Review Detail

Features:
The iD50 is all about features. Which includes bluetooth, speakerphone, and well thought out alarm clock options. The sound from it's speakers sound great and the ergonomics make it easy to use at 5:30 in the morning.

When we started trying all the settings, we found there were a lot of them. We found it helpful to download the (Free) iHome+Set app so that we could visualize all of the settings that are built into the iD50. Then we downloaded the (Free) iHome+Sleep app to see what extra features we could add to it. We learned you can set the clock to do just about anything and even better you can control the entire system from your phone and even update the firmware. Bet you thought you would ever have a clock that had firmware.

Setting up or pairing our phone via bluetooth was very simple. We navigated to the bluetooth area on our phone and made sure it was in discovery mode. Then held down “pairing” button on the clock until we heard a beep that indicated the two devices were connected. As soon as it was done pairing, we could play music from the iPhone, iPod, iPad or any bluetooth device. No Problem.

We tested the speakerphone by calling our iPhone paired with the iD50 while it was playing music. The music faded down and the phone’s ring tone started. We hit the green “Talk” button on the top of the iD50 and our phone call was connected. After the conversation was over, we hit the “End” button to stop the phone call and the music automatically started playing again.

The alarm clock functionality works great. You can set two alarms using the device or many alarms using the iHome+Sleep app. Without going too much into detail about the apps in this review, the iHome+Set give you digital control over your iD50. Allowing you to make the changes you normally make by pressing buttons on the iD50 now can be changed using the iPhone, iPod, or iPad. The iHome+Sleep app gives you extra alarm clock features. Features that do not exist on the hardware. For instance, the iD50 has two programmable alarm clock settings and the iHome+Sleep lets you add many other alarms saved on the iPhone, iPod or iPad. In short, the iD50 has plenty of settings for alarms. Playlists, gradual wake/sleep, tone alarms, wake to radio/iPod, sleep schedule log, and more. And, Yes, the iD50 has both an FM antenna and a detachable AM antenna for listening to the radio. By the way, using the iHome+Set app gives you a easy way to tune your device to any radio station you want by using touch controls on a radial dial.

Sound:
The sound was great. It was clear and had a good range. The sound is impressive for it’s size and better than we expected. This device is not a $1000 premium stereo system, there are other speakers that deliver better sound but they will not be as compact or as multifunctional.

In iPod mode (which means the iPod is docked) we generally do not listen to anything over volume level 8 or 10. We then went to volume 25 and that was plenty loud for a desk, home living room or outside at a party. We pushed it up to 33-35 and it was starting to sound rumbly and hissy. The iD50 can get really loud, however, don’t expect to blast out your neighbors windows.

The good news is that even if you find yourself with a little too much bass or not enough treble the iD50 has a built in equalizer. You can easily turn up or down the treble and bass.

Design:
True to iHome design, the iD50 is sleek, and modern. It has a big bright clock in the front which is easy to read. The buttons are all on the top (none are hard to reach in the back).

It’s compact and fits in lots of environments. The dock is spring loaded which means it can hold iPhone, iPod, or iPad (and any generation) and it will comfortably press the device against a small rubber backing. This gets rid of the need for multiple dock inserts.

Value:
This device is a little more expensive than it’s little brother the iA91 but less expensive than the iA100. In our opinion, we think that this device is the best of all of them. It retails around $170, but there will probably be deals where you can find it cheaper.

Final Thought:
We we very pleased with how the iD50 turned out. It just does what it says it will do. Incorporating bluetooth, speakerphone, available iHome apps, keeping it simple and making it seamless is hard to do. The iD50 meets all our expectations. It’s awesome to control your speakers wirelessly using bluetooth.