Under-cabinet radio with iPod dock: Hamilton Beach

Hamilton Beach UTC (HU384SA) is a good example of how unexpected a relatively simple device can turn out to be in terms of its features. I am used to the iPod dock that came with my Philips home theater, so I thought that something that is actually built with a dedicated iPod dock would have similar functions. Not so fast. Turns out, you cannot navigate the iPod from this under-cabinet device. No way, no how. You probably have guessed that is does not have a remote. Wrong. It does! But this remote bizarrely focuses on a rather obscure feature of the device: the kitchen timers. More intriguingly, because HU384SA has two such timers, they both have stop and start buttons on the remote. There are also volume buttons. And that's it. You cannot even skip tracks using this remote!

What this should teach everybody is that you should always make sure that the product you are buying supports the features you want even if the features seem entirely indispensable.

However, if these shorcomings are not scaring you, at $50-60 this is not a bad buy. Contrary to some other under-cabinet radios on the market this system actually charges the iPod, not just uses an audio connector to play music while draining a battery (especially a big problem for iPhones). You may also want to look at SDI iHome IH36W Clock Radio.

By the way, Pandora worked exceptionally well when I tested my iPhone 3Gs with this unit. Over EDGE!

Chinon AVi - iPod Docking System with LCD (review + manual)

Chinon AVi packs a lot at a very attractive price of $199. It's an iPod dock, an alarm, an FM radio and a 7 inch Digital TV. In my opinion, a perfect thing for the kitchen. Or is it?

Now, keep in mind that recently Apple made it impossible to use third-party cables to connect iPods to television sets. You would have to pay $40 just for a set of composite or component cables at an Apple store. Apple-made cables have a special chip that's required by the newest Apple devices. My biggest concern is that this docks not able to overcome this hurdle. A fast scrolling animation of supported iPods on the manufacturer's site includes a 2009 120gb model, but not the 7g 160gb iPod. The iPod Support table does not make a distinction between various kinds of iPod Classic, but adds this: "please note that some iPod models may only support viewing of photos or slideshows on the iPod display and do not support the TV-out function". I must clarify that the 2009 160gb iPod (7th generation) does have a TV-out feature, but you may have to use an Apple cable, as I mentioned above. What this boils down to is that you may end up getting those $40 cables at the Apple store after all! Luckily, this device has video in, but at this rate you can be getting any LCD TV you like, not just the Chinon dock.

The manufacturer does not make it clear if the dock supports iPhones, but this is probably due to some intricate details of Apple licensing of the "Made for iPod" logo.

Another big issue is that the digital tuner in this dock only supports ATSC, not QAM. You will not be able to plug it directly into the cable outlet. Only off-the-air signals can be received. Unless, of course, you have a cable box, but then again, why not use a regular TV?

The bottom line is that you are probably better of with a regular decent audio system that has an iPod dock. The audio out feature works very well for all kinds of iPod devices. And get a small TV if you need one for the kitchen or wherever. You can always connect your supported iPod to it using cables, even you have to buy them directly from Apple. This Chinon AVi dock is more of a novelty item, only useful for brief outdoor use.


Chinon AVi Manual

See also:

Under-cabinet radio with iPod dock: Hamilton Beach

Best place to shop for an iPhone case.

Best place to buy a case for an iPhone?

It does not matter how much you spent (and were willing to spend) on an iPhone. You still should not overpay for iPhone accessories. The best place to look at a wide assortment of cases is your local Apple store, but everything there is extremely overpriced. You may find what you like and then hit the web in order to find a better deal. But instead you can head to a discount store. I found a great selection of iPhone cases at FiveBelow. As the name indicates, no item at this store costs more than $5. Because iPhones are hugely popular (I believe about 10% of all cellphone market) there are heavy volumes of related merchandise. Sometimes cases are marked as if they only fit iPhone 3G, but 3Gs is no different! FiveBelow has iPhone cases in many colors and designs. And they also have screen protectors. If you know of a discount store other than FiveBelow, it may be worth checking out as well.