iHome iA63 App-Enhanced Alarm Clock FM Radio Stereo Speaker System with Motorized Rotating Dock for iPhone and iPod (Black)
Review by Jerry Helsing "jlhelsing" : Absolutely meets my needs

I have an iphone 4 that I have an otterbox defender case on. Until now, every time I wanted to charge my phone or listen to music, I had to either use the cable and plug it in or take off the case and set it in a charger. While not the end of the world, it was a bit of an inconvenience.
I had the opportunity to try this iHome iA63 and figured that like all the others, I would need to take off the case to use it. Well I was wrong...it works great with the case on. Without a doubt, that is the best feature of this product and almost in itself warrants a 5 star rating in my book, however, there is one fault that everyone looking for a speaker system for their ipod/iphone will want. The sound is a little muffled and you really need to turn up the volume to hear more than 10 feet away. The rotating dock is fine if you want to watch something on your phone but since I have this at home, I would rather watch my TV, so this feature isnt necessary to me. The digital clock is very easy to read and the alarm works nice but I would expect that of an alarm clock anyway.
So to summarize, I recommend this product especially if you have a case around your phone.

iHome iA63 App-Enhanced Alarm Clock FM Radio Stereo Speaker System with Motorized Rotating Dock for iPhone and iPod (Black)
Review by Ronald E. Donofero "TLC Yoda" : Nice Unit - I have a few suggestions though....

This unit is very nice. It DOES what it says it does.

That said - I have a few comments.

Sound Quality - This is the thing that I always look for first when I'm deciding on a dock, and many reviewers give vague (if any) comment about it. This unit is designed to be an advanced clock-radio - NOT an audiofiles dream machine. In that, the sound quality is much better than I expected. Perfect for my use (I have it on my desk at work so I can listen/watch things while I'm working). Much better than your average clock-radio - but if you're expecting "Bose" sound or super deep base - this is not your unit. I am more than satisfied with the sound. Just be aware that you're buying an alarm clock, NOT a THX movie system.

Functionality - The clock sync is awesome. Makes time setting LITERALLY as easy as pushing a button. The rotate feature CLEARLY makes the unit great - it's so hard to find docks DESIGNED to let you view things in horizontal mode. I can put my iPhone into the dock WITH it's protective cover (moshi glaze)on! This sets the unit apart from ALL other docks I've had. The side adjustment for width is great - there is no depth adjustment, but you don't need it since the connector is designed to flex to accomodate width. BEWARE, however - if you have one of the old gen 5.5 ipods, I don't think they'll fit (they are much thicker than any of the others). SECOND BEWARE - My iPhone 3gs fits nicely with it's moshi glaze ON, but just barely. I don't think the connector will accomodate larger protective covers (like otterbox for example).

The unit is designed to work with iHome+Sleep (free) or iHome+Radio (not free) software. I downloaded iHome+Sleep and I find it a little user UNfriendly. However, it is very advanced and can handle all the needs you'd want (and many more) in an alarm clock - including, thankfully, being able to run a playlist that will auto-shutoff after a set period of time. Great for going to sleep to podcasts of old-time radio and such.

All in all - and excellent unit for the price. I highly recommend it. If they added some of my suggestions (below) - I'd give it 5 stars insted of 4.

Suggestions:

1. The unit COULD be tilted back a little further. It's got a little slant to it, for good viewing, but could go just a little farther.

2. The unit has no USB connection. It'd be nice to be able to plug a usb cord into it for iTunes syncing while the iPhone is in.

3. The side adjustment could come out a little further to accomodate larger protective cases. Works great for my particular case, but my son has an otterbox and I don't think it'll go wide enough for him.

4. I'd like the center to be "back-to-front" adjustable (screw in/out maybe). While the current design works (flexible connector) - true width/depth adjustments would be very nice.

- Ron Donofero

*** Adding some comments:

I've had the unit for about a week now. I have two more comments.

First - The round dish shaped piece that is behind the iPhone is somewhat shiny. This is only a minor irritation and can be easily corrected by sticking a piece of construction paper (cut to the right shape) over it - none-the-less, it reminds me of other units I've had with ultra-brite "power is on" LED's that you have to cover with a piece of electrical tape. Come on guys - dull down the surface - it's annoying to watch a video when the lights in the office are reflecting off of the unit like that.

Next - There where several reviewers that commented about the display suddenly going out. This happened to me also and I thought "uh oh - this might be an issue" - UNTIL - I discovered the problem. Ok, other reviewers, pay attention - The SNOOZE buttons on the top of the unit DOUBLES as a switch to first DIM and then turn off the display. Probably a feature added for people who don't want the display on (or too bright) when watching a video. Unfortunately - it's VERY easy to accidentally hit this button when putting in or taking out your iPhone (or ipod or whatever). SO - if your display is dim or off - HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON - it'll come back!

- Ron Donofero

iHome iA63 App-Enhanced Alarm Clock FM Radio Stereo Speaker System with Motorized Rotating Dock for iPhone and iPod (Black)
Review by mhill : Easter Egg. I was surprised at how much better it was than I thought!

I am more than completely satisfied with getting it. I've been looking for a while for an iHome that I liked, and found this one. I waited another while thinking it over and found this good price. When it arrived, I was shocked that it was a dark black color! I love it, the pictures make it look like a grey! Mine was black, don't know if there are other colors but that was one of the Easter Eggs (aka good surprises). I connected my iPhone 3GS and played my music, and holy cow another Easter Egg. The sound was way better than I thought it would be! I read another review about the sound barely being heard from 10 feet away or something, so I do have to add that I also tried my iPod nano 3rd generation (the perfectly squared one) and even with all the sound controls up it wasn't nearly as loud as with the iPhone. Maybe that's what happened with him, because the iPod nano sound was pretty damn disappointing.

Anyway, I'm so stoked that I got this I just wanted to share this with whoever might be thinking of getting one!