Review: I-Dog
Posted by Helper Monkey
It is well known amongst my friends and family that I am a complete and total geek, as well as a Mac lover to boot. When occasions like birthdays and Christmases come around, invariably someone tries to surprise me with the “coolest�? tech gadget they can find, preferably Mac-related. This is no easy feat since I waste almost every spare moment of my life online reading about the latest gadgets and looking for things to review.
This year a friend surprised me with an I-Dog, by Hasbro. “Surprised�? not in the sense that I had never seen this thing (it has been out for quite a few months now) but surprised in the sense of “Oh, you got me an…I-Dog.�?
Writing a review of the I-Dog is a little tricky. On the one hand, it does what it is supposed to do. On the other, there is no reason for it to do what it is supposed to do. So I will write this review with two readers in mind: the first, someone who has seen the I-Dog before and is contemplating purchasing it, and the second, someone who has seen the I-Dog before and can’t understand why anyone would want to purchase it.
If you think you want the I-Dog…
If you think you want the I-Dog, then you probably do. The main selling point of the I-Dog seems to be that it is cute and lights up, and to that end the I-Dog succeeds. It IS cute. My kids love him. And the lights do indeed light up. Bright little circles of joy flash to the music in shades of blue, green, orange red, yellow, and purple. I-Dog will occasionally wag his head from side to side and his ears will occasionally move up and down as well. This, combined with the light show, is what gives I-Dog his “personality�?.
The I-Dog is also somewhat of a “virtual pet�?, sort of like the Tamagotchis of old. You “feed�? I-Dog with music by plugging him into any audio source (although the iPod is clearly the intended source) or you can also place I-Dog near a speaker, and he can listen and react to music that way. I-Dog also likes to be played with, and you can keep him from becoming bored and lonely by petting his head and nose. If you push his nose button twice you can check on his mood, and see how you are doing as a parent. I-Dog will display a light pattern which tells you his mood. Ignore I-Dog for too long and he begins to whine and make other plaintive doggy-like sounds.
But aside from serving as a pet, I-Dog is supposedly first and foremost meant to dazzle us with a sound and light extravaganza. Here is where I-Dog falls a bit short. Firstly, the underpowered mono speaker in I-Dog’s back doesn’t exactly rock the house. There is no volume control, so you need to control that with your iPod. At the iPod’s highest volume the sound is a bit distorted, but certainly loud enough to hear in normal sized room. At any setting the sound is quite tinny, but I found he sounded best at about 70%. The problem with this is that when I-Dog begins to waggle his head, the motor mechanisms are quite loud, and can easily be heard over the music.
To be fair, I-Dog is not intended for your serious audiophiles. He is a passable portable speaker, and definitely meant more as an attention getter. I brought I-Dog to the office today, and scarcely anyone was able to walk by without commenting how cool he was or how cute he was. His light show, while not breathtaking, certainly livens up a dull working environment, and I-Dog is actually well suited to cubicle life as you can mute him and connect your headphones to the splitter cable he ships with. I-Dog will continue to rock out silently (well, except for his churning gears) and provide you with a light show while you listen via your headset.
All in all, I think the average person who has seen I-Dog in action or on TV and thought it was worthy of buying will get what they expect from their purchase. However, there are a few other things to be aware of with I-Dog, and for that I will now focus on why some people will not want to buy the I-Dog any time soon.
If you think you don’t want the I-Dog…
If you think you don’t want the I-Dog then you are probably don’t. First off, I-Dog is completely battery powered. It might have been nice to have him be USB powered, or have an optional AC adapter or something. 2 regular AA alkaline batteries lasted over 16 hours of playtime. This isn’t horrible compared to other portable speakers I’ve tested (although just about all of them sounded better than I-Dog) but changing I-Dog’s batteries suddenly “feels�? much more frequent because of what’s involved. Instead of a regular battery compartment accessed via a tab, in order to change I-Dog’s batteries you need to have a small screwdriver with you to remove his back right leg, which is where the AA’s go. This is actually quite annoying, and while I can understand in children’s toys when companies use this tactic to keep children from swallowing batteries that may pop out of flung toy, but I-Dog, while certainly a crowd pleaser among 3-year-olds, is not a baby toy.
