repeat functions. Now normally this wouldn’t be too bad (though it really makes the wireless remote a lot less useful) however, the regular sized iPods (the iPod shuffle plugs in on the top of the unit and is exposed to the open air) fits down in to a top and front covered compartment in the front of the unit. What this means is that you have two choices for navigating your iPod. You can either remove it from the boom box, or you can open the compartment and remove the clear plastic front shield and then access the controls on the iPod. I found it was just easier to leave the clear front shield out so I could access the controls on my iPod without having to open the compartment. This in my opinion is a very poor design and drastically reduces the convenience of the iH31. Since I like the idea of my expensive iPod being in a nice enclosed safe compartment it really makes me wonder what they were thinking when they decided that the unit itself or the remote didn’t need iPod navigation capabilities.
To make matters worse this lack of basic iPod navigation is a real bummer because if this unit had that it would be perhaps the best iPod boom box on the market. It is small, lightweight, nice looking and it sounds great. But, they missed the boat sadly enough.
So if you can live without iPod navigation of your albums, artists, genres or easy access to your iPods other functions and you want a light weight, good looking and very good sounding boom box for on the go music enjoyment this could be what you want. Myself, I can’t get past the lack of navigation so it isn’t for me. Maybe the iH31-2 will correct these short falls if they decide to do an update. I hope they do on both accounts. |
