iLoungeiLounge
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn RSS
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms Of Use
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn RSS
    iLoungeiLounge
    • News
      • Apple
        • AirPlay
        • iCloud
        • iTunes
        • HealthKit
        • HomeKit
        • HomePod
        • iOS 13
        • Apple Pay
        • Apple TV
        • Siri
      • AirPods Pro
      • Apps
        • Apple Music
      • Rumors
      • Humor
      • Technology
        • CES
      • Articles
      • Web Stories
    • iPhone
      • iPhone Accessories
    • iPad
    • iPod
      • iPod Accessories
    • Apple Watch
      • Apple Watch Accessories
    • Mac
      • MacBook Air
      • MacBook Pro
    • Reviews
      • App Reviews
    • How-to
      • Ask iLounge
    • Daily Deals
    iLoungeiLounge

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    By Jeremy HorwitzMay 15, 2021 10:39 am UTC

    As fans of still photography, we’ve generally felt that photos sufficiently explain the appeal or lack thereof for the thousands of products we’ve reviewed; however, there are occasions when a video seems like a better way of demonstrating something. It took about one minute with Ozaki’s animated speaker system iMini Pet ($99) to render us speechless, all but demanding that a video be made to show off the product. You can see the iMini Pet video on YouTube here.

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    In short, iMini Pet is your own personal Chuck E. Cheese robot, a combination radio, iPod dock, and digital alarm clock that is one part creepy, one part cheap looking, and three parts oddly cool. You start by choosing iMini Pet from one of five versions—a bear, panda, frog, dog, or lion—and get what’s essentially an extended, fur-wrapped upgrade to Ozaki’s cube-shaped alarm clock iMini Cute. Whereas iMini Cute had an unobstructed alarm clock on its front and a simple plastic shell, iMini Pet adds a pedestal for the animatronic animal in the back, and then the animal itself, which plugs into the pedestal. Depending on the color of the animal, the clock and the pedestal will be covered in different colored furs; the frog version (“Charles”) has a matching green pedestal and a light beige clock covering.

     

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    To start with the oddly cool part of iMini Pet, as the video shows, you can plug in your iPod, turn on a song, and watch as the character’s head moves around, its mouth powered by a rhythm decoding chip to try and figure out what’s beat, what’s accompaniment, and what’s voice. It’s not always successful, particularly with songs that are light on vocals, but with vocal tracks, it actually does a fair to good job—roughly on par with the old Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band, only operating dynamically from your iPod’s music rather than to pre-programmed motion data. It gets funnier to watch as the songs become more ludicrous, though kids will just enjoy seeing anything get “sung” to.

     

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    An added, unexpected feature comes from the presence of a microphone in iMini Pet’s neck: it can respond with similar motions when you speak or make other sounds, seeming to “talk” back to you even when music’s not playing. Though it doesn’t look very good, an oversized power icon on the animal’s arm lets you switch between speaker responses, speaker and microphone responses, and off.

     

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    This is unfortunately the clearest of the unit’s buttons; Ozaki has included clock, timer, and even FM radio features in the unit, many controlled via an included Infrared remote control, but figuring out how to do anything from changing radio stations to using the alarm is unfortunately way more complicated than should be the case. Fur aside, we figured out the secret button-holding combinations after a bunch of screwing around, and the radio tuner both worked with the animated animal and sounded fine, but it all took too much work; certainly too much for kids.

     

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    The creepy and cheap-looking parts of iMini Pet are both related to the less than beautiful designs of the fur and the character. Charles the Frog arrived with a somewhat cockeyed glance, a crazy little neckerchief, and feet that were more oddly curled upwards than the company’s promotional pictures. We haven’t seen the other animals in person, but if they’re anything like this one, a little extra work in adding cuteness and body wires could have made the difference between looking fine or really good. The furry clock and pedestal covering appears to be there to mask the manner in which the components have been assembled, and doesn’t look great around the front clock, in particular; a little more attention to tailoring and detail would have made the unit better. It’s also worth noting one thing that iMini Pet doesn’t do, contrary to its marketing as “the 1st dancing speaker for iPod in the world:” it doesn’t “dance.” We’ve actually seen and reviewed dancing speakers before—ones with moving legs—and this one’s limbs don’t move at all. It’s basically just a bobbing head and neck with a moving mouth.

     

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    On a final note, we’d describe iMini Pet’s audio quality as fine for the target audience, but not great on an absolute scale. Hidden behind the fur, the system’s stereo speakers put out enough sound to let kids enjoy whatever music they might be playing through the system, but not enough to shatter eardrums—thankfully—yet they also reverse the stereo channels. This won’t bother most of the target audience, but if you’re listening to songs that call out “left” or “right,” you can expect to hear them backwards.

     

    Review: Ozaki iMini Pet

    Overall, iMini Pet is an interesting little speaker accessory: it’s obvious that Ozaki has the basis for something fun and great here, particularly at the price point, but also that the company’s execution in the character’s design and motion mightn’t live up to the expectations people would have from its advertisements. What’s here is a fine toy with some positive characteristics, but some added polish—particularly in the clock and radio interface—could make a sequel a better buy.

    Our Rating

    B-
    Limited Recommendation

    Company and Price

    Company: Ozaki

    Website: www.Ozaki.us

    Model: iMini Pet

    Price: $99

    Compatible: iPod 4G, 5G, classic, nano, shuffle 2G, touch

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Jeremy Horwitz
    Jeremy Horwitz
    • Twitter

    Jeremy Horwitz was the Editor-in-Chief at iLounge. He has written over 5,000 articles and reviews for the website and is one of the most respected members of the Apple media. Horwitz has been following Apple since the release of the original iPod in 2001. He was one of the first reviewers to receive a pre-release unit of the device, and his review helped put iLounge on the map as a go-to source for Apple news.

    Latest News
    The Apple Watch SE 2 Just Got Even More Affordable
    Apple updates App Store Review Guideline
    iOS 17 developer beta released early
    Apple adds a free tier for its developer program
    Get the Wrist-Friendly Logitech MX Vertical Ergonomic Mouse at $29 Off
    iPhone X and iPhone 8 won’t have iOS 17 support
    New 15-inch MacBook Air with M2 chip launches
    Apple reveals Apple Vision Pro headset
    Table of Contents
    • Our Rating
    • Company and Price

    iLounge logo

    iLounge is an independent resource for all things iPod, iPhone, iPad, and beyond. iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc.

    Contact Us: [email protected]

    Tel: +1302-208-9669

    iLounge, 2810 North Church Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19802, United States.

    • Contact Us
    • Submit News
    • About Us
    • Forums
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms Of Use
    This website is not affiliated with Apple Inc.
    iLounge © 2001 - 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.