iJet with Bottom Dock
Company: ABT
Price: $39.95
www.abtech2.com
I like taking my iPod with me on long trips in my car. My car has a mini-jack for my iPod which is located inside the elbow rest console of the car. It is very inconvenient to have to open the console to skip a track on my iPod, to control the volume, or pause it (for some reason). This is where an iPod wireless remote comes in handy, and the iJet with Bottom Dock is one worth considering.
The iJet with Bottom Dock is designed to fit the 5g iPods, but it will work with any iPod with a dock connector. It is available in black or white. I tried it with my 5g 30gb iPod and it fit great. The unit connects to the bottom of the iPod and is flush with the front. The back has a little overhang, to provide room for the 60gb to have a nice fit.
Set up is a piece of cake. You take it out of the box, connect the receiver to the bottom of the iPod, and you are good to go.
Like the iJet for Nano FM (previously reviewed) the receiver unit has a dock connection on the bottom. Here you can connect other accessories, or cables for charging and syncing. It even fits nicely into the dock of my JBL Onstage. This is one of the great features of the iJet remotes, and makes them stand above the competition.
Unfortunately, like with many iPod accessories, you can forget about using the iJet with Bottom Dock with a case. The receiver is snug with the bottom of the iPod, and there is no room for any case to fit between the two. For me this works fine. The times that I would use the remote are times when I would be setting the iPod down by a speaker or TV for playing in my house. I would not be using it while biking or doing some other outdoor activity that would require the use of a rcase.
As a wireless remote, the iJet with Bottom Dock works great. It has a range of 150 feet, and I was able to use it throughout the three floors of my house without any problems. The buttons themselves have all the basic controls of the iPod. There is play, pause, forward, backward, etc. On average, response time was good. I did find myself having to push the buttons to control the iPod, on occasion.
The remote is about 1†wide, and 2†long, and 1/4†thick, and is light as a feather. It comes with a belt clip unit, with two different types of belt clips. The buttons are inlayed below a lip. This is nice because it prevents accidental pressing of any buttons, but people with larger fingers might have some difficulty pressing the buttons.
One of the nice features for those of us with the 5g iPods is that the remote controls video playback, also. This is great for watching video while connected to the television with Apple’s video out cables. I can now skip through commercials on certain video podcasts, or just skip a segment I’m not interested in without have to get up and control the video through the iPod. The remote will not control audio when playing video, but I found this to be fine. While playing video through the television you are supposed to turn the volume of the iPod all the way up anyway, and control the volume through the television remote.
For power, the iJet receiver uses the battery of the iPod. I did not notice any considerable drain or reduction of battery life while using the iPod and remote together. However, if I left the iPod connected to the receiver when I wasn’t using it, the battery drained incredibly fast. I can normally go more than a week without charging my iPod. With the receiver attached during “down†time, the iPod was completely dead in about two to three days.
The remote unit itself has a replaceable Lithium-Ion battery, which is supposed to last 5-7 years. I guess that depends on how often you use the remote.
As if all of these great features weren’t enough, the iJet with Bottom Dock comes with an RCA audio cable which connects to the iPod through the headphone jack.
Despite some minor issues, the iJet with Bottom Dock is a great wireless remote for the iPod. The price is similar to other wireless iPod remotes, and the convenience of the dock connector on the bottom of the unit makes it win my vote.
Pros:
Works great as a wireless remote with a range of 150 feet.
Controls video on the 5g iPods, as well as audio.
I love the dock connector on the bottom of the receiver.
Comes with two belt clips and an RCA audio cable.
Works with all iPods with a dock connector.
Cons:
Inlayed keys make it difficult for people with larger fingers to push the buttons.
Needs to be a little more sensitive, even thought it still works great.
Receiver drains the iPod battery if connected when iPod is not in use.
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