The iPod accessory market is well represented by many devices from all important manufacturers. However, Apple is the only manufacturer who doesn't yet sell accessories for its devices. Instead, Apple prefers to sustain within its official web site (the Apple store) other manufacturers with their products being advertised as the best accessory solution for your iPod touch and iPhone. This couldn't be more wrong. The best accessory for an iPod should include the same logo as the product itself, in this case the Apple logo.
For the time being we just have to learn to deal with the current accessories available on the market, from other manufacturers such as Sony. In the clock and radio department Sony has recently included two new products, the Multi function Clock Radio for iPod with the unique model number, ICF CL 75 iP, and iPod plus iPhone Speaker Dock / Clock Radio, with its unique model number, ICF CS 10 iPBLK (reviewed in a later article). The first gadget sports a few key features including dock, a watch, and wake up alarm all wrapped into a multi function clock radio.
The first element you are going to notice about this device is the contemporary design. Basically, with this design the ICF CL 75 iP well easily integrate within every design your home might sport (living room, bedroom, and modern family room) or even at your office. The overall form factor is unknown, or maybe is better to say it merges several form factors creating a unique design. However, Sony decided in all fairness to cover this clock radio with glossy black plastic surrounding the display, black matte plastic on the back side and dock part, and a patterned black on the speaker zone.
A nice feature in this device's design is the sliding dock connector for your iPod and iPhone. Therefore, when your Apple gadget is not connected you can easily slide the dock inside the clock alarm; even better, for the design since it will look more unitary with the in slide dock.
The overall design is really nice. This clock alarm for iPod and iPhone not only looks great, but it is also solid build, providing an excellent user experience. Sony knows how to build their devices and accessories and their not afraid to show it. With a height of 148 mm (or 5 7/8 inches), wide of 205.6 mm (8 1/8 inches), deep of 119.5 mm (or 4 ¾ inches), the ICF CL 75 iP weights about 976 grams (or 2.4 oz ~ 2 lbs) including the power supply. Speaking about power supply, this device needs 120 Volts AC, 60 Hz.
Included in the retail box is an extra Lithium Ion battery, code CR 2032. If you were wondering the output power is of 1 Watt x 1 Watt. The front side of the ICF CL 75 iP sports the 7 inches LCD screens, on the left side of the screen the alarm A on and off button, on the right side of the screen the alarm B on and off button, while on the lower side you get the speaker. The rear side includes several elements, mainly connectivity elements, such as the upper centered battery holder, the memory card slot compatible with Memory Stick memory card, Memory Stick PRO Duo memory card, SD memory card, MMC card, the AM antenna terminals, the FM Wire antenna, the AC power cord, and the 2.0 USB connections.
The user interface is intuitive and doesn't need any manual checks in order to understand how it works. You get various functions within the menu, such as the music player, settings, video player, and others (including the iPod and iPhone mode, and the Fun Wake up mode). This device is compatible with any iPod or iPhone you might own, such as iPod touch 2nd generation, iPod nano 4th generation, iPhone 3G, iPod touch 1st generation, iPod nano 3rd generation, iPod classic, iPhone, iPod nano second generation, iPod 5th generation, iPod nano 1st generation, iPod 4th generation with or without the color display, and the iPod mini.
Anything older then these models needs to be replaced with either iPod touch 3rd generation or iPhone 3GS. Sony included within this alarm clock a 7 inches LCD display with a WVGA resolution also known as 800 x 480 pixels (the same resolution found on Sony digital photo frames). The brightness has four different "steps": Night mode (so it won't disturb your sleeping), Low mode (when you are not at home, and don't need the display to have a huge brightness), Middle level, and High level for anyone who wants or needs the ultimate brightness. In case you were wondering, this screen doesn't perform great under direct sunlight, just like the screens found on the digital photo frames that Sony has in its portfolio, either 7 inches or 9 inches.
The internal available memory is only of 1 GB, which means that only 902 MB are actually available for music, videos, and other data. However, remember that this is a compatible iPod and iPhone clock alarm. Therefore, you don't need a bigger memory, since you are going to play your playlists from your Apple device.
This clock alarm can render photos within the JPEG file format with a maximum resolution of 4.096 x 4.096 pixels. The ICF CL 75 iP can easily play MP3 audio files (with a varying bit rate from 32 to 192 Kb per second) and a sampling rate of 8 kHz to 48 kHz, while the WMA can include a varying bit rate from 32 Kb per second to 192 Kb per second, with a sampling rate from 8 kHz to 48 kHz. You get several available video compression formats, such as MPEG 1 and Motion JPEG, but the most used video format still remains the MPEG4 with both MP4 file format and AVI file format, with the advanced simple profile, a maximum bit rate of 4 Mb per second, 30 frames per second, and a maximum resolution of 720 x 576 pixels.
The audio compression format for the MPEG4 video compression format is the AAC LC with maximum 2 channels, and a various sampling rate including 24 kHz, 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz. The radio is set to maximum FM entries of 20, and a maximum AM entries of 10. The background display is fully customizable, completing the user experience.
Because the ICF CL 75 iP is a new product the excellent design and great features were mandatory. However, a certain great element will make this multi function clock radio for iPod and iPhone a best seller, the price. The ICF CL 75 iP ships within the retail box along with an AM loop antenna, universal dock adapter, operating instructions, Sony CR 2032 Lithium Ion battery, and warranty, for a 149.95 price tag. Therefore, you get an excellent iPod and iPhone accessory for an average price. Something tells me, this gadget will be a best seller within the Christmas holiday.
ipod accessories, on November 19, 2009
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