I have my phone set up to play Radio IO Chill because I like that station and they released their iPhone app recently. It was working a treat yesterday evening, go me. I had it plugged into the stereo which was handy enough but it doesn’t charge the thing so I started looking at possible docking stations, you know, that might charge the phone while it was draining the battery receiving wireless audio…:-)
Anyway I went and had a look at what was on offer in Airside today. Eventually it came down to iPig and iGhost. The salesman swore that iPig was better than iGhost. He may be right. But there’s something wrong when you’re being sold something on the basis of how loud it is. I wanted something that had reasonably decent sound quality. I mean I can make the laptop loud but it lacks…quality, if you don’t mind. The iPig, however, in my opinion, is a truly horrible looking piece of kit. I can’t buy into the cute thing with it. And it revealed a little problem which is that the iPhone tells you it can’t work effectively as a phone while plugged in as a radio and would I like to switch to aircraft mode. Well no, actually. I want to be able to hear when a call is coming in and going and getting the phone out of the docking station and saying hello to someone.
So, currently, docking is not looking so promising. Line-In which I have on one stereo is looking better for me than docking but then…battery drain.
Quandary. Confusion. I’ve bought stereos before. It used to be much easier you know; you went and bought the one that had the biggest graphic equaliser and most flashing lights. They looked a bit supersonic – certainly the stereo I bought in Brussels which my parents are currently loving – even had a fruit machine game on it – that looked good after a powercut. Now, they come as footballs and pigs and ghosts out of Pacman. And they don’t even have anything like a tone control, never mind something as useful as a graphic equaliser.
I’m getting old I guess.
I would take a look at the Gear4 players. They are a lot less cute, generally have a reputation and are a lot cheaper than some of that overpriced Bose stuff. I have a nice one for my iPod I got for about €50 a few years ago. The only problem with is that since Apple changed the connectors it won’t charge my iPod anymore. But that won’t be a problem with a new model.
oh man I think I want one of these: http://www.gear4.com/product_detail.php?products_id=602
The ipig has amazing quality sounds, even at high volume..I have 2 of them and I’m well impressed, especially considering I got them at a great price.
Also, you are incorrect about not being able to receive calls while in use..the phone will work 100% while docked and playing/streaming music to iPig. That message that comes up is only to let you know that if you do receive a call, or if someone near the iPig receives a call on their phone, you will hear be interference though the speakers..not really in issue.
In my experience Conor, the phone switched automatically to airplane mode. This means no inbound calls.