Above: I-Dog’s head and ears swivel when music plays.
In addition to the battery situation, just getting I-Dog to hook up to your iPod is a bit harder than it should be. I-Dog’s audio-in jack is located right next to his back left leg. However, an attached rubber stopper (designed to cover the jack when not in use) opens on the wrong side of the port, which means it gets smooshed between I-Dog’s leg and the audio chord you are trying to connect. It is actually kind of a big deal, and I think will cause some people to eventually bend the audio jack on I-Dog. A better choice would have been to position the tab on the other side of the jack, or lose the tab altogether, and make a white port if seamless looks are the issue. Also, the included audio cable that ships with I-Dog is way too short. At a mere 14 inches, you cannot plug I-Dog into the back of a PowerMac G5 and set him on top of the computer without an additional audio cable. That is pretty short.
I already mentioned that the sound quality of I-Dog is not exactly stellar, and his mechanical whirrings can at times detract from the already less than ideal listening experience he provides. Odds are if you think I-Dog is not for you, these are likely the top two reasons. After all, a speaker should first and foremost play music well. But I-Dog is not first and foremost a speaker, he is first and foremost and attention getter. His iPod-like styling and flashing lights certainly demand attention. Yet it is this light show that I must now take issue with.
Earlier I said I-Dog’s lights flash to the music. That is a bit misleading. His lights flash when music plays, but they hardly pulse to the rhythm. Once, during a techno song, the lights seemed to synch up for a little while, but then lost the beat, so it is possible I-Dog might flash based on something it is hearing in the music, but for the other 100 songs I played he seemed fairly random. Same with his head movements. I have read reviews where they mention that his head “bobs to the music�?. Nope, seems to be completely random. Same with the ears. This is not a big deal really, but I just wanted to point it out in case it was a reason you were contemplating buying I-Dog. I know I expected him to be more “in tune with the tunes�? from the various descriptions I had read.
Conclusion
Well, despite the fact I consider the faults I found with I-Dog to be rather huge, I can definitely see how he would appeal to certain segments of the iPod community. Specifically, those under 12 who do not consider audio quality to be of primary importance and who find I-Dog’s cute looks and flashing lights to be charming. And given I-Dog’s relatively small price tag (under $30) his speakers sound on par with some other portable speakers in that range that DON’T have a robot dog attached to them. And of course, you could always muzzle (mute) I-Dog and use the audio splitter cable he comes with to hook the audio to a more powerful set of speakers and just watch his cute little display. They may even drown out his gear grinding head waggle.
Price: $29.99
Rating
As an external speaker system: 4 out of 10
As a cute iPod accessory that demands attention: 8 out of 10
A satellite with a click wheel? iPods being used in UK space program
Posted by Helper Monkey
Let’s see Dell’s Jukebox do this!
Macenstein reader Wolfman Mac pointed us to a rather interesting story at Telegraph.co.uk that discusses the efforts of a Brittish company that is manufacturing satellites out of various everyday components, ranging from DVD players to iPods. Surrey Satellite Technology Limited recently launched their Giove-A satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome satellite in Kazakhstan.
“We specifically make low-cost and quick satellites,â€? says Sir Martin Sweeting, the chief executive of STTL. “What we do is to take advantage of terrestrial technologies, such as mobile phones and DVD players. The consumer market has been leading the investment in technology.
“We take these components out of iPods and so on, and work out whether we can fly them in our spacecraft. Sometimes they will, and sometimes they will not.”
SSTL’s satellites are being launched as part of the Galileo project, an attempt to provide an alternative to America’s GPS satellite systems.
About Surrey Satellite Technology Limited:
SSTL was the first professional organization to offer low-cost small satellites with rapid response employing advanced terrestrial technologies. Over two decades, we have built a profitable business around our unique approach to space.
Today, SSTL employs over 200 staff and has been involved in 23 small satellite missions, making it the most successful and experienced small satellite supplier in the world.
