Sony iPod Clock Dock

2015-05-22T20:00:00

Excellent sound and reception, small footprint and Sony quality. Once you figure it out, it's set it and forget it! Love that you can program for weekdays and weekend separately.

wineguy

Originally posted at

2015-02-10T19:00:00

Despite not being able to switch off DST, following the instructions in the user guide, I was initially happy with this product. However, after a recent iPhone OS update, it will no longer charge my phone beyond 63%

NotlikeSony

Originally posted at

2014-12-03T19:00:00

Works great love that it is very simple to use

Tl94

Originally posted at

2014-11-05T19:00:00

I'm torn about how to evaluate this product. I had a chance to take it back to Future Shop during the return period but I elected to keep it, so it's not bad. But it doesn't leave me as thrilled as a Sony product should/used to. This clock radio/speaker dock has a lot going for it. I like that it has both an AM and FM receiver, as I like to wake to news radio in the morning. It is surprisingly hard to find an iPhone/iPod speaker doc with an AM radio. I like that the display has settings for off/low/med/high. Bright displays really bother me when I'm trying to sleep and the low setting on this one is nice and dim! (But the high setting is still bright enough to be seen during the day.# Finally, a clock display that’s not so bright that it filters through my closed eyelids if I am facing it with my eyes closed! I also like that this unit fits and charges my iPhone 6, even though it was not really designed with anything beyond the iPhone 5 in mind. The way the dock operates is kind of ingenious and accommodates a variety of widths and thicknesses without feeling sloppy. Some docks either feel like your device or the connector is going to break, and/or they have cumbersome manual thickness adjustments. This one auto-adjusts and grips just right, and has plenty of support behind the iPhone/iPod. As another reviewer noted #on the US site#, it can be a bit tight to pull your iPhone from the dock, so you have to use both hands, but I prefer this to a sloppy connection. I do not particularly like that that there is no way to specify whether or not I want to charge my phone when it is connected, but every dock has this problem. I just don’t like leaving my phone on a charger all night every night. I prefer to charge it up just the amount I want in the morning while I get ready. This is better for the life of the battery. I am nerdy that way. #Ideally Apple would battery charge level options in its iOS settings, similar to the battery controls I enjoy on my Lenovo laptop, but that would probably be too complicated to fit within Apple’s carefully curated user experience. And probably unnecessary, as people aren’t leaving their iPhones on chargers for days at a time they way laptop users do. Though I could see doing so with an old iPod. But I digress.# The real problem is with the app and the interaction between the iPhone and the Sony unit. The app that you download #free on the iTunes App Store# is called “D-Sappli” #!?#. It has not been updated since March, 2013, and it is pretty bad. I do like that it makes it super easy to set the time and alarms on the clock, and this works even with my iPhone 6 and iOS 8. However, the features that supposedly allow you to wake up to a specific song or playlist on your iPhone or iPod do not work properly. When the phone wakes at the appointed time it plays whatever was playing last, not the song#s# you had selected. The app has also not been updated to match iOS 7/iOS 8 UI standards, and it has some bad error messages that were clearly coded by someone for whom English is not a first language. When I entered a support request to ask about the status of the app and the problem with the wake-to-music feature, I got an auto-responder promising a response within 24 hours. Instead I got a response an entire month later, and it was a hilariously bad response. They told me that there is no update to the app available #I had told them that in my request!#, but that I should consider resetting the device. They included a link to instructions to reset a cordless phone handset! So I don’t hold out any hope that it will get any better. It is what it is. A couple of other nits: The volume buttons are hard to find and operate at all times, but especially when groping in the dark. I am slowing getting used to it though. Also, the unit is so light and the feet not particularly grippy, that pressing the buttons on the side tends to make the unit slide sideways on my nightstand. Finally, Sony uses the same button for the snooze bar and the brightness adjustment, so in the morning while the radio alarm is playing, if you press the button to turn up the display brightness, you end up snoozing the alarm instead. I have to either cancel the alarm and then turn the radio back on manually #then set the sleep timer so it turns itself off later#, or live with the display being unreadable as soon as I turn on the lights in the room. On the whole, this is a nice compact unit that takes very little space on my nightstand, is nice and dim at night, provides great alarm options #A/B, weekdays/weekends, buzzer, radio, etc.), including my preferred AM radio station, and is easy to set up by connecting an iPhone or iPod with the D-Sappli app, so I keep it despite the fact that the wake to music feature does not work properly and the app is bad and appears to have been orphaned by its developers. But a potential buyer for whom the wake-to-music feature is important should be forewarned.

