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iHome Bike to Beach Speaker System for iPod (Black) | List Price: $99.99
Discount Price: $19.99
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Brand: iHome
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 90 days warranty
Features: - Listen to your iPod while biking or at home
- Tough water-resistant protective design with speaker cap
- Universal dock with inserts to fit all docking iPod models
- Reson8 speaker technology for full, rich sound
- Charges iPod when connected to included AC adaptor
Nice, but not fully compatible with iPod Nano 3G [Posted on 2008-08-19]
First the bad news:
The Amazon page for this speaker claims compatibility with "all docking iPods"; however, this claim is out of date. There are issues using the speaker with a 3G Nano. (As of this writing, the "better together" feature is recommending buying the speaker with a 3G Nano, so be aware of this issue!)
To physically carry different sized iPods, the iH85 ships with plastic inserts of various sizes. However, the Nano insert only works with the old (no-longer-available) Nano form factor. The Nano you can buy today (3G) is shorter and wider (presumably to accomodate the screen).
If you call them to discuss this issue, iHome will ship you a foam insert which you can use (in conjunction with the "thin iPod" insert that ships with the speaker) to house a 3G Nano. However, this is an imperfect solution. The iPod can still rock forward in the case, and I've found that in the course of my typical ride, the iPod gets knocked off the dock at least one or two times. Probably not good for the connector, and definitely a hassle to stop and fix each time.
This may be good enough if you just want to use the iH85 as a portable iPod speaker, or if you ride only on well-paved roads that don't cross railroad tracks, etc.
Beyond that, they offer no fix. I had some difficulty understanding what the support guy was saying, but I think he indicated that the iH85 is not really supported anymore (though it's still on their web site) as it hasn't, according to him, sold all that well. Per his advice, I will be attempting a DIY solution to better secure the iPod in the case.
The unfortunate thing is, the 3G Nano is the most logical iPod to use with the iH85 speaker. (The classic has moving parts and Apple recommends against using it on a bike or similar vibration-prone environment; the old Nano and the Mini are no longer available; the Shuffle has no docking connector, and according to iHome support, the Touch and iPhone are too large to fit in the speaker case.)
Now, that's a hassle; but other than that, it's a great system.
I had no difficulty mounting this on my road bike, or moving it back and forth between the road bike and my hybrid. It's easy to use though the remote is occasionally less responsive than I'd like. Battery life seems very good. No complaint at all about the audio -- it's perfectly clear to the rider, and apparently if you're riding close behind another bike they can hear it too :)
Review of iHome Bike to Beach Speaker [Posted on 2008-09-07]
Works Great, Nice sound , remote works well. This is the solution to my biking with music needs. I have tried many different arrangements but this fits into the area where the water bottle cage goes. Since we wear the hydration bags we don't need the bottle cages anyway. I have found that I use it even when I am not biking, as it doesn't take up much space, is easy to carry around and it has good sound.
Good but limited sound outdoors [Posted on 2008-10-03]
This is a good, well designed product that can resist rough treatment. The quality and volume of sound, considering its size, is excellent indoors, but outdoors, where it is supposed to be used, it gets inevitabily dispersed and is weaker than I expected.
Exceeded All Expectations [Posted on 2008-10-03]
Sound quality is pretty amazing, build is great. You would think this would be a little overkill in terms of cluttering your bicycycle but the form and function with the included remote control just works....
Love it! [Posted on 2008-10-15]
I bought this for my husband for his birthday and he LOVES it. His only compliant was the battery life was not very good. When he used it for the first time he went on a 5-6 hour bike ride and it went dead after about
3-4 hours. It has great sound and is very durable. We really like the remote feature.
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