Music companies under investigation for possible online music price-fixing
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
The Associated Press is reporting that New York’s Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has subpoenaed several of the major music companies as part of a preliminary inquiry into whether the digital music services have engaged in any illegal price-fixing activity.
You may remember in September that Steve Jobs claimed music companies were acting ”greedy” and had been putting pressure on Apple to raise music prices on its iTunes service. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Vivendi Universal, and Warner have all admitted receiving subpoenas.
”As disclosed in our public filings, we are cooperating fully with the inquiry,” Amanda Collins, a spokeswoman for Warner Music Group, said in a statement.
Earlier this year the music industry was investigated by Spitzer’s office in a “play-ola� scandal. As a result, Warner Music agreed to pay $5 million to settle an investigation into payoffs for radio airplay of artists. In July, Sony BMG agreed to pay $10 million and stop bribing radio stations to feature artists.
Apple website inadvertently “outs” Icelandic supergroup
Posted by Igor
While browsing around Apple’s Icelandic beta site, (as I do most Fridays), I came across a startling bit of hate-mongering. It appears Apple (or at least its Icelandic web programmers) have decided to use the site to “out� Iceland’s supergroup Skitamorall.
Like most of you, I have all of Skitamorall’s albums, and up to now have had no question in MY mind as to their undeniable heterosexuality. However, it appears Apple may know something we don’t, and has seen fit to open the door of the closet Skitamorall is currently (allegedly) hiding in.
Behold. A quick trip to http://beta.apple.is/index.php reveals that along the top navigation a button called “Fagmenn�. (That’s right, nothing politically correct about Apple’s Icelandic division it would seem!).
If you are brave enough to click on Fagmenn, you will see Apple makes it known that the Fagmenn are, in fact, Skitamorall. The rather unfortunate choice of a publicity photo seals the deal, and the proof is laid bare for all to see.
Above: Skitamorall (aka: the Fagmenn) Previously only that guy in the back was thought to be gay.
This is of course not the first time (and probably not the last time) time an Icelandic supergroup has been outed by an American computer company. But this one hits so hard because Skitamorall is SO huge internationally, and has such a loyal female following. Just days after Elton John and his partner were joined in a beautiful civil ceremony in England, and just days before the world (or some of it anyway) unites in a spiritual time of brotherly love, this is a harsh reminder of the closed mindedness and bigotry that still exists around the world.
And in Iceland in particular.
What?! No new iTunes “Free Downloads of the Week� this week?
Posted by Helper Monkey
Like many of you, each Tuesday I rush to my computer, launch iTunes, and greedily download the two horrible (yet free) “Free Downloads of the Week� Apple is nice enough to provide iTunes users with each week. Since the iTunes Music Store’s launch, I have downloaded each and every one, and I think there were perhaps 2 worth playing a second time (and one, Run by Snow Patrol, I had already purchased before it was featured as a free download).
Bad taste aside, the weekly free music selections from Apple have become somewhat of a staple at the iTunes store. Sure, they most likely are designed to get people to visit the store each week and perhaps browse the new releases while the latest R&B hopeful’s cat-warbling is being downloaded for free. But the fact remains that the songs are FREE, and therefore irresistible.
Apple has been quite consistent in updating the free song section (I think the only other time Apple was late updating the free selection was a day before a new iPod was released). Yet, here it is Thursday, and we are still being subjected to the “stellar� Jaguar Wright and The Sixteen tracks I downloaded and hated LAST Tuesday. So what’s up? Is Apple discontinuing the free song of the week? Probably not. If so they would take down the whole section, not just leave these two banal tracks up to taunt us. Are they about to release a new iPod then? Well, three days before Christmas would appear to be bad timing for that as well.
So I guess we’ll have to chalk this up to Apple being too busy this holiday season to go through the trouble of asking labels if they have any no-talent talent they are desperate to publicize this week.
It would seem Apple is playing the part of Scrooge this Christmas. However, given how bad the free songs usually are, perhaps Apple has given us the greatest Christmas present of all.
Happy Holidays everyone!
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