Thursday, November 8, 2007

iPod Alarm Clock Features Explained

There are lots of iPod Alarm Clocks out there and you need to make sure that you get the right one for you. Here is a list of the different available features for iPod Alarm Clocks. As you read through this list think about which features are important to you or to the person that will be using the iPod alarm clock. When you are done you will educated when it comes time to selecting your iPod Alarm Clock

Alarm and Time Functionality: This is available in two styles built in alarm functions or uses the ipod alarm functions. Most iPod alarm clocks are have built in time and alarm feature meaning they can operate as an alarm clock on there own with out an iPod. The alternative models rely on the iPod's internal alarm to turn on. Technically this is an alarm but not very reliable or user friendly. If you are relying on an alarm clock to wake you up you do not want to have to remember to put the ipod in the dock. Most people are looking for stand alone alarm clocks with built in time and alarm functionality.

Battery Backup for the clock: How many times have you woken up late in the morning cause the power went out in the middle of the night? Many iPod Alarm Clocks have a battery backup capabilities. The alarm clock has a place for 2AA or small batteries that will power the clock and alarm function when the power goes out. They will not play your iPod for hours while the power is out but they will ensure that the time is not lost when the power comes back on. Now you can still wake up on time but blame being late on a power outage. Best of both worlds.

Dual Alarms: This feature is particularly nice if you have two people that both need alarms. Now both people can use the same alarm clock removing the need for an extra alarm clock. You will need to look close at the description of dual alarms for each iPod Alarm Clock. Some manufacturers have dual alarms but the first alarm is wake to buzzer / ipod and the second alarm is wake to radio. Other manufacturers allow each alarm to wake to buzzer / ipod / radio. Depending on your needs one may work better for you than the other. Most people are not aware of this discrepancy.


Remote Control: May seem like overkill but if you are in a dorm room or at a desk across from your Alarm clock it can be a very useful feature. This feature is also useful if you are using the dual alarms for two people. one person gets the alarm clock on their side of the bed and the other gets the remote control.

AM/FM radio: Most iPod Alarm clocks some with AM / FM radios. This is a great feature when you iPod is on the blink or if there is a particular radio show you like to listen to.

Dimmer control: The amount of light needed during the day is not the same amount of light needed at night. Some iPod alarm clocks allow you to adjust the amount of light emitted from the display. Some clocks will adjust the amount of light automatically. If you like to have a very dark room to sleep in this is needed feature to have. Many of the models give off quite a bit of light and can make it more difficult to sleep if they are not dimmed at night.


Sleep Timer. Like to listen to your ipod as you go to sleep? A sleep timer will turn off the ipod at a set amount of time. The timer is usually done in increments such as 120min, 90min, 60min, 30min, 15min.

Gradual Wake: The buzzer / iPod /radio starts out soft and then gets louder. This is a nice feature if you like a nice easy wake-up in the morning.

Travel Models: Will I be traveling with it? Some of the iPod Alarm clock models are small an portable for travel. These smaller models can be used full time at home and then taken with you when you travel. The choice is based on how much you travel. If you are a road warrior then go with the travel model.

Sound Quality: Not all speakers are built equally and iPod alarm clocks are not exception. If you are in a dorm room or will be using the alarm clock to listen to during the day I would look for one that has better sound. Only using the alarm clock to wake up to then sound is not as important.



http://www.ipodspeakerreviews.com/guides/ipod-alarm-clock-features-explained.html

Vers Hand Crafted Wood Sound Systems for iPod and iPhone

For iPod and iPhone users who want to listen to their play list without headphones, Vers sound systems stand out in an array of plastic choices that simply don’t do great music justice. The Vers line offers hand crafted, eco-friendly real wood sound systems with superior sound quality and a furniture grade finish, making them a great gift and natural fit into any home or office setting.

“Many musical instruments have been made of wood for centuries,” says Dave Laituri, partner and creative director. “Wood simply sounds better, more natural, than any other material out there.” Made with wood harvested from sustainable-managed plantation sources, Vers systems are hand built and finished, no two are alike. The heart of Vers is an energy efficient class D amplifier, coupled with 2-3” custom designed speakers that deliver 30 watts peak of full range sound, with particular attention paid to drawing out the bass and treble often lost in digital music formatting. The result: a fuller, more complete representation of your music. The elegant sound system stands 5.5” tall by 11” wide and 5.5 “deep. An advanced 14 function IR remote offers users more control, with an extended range of controls for menu and play-list navigation.

