11/04 Review Update. I have been having a lot of problems with the Dock for this product, which is really a shame. Its great in all other ways but I keep it at my desk at work and so I am always taking my iPhone on and off the dock. The dock is sort of flimsy plastic and it slides around very freely when extended. So when you are trying to put your iphone on the dock, the dock is sliding back & forth and so I have to hold the dock with one hand to keep it still while I try to dock the iphone. If you don't get it docked just right, the iphone complains this unit is not compatible with the iphone, etc.. I think this is due to the pins not lining up right. Its really annoying. I dropped a star off my review.
Also, forget trying to keep your iphone in its case, the dock unit is not adjustable (online other sony clock radios that offer iphone docking). As the main thrust of this unit is to be a dock for your iphone or ipod, its a shame Sony didn't spend a little more time on making the dock more sturdy and capable of keeping your case on.
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Just got this in - some initial comments that I will update later. So far I am really blown away by what Sony has crammed into this thing. It is by far the ultimate ipod desk or bedside accessory. Sony is really pushing the limits of an ipod/iphone accessory here. Looking at my review, you see a lot of cons - I think its because this unit pushes the limits so far that people will have thoughts on how it could be improved. Nothing is 'wrong' with this unit really, its just some of my personal preferences I think.
Despite some of the design flaws, overall its a fantastic unit. However, it might get promoted to my desk as opposed to bedside. I don't know that i really need a video screen bedside & a digital picture frame. At my desk tho, that would be much handier.
Pro's:
LCD Screen is extremely bright & crisp - you can play video from the ipod or iphone or from internal memory or a memory card or USB stick! I would have no probs watching tv episodes or even a movie off this screen. You can even watch youtube videos on the LCD playing from the iphone. You can choose full screen or fit to screen for video and stills. Video screen integration with the iphone is simply put, exceptional.
The unit has a memory card slot and a usb slot plus 1gb of internal storage. You can play stills, music & video from the internal storage or the memory card or the iphone. Extreme flexibility.
You have decent playback controls on the unit to control playback from the iPhone. Buttons are hard to see when "in bed" as they are flush on the unit's base, you'll have to just learn where they are I guess.
4 brightness settings for the LCD screen including "nightmode". My wife would kill me if this thing lit up the bedroom. Nightmode essentially just puts the time on the screen very very faintly, so faint even in total darkness its faint - I like it!
Built in battery for when you lose power - nice touch. Supposed to have auto time set but it didn't work for me. I had to set the clock manually.
Slide out tray for your iphone, etc. seems to be able to hold my iphone in its case - great news. Tray is not the best design tho.
Track & playback information displays on the display when you play music from the ipod - very cool. No album artwork on the unit however.
In settings you can see the "software" version which says 1.0. Maybe this implies we'll get updates for it that you can load via memory card? That would be nice. There are a few features that could act differently. Fixing nightmode and adding album artwork would be great.
Cons:
No remote. Seriously Sony? Not even for basic functions like volume and play / pause? Serious lack of thought for a pricey item. My last Sony ipod clock radio had a great remote & was almost half this price. Sad face. This is a really glaring omission.
Speaker quality is pretty "tinny" - I was under impressed with the sound coming from this unit. My last Sony iphone clock radio had great speakers and cost less than $100. So the trade off is I get a video player but my music quality drops a lot. Again, tho, clock radio - not meant to be a full sound system.
The iPhone / iPod dock could have been better made. It feels flimsy and I have to use both hands to dock the iphone. One to hold the entire unit steady and one to place the iphone in the cradle. The dock locks when you push it into the body of the unit but when you extend it, it does not lock into place and slides back & forth. I sense a potential point of failure here.
It seems you can't delete the internal "demo" photos or video. Sounds silly but I don't want to see "demo" pics on my slide show. I figured out that if you play the slideshow from a memory card it skips the internal pics. There are about 6 pics of "kids" and landscape that always repeat if you play the slideshow from the internal memory. Very annoying that if you play the slideshow from the internal memory you are stuck with "demo kid" and stock photo shots in your mix.
You have to go into the settings to switch to video playback for the iPhone, it would be nice if you could switch to video easier than that. Also, if you stop playing video or use another function on the clock, you have to go back to video settings and switch to ipod video again. I'd like a button on the unit to do that.
I can't figure out how to turn the clock off when watching a video from the ipod, it displays the time in the lower right corner. Would be nice to be able to clear the screen while watching a video.
It seems you can't enter 'nightmode" when listening to music or using the "sleep timer" function. The screen stays on the lowest regular setting which is quite bright in total darkness. I'll have to play with it more - maybe they can patch it. This is a pretty big issue, what's the point of a sleep timer if the thing is lighting up the entire room.
The unit has no audio in (fail) and no headphone jack. It could really use both of these but you can plug in your iphone headphone while watching video on the screen. Sony ICFCL75iP Speaker Dock with Alarm Clock, Radio, and 7-Inch LCD for iPod/iPhone (Black) - Sony - Clock Radio - Alarm Clock - Docking Stations'
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