They almost got it right. Once docked it will start playing your music immediately, whether you'll like it doing so is up to you. Sounded pretty good, much better than the built in iPad sound for sure.
It holds the iPad in portrait or landscape mode with an almost endless variety of viewing angles which I really liked, some docks seem to be only able to do portrait mode.
The bad, once docked if I tried to play any video it would say that is was connected to a TV when it wasn't, no cable was connected. I used a paperclip to reset the unit and then videos played. Until I undocked and docked again, then same thing and this may be a deal breaker. Not sure if this is a defective unit or they all suffer from the same problem.
The app that it downloads is awful, an iPhone/iPod app for a device that seems to be primarily for the iPad is an odd choice to say the least. You can connect those devices sure but look at this thing, it is designed for the iPad, at least have a choice of a higher resolution iPad app. Since the app is how you interact with this device it made it seem "cheap".
So I would say with just a little more work and minimal investment they could make this a 5 star device, I would recommend they do so.
As some have noted yes I understand the way the video was supposed to work by pushing the button on the remote, unfortunately with this unit that didn't work.
Also if you got a unit that works great I am happy for you, this one didn't and I could only base my review on the unit I bought. Jensen JiPS-250i Docking Station for iPad, iPod, and iPhone (Black)
Overall, I feel this unit is an great value for the money! When I originally read the Amazon reviews, I decided not to buy even though it looked great. Two days later, I coincidentally saw the same item at Target, so I decided "why not".
The GOOD NEWS: (1) stand works great - rotates and tilts, (2) charger is excellent -- charges faster than Apple charger and comparable to Griffin PowerBlock, (3) sound quality for type of unit is very good, and (4) you can use with your iphone and ipod too. For $70, you cannot beat this price for an all-in-one unit that is a rotating stand with charger with speakers... buying separately (and I have!) you will spend $120+. I have seen rotating/tilting stands alone for $50+.
Now, to address an inaccuracy in another review... someone indicated that the unit does not play video when docked, but it does. From first purchase, the default is "video out" but there is a button on the remote to turn it off and then it works just fine from then on. You can also push a button combination on the unit to switch "video out". The manufacturer should have set the default to "off," but there is a solution.
The BAD NEWS: (1) Other reviews are correct that when you turn it on, it automatically starts playing music... a bit quirky. (2) The Jensen application is poor as others have indicated, but that is not why I bought it anyway. I don't use it. However, the unit will continue to ask if you want to install the app each time you dock if it is not installed, which can be annoying.
BOTTOM LINE: I liked the Jensen dock so much that I went back to buy another -- one for the bedroom and one for the office. It comes down to how you will use it... my primary use is charging and rotating stand... once in a while I use the speakers... While there are some quirks, the benefits far outweigh. For me, it is an excellent product and value.
I ran into the same issues as the "Almost" reviewer. I REALLY wanted the device to function as described in the product description but that just wasn't the case.
CONS:
1) While trying to watch a video, I had the error message that stated the unit was connected to a TV when it wasn't. The manual's solution is to press the Video button on the remote...didn't work. Tried powering the unit off & on; tried docking & undocking; etc etc, but never could get the videos to play.
2) In addition to the lack of resolution that "Almost" mentions as relates to the onscreen images, I found that when the iPad is in landscape mode, you can no longer "flip" through the four screen pages..Clock/Weather, Music, TV/Video, etc.
3) Within Sleep Mode, I would select length of time & sound options then select Save. The options would be saved for one time; the next time I wanted to use Sleep Mode, I would have to go back & reselect and Save them again.
4) The remote has limited functionality once you begin using the Jensen app.
5) It is a little concerning that it says in the manual (& I can't quote it because I have since returned the product, but in paraphrasing..) that slight power surges and things of that nature can happen frequently and will require the unit to be reset using a paperclip & the reset button. I read that to mean they had a number of glitches that would necessitate doing system resets to resolve them.
PROS: 1) Flexibility of screen positioning. 2) Sound quality was much better than the iPad and much better than I expected. 3) Great concept.
Like I said, I really wanted this to work; I love the idea; I love what their intended functionality was; but, as of now (Nov 2010), they don't have the bugs worked out so I would not recommend it to anyone. The only reason I did not rate it a 1 was because of the PROS; and if they can resolve the CONS, I'd buy it again and rate it a 5.
I bought this for my wife primarily so she could watch Netflix and also so she could stream movies from my Mac using AirVideo.
Lo and behold, the Rocker app disables AirVideo completely and with it installed we get great Netflix sound but only a red screen. With the Rocker app removed we get AirVideo and Netlfix video, but no sound from the Docking Station.
Tomorrow this goes back for exchange and if the replacement has the same issues it will go back for a refund as a "really good idea that did not work."
Amazing that they could make a product that does not work with Netflix! - Docking Station - Portable Speakers - Netflix - Dock'
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