NerdyCanuck

Originally posted at

2014-11-05T19:00:00

I'm torn about how to evaluate this product. I had a chance to take it back to Future Shop during the return period but I elected to keep it, so it's not bad. But it doesn't leave me as thrilled as a Sony product should/used to. This clock radio/speaker dock has a lot going for it. I like that it has both an AM and FM receiver, as I like to wake to news radio in the morning. It is surprisingly hard to find an iPhone/iPod speaker doc with an AM radio. I like that the display has settings for off/low/med/high. Bright displays really bother me when I'm trying to sleep and the low setting on this one is nice and dim! (But the high setting is still bright enough to be seen during the day.# Finally, a clock display that’s not so bright that it filters through my closed eyelids if I am facing it with my eyes closed! I also like that this unit fits and charges my iPhone 6, even though it was not really designed with anything beyond the iPhone 5 in mind. The way the dock operates is kind of ingenious and accommodates a variety of widths and thicknesses without feeling sloppy. Some docks either feel like your device or the connector is going to break, and/or they have cumbersome manual thickness adjustments. This one auto-adjusts and grips just right, and has plenty of support behind the iPhone/iPod. As another reviewer noted #on the US site#, it can be a bit tight to pull your iPhone from the dock, so you have to use both hands, but I prefer this to a sloppy connection. I do not particularly like that that there is no way to specify whether or not I want to charge my phone when it is connected, but every dock has this problem. I just don’t like leaving my phone on a charger all night every night. I prefer to charge it up just the amount I want in the morning while I get ready. This is better for the life of the battery. I am nerdy that way. #Ideally Apple would battery charge level options in its iOS settings, similar to the battery controls I enjoy on my Lenovo laptop, but that would probably be too complicated to fit within Apple’s carefully curated user experience. And probably unnecessary, as people aren’t leaving their iPhones on chargers for days at a time they way laptop users do. Though I could see doing so with an old iPod. But I digress.# The real problem is with the app and the interaction between the iPhone and the Sony unit. The app that you download #free on the iTunes App Store# is called “D-Sappli” #!?#. It has not been updated since March, 2013, and it is pretty bad. I do like that it makes it super easy to set the time and alarms on the clock, and this works even with my iPhone 6 and iOS 8. However, the features that supposedly allow you to wake up to a specific song or playlist on your iPhone or iPod do not work properly. When the phone wakes at the appointed time it plays whatever was playing last, not the song#s# you had selected. The app has also not been updated to match iOS 7/iOS 8 UI standards, and it has some bad error messages that were clearly coded by someone for whom English is not a first language. When I entered a support request to ask about the status of the app and the problem with the wake-to-music feature, I got an auto-responder promising a response within 24 hours. Instead I got a response an entire month later, and it was a hilariously bad response. They told me that there is no update to the app available #I had told them that in my request!#, but that I should consider resetting the device. They included a link to instructions to reset a cordless phone handset! So I don’t hold out any hope that it will get any better. It is what it is. A couple of other nits: The volume buttons are hard to find and operate at all times, but especially when groping in the dark. I am slowing getting used to it though. Also, the unit is so light and the feet not particularly grippy, that pressing the buttons on the side tends to make the unit slide sideways on my nightstand. Finally, Sony uses the same button for the snooze bar and the brightness adjustment, so in the morning while the radio alarm is playing, if you press the button to turn up the display brightness, you end up snoozing the alarm instead. I have to either cancel the alarm and then turn the radio back on manually #then set the sleep timer so it turns itself off later#, or live with the display being unreadable as soon as I turn on the lights in the room. On the whole, this is a nice compact unit that takes very little space on my nightstand, is nice and dim at night, provides great alarm options #A/B, weekdays/weekends, buzzer, radio, etc.), including my preferred AM radio station, and is easy to set up by connecting an iPhone or iPod with the D-Sappli app, so I keep it despite the fact that the wake to music feature does not work properly and the app is bad and appears to have been orphaned by its developers. But a potential buyer for whom the wake-to-music feature is important should be forewarned.

chcn

Originally posted at

2014-10-07T20:00:00

Worked great initially. After 8 months it will not charge iPod 5 or play music. Saw other reviews saying this happened once iOS 7 came out, but this iPod has been on this iOS for months and just stopped working today. Can't believe a Sony product would quit working this quickly! Very disappointed.

Sublettm

Originally posted at

2014-08-10T20:00:00

I have been a satisfied SONY customer for decades until now. After I upgraded my iOS for my iPhone 5, it stopped charging and drained my battery. I am extremely disappointed with SONY and will reconsider the reputation I deemed for this company. Was I a lab rat for this product? I no longer find this dock useful, and I highly do not recommend any interested buyers to purchase this product. You will be let down by SONY when Apple upgrades their iOS.

LOYALCUSTOMER2

Originally posted at

2014-07-23T20:00:00

Excellent sound and features. The free D-Sappli app makes it easy to set time and alarms. This is a bedside must for iPhone and iPod users.

DigitalMann

Originally posted at

2014-06-28T20:00:00

I cannot get this clock bright enough to see during the day. Sound is good but would not buy again due to the brightness issue.

CAnote

Originally posted at

2014-05-16T20:00:00

I bought 2 of them, the recent no problem. The oldest does not charge the battery of my Iphone5S and Iphone5C. Disapoint me

Luiz

Originally posted at

2014-05-10T20:00:00

Worked fine initially but after the IOS 7.1.1 software update on my iPhone 5, the phone can no longer play music through the clock radio while docked. Frustrating!

tpcsw

Originally posted at

2013-12-06T19:00:00

It beeps every hour on the hour and I can't figure out how to turn it off.

brettste

Originally posted at

2013-10-21T20:00:00

It is OK, but you can not dock the iPod 5G and connect it to the audio in of the unit. There is no clearance for the audio cable.

Sony2

Originally posted at

2013-09-17T20:00:00

An excellent radio and docking system. Good sound quality and easy to use. And! I like the size and the looks of it. The fact that you can change the brightness of the display is a really nice added feature. The remote is easy to use as well. There are a few minor things that I would change. The docking pins hold my i-pod extra tight; and it can be a bit difficult to get off. As an older person, I could use a bit more volume on the sound for some things. And strange... I can not get Alarm "A" to sound with the buzzer, but have no problem getting Alarm "B" to alarm in any mode that I want it to alarm in. While this was not a "bargain priced" item, I'm quite all-done with the bargain system. I've now replaced every bargain item with a Sony product.

HappyHiker

Originally posted at

2013-06-10T20:00:00

I thought this would be perfect but for some reason the clock keeps breaking and not displaying time. It comes back then dies again, I will be returning this item to future shop

badapple

Originally posted at