Macenstein

Posted by Dr. Macenstein

The iPod’s tendency to attract numerous scratches to its sleek facade has spurred a multi-million dollar industry for iPod case makers. Unfortunately, the best cases (those that offer the most protection) often do so at the expense of being able to dock your encased iPod to any number of peripherals.

SendStation has once again answered the call of stranded iPod users with its Dock Extender for iPod/iPhone. The idea is simple (so simple its taken someone 4 years to come out with). Basically it is a pass-through male-to-female dock connector which allows you to connect your iPod to pretty much any dock-equipped peripheral, without removing it from its case. Genius.

All standard iPod functionality is retained, including menu navigation, audio playback, and charging. I personally have been looking for something like this for over a year, and judging from the countless forum postings I came across in my searches, so have many of you.

The Dock Extender comes with a matching Universal Dock insert with a removable support to help keep your iPod standing tall when using the extender. The white plastic base of the Dock insert will fit any iPod speaker system or peripheral that meets Apple’s Universal Dock standard, introduced in 2005. Unfortunately, it did not fit in my older model iHome iH5 iPod alarm clock, but many speakers, including of course, Apple’s iPod Hi-Fi, contain the proper connection. If your device has a dock but does not have the proper Dock connection port, you can still use the extender without the insert. The connection is quite sturdy, although you’ll want to try and make sure to not bump the iPod while attached, as it could conceivably bend the connector. We wouldn’t recommend using it without the Dock Insert while in motion.

Above: The SendStation Dock Extender has an optional dock insert which allows it to fit snugly with supported peripherals (shown here witht he Apple iPod Hi-Fi).

Issues

The Dock Extender is a great idea, but not for everyone. As I mentioned, the included Dock insert will only fit iPod peripherals whose designers decided to adhere to Apple’s insert specs. Most car adapters will not be able to benefit from the Dock Extender either, as the majority rely on a “cradle” design to secure your iPod which will not accommodate an iPod in its case. For the other types, most of those models do not support the dock insert, meaning you’d have to use the Dock Extender without it, which is not something we would recommend in a moving vehicle.

On an aesthetic note, the Dock Extender and dock insert are, at the moment, only available in white, and may look slightly out of place on black iPods and peripherals.

Conclusion

SendStation bills the Dock Extender as “the iPod accessory with the fewest features, but probably the most anticipated”, and I can see their point. Many iPod cases (including the iPod “gel” type of cases) offer great protection, but their hard-to-remove designs make interacting with iPod speakers and peripherals a chore. The Dock Extender jumps in to save the day, but at nearly $30, many people will have to think twice about how much the functionality is worth to them.

SendStation’s Dock Extender for iPod/iPhone

Price: $28.95

Pros: Simple, allows iPods to interact with most peripherals without being removed from their case, included dock insert adds support to your iPod and fits many newer iPod speaker systems.

Cons: Just a bit expensive for what it is