My Review of Memorex™ iPhone® Dock w/Digital Clock Radio

I took advantage of the sales at Staples to upgrade the electronic capabilities of my guest rooms with cute little iPod/iPhone speakers/chargers/clock-radios/alarms.  I do not consider myself to be technologically challenged.  My VCR never flashed 12:00 and I have helped friends set up their computers. 

I’ve been an iPod user from the year 1,  when iPods looked like this one.  Now with my iPhone I can listen to audiobooks from Audible.com while doing my housekeeping chores, whip out my camera to catch moments like the Balbec Days Chicken Pull, use the maps function to find my way home from anywhere, play a guitar, piano, ocarina (we called them flutophones in 3rd grade) and also make phone calls.  So, I’ve also been an observer of the iPod docks.  In my opinion, the iPods haven’t gotten any more difficult to operate, but the docks are a different matter.

I really like the idea of having all of those functions in one little box.  The trouble is that all the buttons have multiple uses, and I never could get the alarm clock function to work.  So the older clock radios are still at each bedside with the iPod docks along with their detailed instruction books waiting for the guests who either want to use the speaker/charger function or who are technologically gifted and will choose to use the alarm clock function also.

So today I received an email from Staples asking me to review these little contraptions (That’s a first for me, getting a request regarding a purchase I made at a bricks and mortar store for an online review).  I took them up on their review request, and then–today being a day of many firsts–after completing the review and before Staples would let me go back to reading my emails I was asked if I’d like to post my review to my blog.  So for your enjoyment and edification, the review follows.

Just one last observation.  I think this is my first introduction to the social part of social media.  I was also invited to post my review to Facebook.  Since I don’t have a Facebook account I decided to skip that option.  I still haven’t figured out Facebook.  But now that The Perspiring Innkeeper is almost a year old and blogging has turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be I will give another thought to Facebook. 

Originally submitted at Staples

The Memorex™ iPhone® dock with Digital Clock Radio will power and charge your iPhone® as well as your iPod® with its convenient flip-down universal charging dock. It has a dual alarm so you can wake up to music, alarm or buzzer. You can also connect your other “line-in” devices as well ma…

Memorex™ iPhone® Dock w/Digital Clock Radio

Here’s where my review starts:

Alarm too difficult to set

By Innkeeper Jane from Muncie, IN on 12/28/2010

 

2out of 5

Pros: IPhone compatable

Cons: Hard To Setup, Difficult To Use

Best Uses: Upgrade

Describe Yourself: Quality Oriented

Primary use: Business

I run a bed and breakfast and decided an iPod dock would be an enhancement for each guest room. Unfortunately I found it very difficult to figure out how to set the alarm clock function, and gave up after spending 10 minutes without success. The device is not intuitive, and will need detailed instructions for the first-time user. Due to this difficulty, the iPod dock cannot be used to replace the clock radios I already have, which is a big disappointment.

I’m actually just leaving one in each room unplugged to use as a charger/speaker for those travelers with iPhones.

(legalese)

For the months of January through April, 2011 I will offer a 10% discount to any guest who brings a vintage iPod (older than 4th generation) to plug into the dock.  I’d love to compare playlists!

Happy New Year to All

An Early Christmas Present for Muncie

It is my wish that all of you who read this blog are able to find the time to slow down during this busy season and spend time with family and friends and enjoy each other, reflect on Christmases past and those to come.

October 29th was the date of a special announcement for the city of Muncie – an early Christmas present.  That was the day we learned that Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc, plans to bring a locomotive manufacturing plant to Muncie.  The news is especially good for this town, because hundreds of manufacturing jobs here have been lost in the past two decades.

The facility that will house Progress Rail was built in 1961 by Westinghouse and was used to manufacture large electrical transformers.  It has been vacant since 1998, waiting for the right opportunity to come alive again.  The building is 740,000 square feet (the size of 15+ football fields), and has a ceiling that is 99 feet tall.  The building is served by a railroad spur and already has tracks inside.  There is also plenty of room on the 75 acre site to build a locomotive test track.

When I was a child Lionel train sets were often wished for by children, and on Christmas morning about 50 years ago we had model train tracks encircling our Christmas tree.  Back then watching a Lionel locomotive going round and round soon lost its fascination.  I hope that the new test track will be visible to the public, because 200 ton locomotives going round and round are bound to be alot more interesting.

The building is presently being adapted for its new owners, who anticipate employing up to 650 workers by 2012 to both refurbish and manufacture Diesel-electric locomotives.  I found it interesting that the Diesel engines in these locomotives are used to power a generator.  The generator generates electricity, and then the electricity is actually what powers the traction motors that make the locomotive move.  This means that there is no mechanical connection between the Diesel and the wheels!

The new jobs created here should be pretty secure because just like automobiles, these locomotives are subject to emission control, and upgrading the engines is an ongoing process.  In addition, for Amtrack and a number of other passenger railroads, legislation mandates that these locomotives be built in the US.  Perhaps in my lifetime there will even be commuter trains between Muncie and Indianapolis powered by Progress Rail locomotives.