“True to our company’s commitment to making environmentally responsible products, the Vers line is more energy efficient and environmentally sound than any in its category, using power efficient components, plantation grown wood and 100 percent recycled packaging,” adds company partner Tim Trzepacz. The Vers system is also RoHs compliant, exceeding even the strictest standards for electronic products, standards developed to eliminate toxic materials and heavy metals from the waste stream.

Vers retails for $179 and will be available at various retail locations and online. Visit www.versaudio.com for a complete list of retailers including Target.com.




http://www.ipodspeakerreviews.com/press-releases/vers-hand-crafted-wood-sound-systems-for-ipod-and-iphone.html

Flying the Zepplin iPod Speakers

Bowers & Wilkins brings iPod owners a unique iPod speaker system which promises to deliver a rich sound and looks to make it the envy of other iPod accessories.

What makes a great iPod speaker system? Crisp audio? Sharp looks? If you said both and you are truly looking for a unique statement among the world of iPod accessories British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins has you pegged. Welcome the Zeppelin.

The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin looks like an amazingly well designed mini-blimp which happens to dock with your iPod. Its tapered shape is around two feet wide and finished in stainless steel. The Zeppelin serves as both an iPod docking station and one-piece amplified speaker system designed by an industrial designer in London.

Bowers & Wilkins seems to have a good reputation for putting out quality sounding gear and one has to imagine the Zeppelin is no exception to that rule. The company placed the midrange and tweeter drivers in the tapered ends of the iPod speaker system, spacing them in the curved areas so the sound is hopefully evenly distributed. You also get a five-inch subwoofer set in the Zeppelin’s center, supported by twin rear-firing ports.

Digital signal processing incorporated into three amplification channels helps to offer 50 watts of power for the woofer and 25 watts each for the two-way mid/high frequency section. Bowers & Wilkins incorporated design elements it feels will bolster the overall audio experience: aluminum-dome tweeters and tapered-tube tweeter loading technologies for better sound clarity, passive crossover circuits which use quality components for low sound reproduction and glass fiber midrange cones with resonance absorbing materials in positioned slots.

Bowers & Wilkins created for its Zeppelin iPod speaker system a small remote control with lets one manipulate volume as well as iPod features like play and track selection. A five-position bass equalizer is also part of the Zeppelin, along with S-video and composite-video outputs so one can view iPod video on a larger screen. This is in addition to an analog/digital mini-jack input to let one use another device besides the iPod with the Zeppelin.

Other well thought out touches on the Zeppelin include a dedicated tilt-base so the speaker system can be placed at the right angle for listening, flexible AC power standards ranging from 100-240V and a 30-pin docking station with spring-loaded design to cradle an iPod. This last feature is supplemented by a “floating arm” to let one put their hand around a docked iPod so it can be operated as if being held.


http://ipod.suite101.com/article.cfm/flying_the_zepplin_ipod_speakers

iPod’s Impact on Modern Culture

The iPod has taken over the digital world, and it is not about to go away any time soon.

The Apple iPod is no longer just a music playing device. It is know an icon of modern and popular culture. Instead of going out and buying a different brand of MP3 player, most people are purchasing one of the highly stylized iPods even though they have no apparent differences. This is due to the massive impact that they have had on every single person in the Western world. No other object has had just a large influence, and none other is even close to matching it.

Since their release in 2001, the iPod has quickly taken hold of the hearts and minds of all teenagers and even of the majority of the developed world. People realize that it is cool to own an iPod rather than another type of music device. The symbolic white head phones tell everyone around that you are trendy enough to own one. This is strange in itself because even though it lets people know how fashionable you are, it also blocks any social contact with nearby strangers.

Several cities around the world have banned their use when driving cars because of the danger of distraction, yet millions of people continue to ‘plug in.’ Although it is more common to see their use in teenagers ears, it is not rare for people of other ages to be seen listening alongside. Their mass appeal to so many different demographics is one of the reasons that people cannot live without their iPod.

Mainly because of Apple’s large reputation and their intensive advertising budget, the iPod became popular in a very short timeframe. The continual release of different types guaranteed that they would remain in front of peoples eyes, retaining their attention for as long as possible.

The evolution from the classic iPod has also taken place in a very short time frame. Everything from the shuffle, to the mini, and the latest video player varieties are now available, making sure that there is no other brand that can offer a feature that Apple has not already installed. Along with the free iTunes software that comes with every model, there is nothing that can be suggested displacing the iPod from its high selling place.

It is not very likely that another brand of media player will be able to take the iPod’s place any time in the near future. Their place as the number one MP3 and now video player is well cemented and well deserved.


http://ipod.suite101.com/article.cfm/ipods_impact_on_modern_culture