iLounge

Company: Photo Control Corporation

Website: www.BookEndzDocks.com

Model: iPodDock

Price: $44.95

Compatible: iPod 1G, 2G

BookEndz iPodDock

By Tom Tracy

Contributing Editor
Published: Thursday, January 23, 2003
Category: Stands

Pros: The iPodDock is well constructed. The stand portion is spacious, with plenty of room for an iPod inside of a case.

Cons: The upside down orientation of the iPod while docked makes the iPod’s screen more difficult to read and the controls harder to use.

The iPodDock iPod stand is a dual purpose iPod stand and iPod dock. Available from BookEndz with a new version for newer model iPods (with the FireWire port covers), this stand is attractive and appears to be well-built.

The Stand

The iPodDock is made from white plastic with a low gloss finish. It is shaped like a half dome with the back fifth cut off to form a flat back. It measures approximately 4 3/8” wide by 3 1/2” deep by 2 1/2” high. It has five black rubber feet on the bottom.

On the front of the iPodDock is a recessed cutout for holding the iPod upright. The iPod is angled slightly back for optimal screen viewing while in the stand. The stand cutout is wider and deeper than the iPod itself by slightly over 1/8” on all sides, providing plenty of room for an iPod in a case (my original model 10 GB iPod in its Marware C.E.O. Classic case fits easily, but only with the front flap flipped up or removed). There is a semicircle “lip” at the bottom front of the cutout to prevent the iPod from slipping out of the stand.

The Dock

The dock portion of the iPodDock stand is located behind the stand cutout. A smaller, less deep cutout in the dome accepts an upside down iPod, holding it straight up and down - not at an angle. The dock cutout has plugs in the bottom that fit up into the iPod’s headphone jack and FireWire port.

This dock is just big enough for the iPod itself without a case. The headphone & FireWire plugs line up well with their respective ports on the top of iPod. The dock cutout is thoughtfully lower in the front than in the back, providing full viewing of iPod’s upside down screen. While docked in the iPodDock, the bottom of the iPod is 5 3/4” high, but the combination is surprisingly stable due to iPodDock’s wide base and two “feet” on the back of the stand.

On the flat back of the stand, at the lower right, are FireWire and 1/8” mini headphone jacks that are connected internally to the plugs in the dock. These “hidden” jacks allow the iPod to be docked upside down into the dock potion of the stand, while keeping connected FireWire and headphone (or headphone jack to stereo RCA plugs) cables out of sight and out of the way.

Conclusion

The iPodDock is well designed and well built. However, due to the iPod’s design with its FireWire port and headphone ports on top of the unit, the only way to take advantage of the iPodDock’s dock and cable hiding features is by viewing (and controlling) the iPod upside down. This makes the iPodDock a bit impractical as a dock in my opinion.

Otherwise, you can place the iPod right side up on the front stand portion of the iPodDock, but then the FireWire and headphone cables have to be connected directly to the iPod and are in the way, sticking out of the top of iPod.