iLounge

At introductory $9.99 price

At regular $15.99 price

Company: SwitchEasy

Website: www.Switcheasy.com

Model: PivotDock

Price: $15.99

Compatible: iPod shuffle

SwitchEasy PivotDock for iPod shuffle

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Friday, August 26, 2005
Category: Adapters and Cables - Data, Docks - Data

Pros: A way to change the orientation of your iPod shuffle on a USB port, with a nice integrated light. Moves through 180 degrees of motion with ratcheting.

Cons: Very simple, and of questionable comparable value to dock competitors at a price point higher than its $10 introductory price. Because of width, won’t fit in a space the shuffle can’t already fit itself.

If it wasn’t for the fact that some people actually need alternate ways to mount their iPod shuffles on their computers, we’d be tempted to dismiss accessories like SwitchEasy’s PivotDock ($15.99, introductory price $9.99) out of hand. PivotDock is a white rotating L-joint of a USB adapter that lets you avoid having your iPod shuffle stick straight out when plugged into a computer.

A bright greenish-yellow light hidden on PivotDock’s front illuminates when it’s connected to a computer, which looks nice but serves little purpose other than to let you know it’s working. Once connected, the device lets you insert an iPod shuffle into its top and rotate it, ratcheting every 15 degrees through 180 total degrees of freedom. It looks and feels well-made, though it’s very simple, and its color is a tiny hint off of the shuffle’s bright white plastic.

That’s it. Like DLO’s earlier Flexible Dock for the iPod shuffle (iLounge rating: B), which is cooler-looking but more expensive, PivotDock doesn’t do much more than change the orientation of one of your USB ports. Your only chance of a connection problem will be if you have a USB port that’s too small for the shuffle - PivotDock is just as thick, unlike the Flexible Dock, which can fit into the narrowest of ports.

If you have a laptop or a computer with a need for port re-orientation, as in one of the scenarios depicted here, it’s worth considering; at $15.99 we’d sooner buy DLO’s product, but for $9.99, it’s a neat little toy we wouldn’t mind recommending.