iPod Classic white screen

A few weeks ago I turned on my iPod Classic 160gb and all I saw was a white screen. This is a common problem, I believe. The usual solutions are resetting the device and restoring it to factory settings. Neither one worked. Curiously, the iPod still played music. Someone suggested that running down the battery could fix the problem. Well, that's not so easy. Even after the device no longer had the juice to play anything, it remained responsive. Finally, I made appointment at the Genius Bar. After looking at my iPod and determining that there was no water damage, they told me that they will replace it. In a couple of days they called and said that the replacement has arrived. The key thing here was making sure that you have registered your iPod with the correct purchase date. This indicated when the warranty started. Interesting, nobody ever checked if I had a receit from Costco where the device was purchased.

Philips DCM109/37 Cube Micro Music System Dock for iPod/iPhone

Just bought a Philips Cube DCM109/37, primarily to use with iPods and iPhones. I am no audiophile, but to my taste the sound coming out of these speakers is very satisfactory. Bass, high frequencies, clarity, volume - I am actually quite impressed. The iPod dock is a little bit strange. Instead of a bunch of inserts to match every model of iPods and iPhones ever made, this model has a little plastic piece that pushes on the iPod from behind as it sits on the cradle, keeping it in place. I'd say that it probably pushes too hard, so some unites may get scratched. I think I will end up using the auxiliary input most of the time, and only put my devices on the cradle when they are being used for a long time. In general, it seems like the iPod capability was very much an afterthought - the iPod component is slapped onto the back of the main unit. Not the best visual design in the world, but I will live with it. Philips Cube has a clock display, but the size of the digits is very small, so it is hardly useful as an clock (a very popular application of many iPod docking systems). The round LED display remains softly lit even when the unit is not on, so it may not be the best solution for the bedroom.

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!

iPhone vs. iPod

It happened so that I had to upgrade a great deal of my electronics all at the same time -- needed a better phone service, my laptop nearly broke and my iPod's hard drive became too small to handle my file collection. After much going back and fourth I decided that there is simply no way for me not to have both a 160 gb iPod and an iPhone. Here are the reasons:

• Of course, the capacity. I envision having to constantly review the files on the iPhone in order to save space and be able to download something new.
• Battery concerns. iPod batteries last a long time and I suppose they have somewhat improved with years. However, my use of the iPod is very heavy every single day. My old one had to run on red quite often. Now, add to this running a phone service, WiFi and some apps. I do not want to end up without a phone all of a sudden because I listened to my iPod too much!
• With 160 gb I can count on having a very spacious external drive to transfer files. Without that I would have to buy another device anyway. Why not make iPod that extra device? I can enjoy it while carrying to files from place to place.
• Using two devices means that the load will be divided between them. Perhaps, breaking down will not be so likely?
  

Philips HTS3544 home theater and the iPod dock

Here is one feature that may seem insignificant to someone, but for me, as an avid iPod user, it is quite important. Whenever I plug in my iPod to the computer with a USB cord (to charge, to update or to simply play the content) the iPod "forgets" the exact place where it was before the connection had been established. This is quite a nuisance, because I often listen to audio books and long podcasts, so it is difficult to find the exact location in the mp3 file. Now, when I put my iPod on the cradle of my Philips HTS3544 home theater not only it resumes playback from the exact place where I paused it, it retains the location after it's disconnected. It seems that the implementation of hardware connections is different in my home theater system. This might be something to consider when you are buying a home theater.

See also:
Home media room design