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iHome Shows Off New iPhone App-Equipped Docks

by Terrence O'Brien on January 8, 2010 at 02:20 PM

iHome Demos Docks Integrated with iPhone App

When Apple launched the iPhone OS 3.0 back in June, one of the features that most thrilled us was the one that allowed apps to interact with specially designed accessories, like docks and blood sugar monitors. Sadly, in the months since, very few new devices have taken advantage of the feature -- especially widely available, consumer-oriented devices. That may change now that iHome, claiming to have received a direct challenge from Apple, has developed the 'iHome+Sleep' app and a pair of compatible alarm clock radios. Hopefully, the floodgates have been opened.

'iHome+Sleep'

'IHome+Sleep' is a free download from the iTunes App Store, and will be available in time for the release of the iA5 dock next month. The app is, at its most basic, an alarm clock. In an obvious improvement over the built-in Apple option, the iHome app allows you to choose music from your library as your wake-up tone. Different songs and times can be selected and saved for each day of the week, and there is even an option to set "nap" alarms for when you just want to quickly recharge. When you wake up, '+Sleep' shows you the current weather, and lets you quickly scroll to get the forecast for the rest of the current day and the following one. If you so desire, you can even have it give you a quick update of what your Facebook and Twitter friends were saying while you slept. You can also use '+Sleep' to track your sleeping habits. From the stats page, you can view the average duration of your sleep sessions, how often you hit the snooze button, and your most popular choices of lullaby music.

The app is all well and good, but when paired with a compatible dock, it becomes even more impressive. Pop your iPhone or iPod touch into the iA5, and control it straight from 'iHome+Sleep.' That means you can set the dock's hardware alarm, change the time (or automatically sync it with the iPhone clock), adjust the clock's display brightness, and tweak the EQ -- all from the screen of your handheld.

iA100 Dock

Opting for the higher-end iA100 will get you iHome's patented Bongiovi Acoustics DPS technology. Found on the company's studio series of iPod docks, the system was created to greatly enhance the quality of digital audio. What's more, it boasts a full arsenal of Bluetooth tech that can transform the dock into a speakerphone, stream audio from your handset, and even let you control the alarm wirelessly. The iA100 also includes an FM tuner, but sadly you can't control it from the iPhone.

Oh, and if you were wondering, the iA5 and iA100 can both act as standalone alarm clocks. But what would be the point of that?

The iA5 will go on sale in February for the surprisingly reasonable price of $99.99, while the iA100 is slated for a summer debut at $199.99. Check out the gallery below to see the app, and the docks, in action.

iHome App-Enhanced Docks

Tags: alarm clock, AlarmClock, cesaudio, hands on, HandsOn, ia100, ia5, ihome, ihome+sleep, top

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