Which dock to get for iPhone? (iPhone Dock, or Universal Dock)

[todd2000]

So my friend wants a second iPhone dock for Christmas, and I was trying to figure out which one to get him.

The iPhone Dock

or

The Universal Dock


The main reason he wants a dock is so he can charge the phone at work, so I figured the universal would work for that, plus it comes with a remote in case he wanted to use it. Does the remote even work with the iPhone? I read somewhere that the Video out on the dock doesn't work with the iPhone, but that Apple is going to fix it? Is that true?

As a side question, if I get him the universal, is there any way he could use the remote with his Powermac G5 now that he has Leopard, and Front Row? Perhaps some 3rd part IR receiver
?

 

[cjmal]

I have both, and I can tell you that the iPhone feels kind of loose, unbalanced and like it's going to fall while it's on the universal dock, not extremely, but enough to make me uncomfortable about it. The control only work while playing videos on your tv, not the actual interface.

 

[stekerrod]

if he wants to charge it i'd go with the iPhone dock because it comes with a usb lead and power adapter, which i dont think the universal dock comes with.....and the iPhone dock is cheaper

 

[Lixivial]

The only reason to go with the Universal Dock (UD) is if you have an iPod and want to be able to charge either of them without having to swap docks. Or if you want to use the limited IR connection to control playback of audio and video on the phone. With the IR remote, you can't initiate audio/video playback, so you'd have to setup a playlist and/or initiate the video before attempting to utilise the remote.

And, no, the UD's S-Video port does not work with the iPhone; the line-out function does work as expected, however. I have not tried Apple's AV kit to plug into the UD's dock connector, but I would assume they'd work with the UD+iPhone pair.

 

[todd2000]

if he wants to charge it i'd go with the iPhone dock because it comes with a usb lead and power adapter, which i dont think the universal dock comes with.....and the iPhone dock is cheaper

Well that answered it, I was being stupid, and thought that the Universal came with the Power Brick, and USB cable. iPhone Dock it is then. BTW Their both $49.00 at least in the U.S.

 

[Jebaloo]

Hey,

I just bought a used Universal Dock off ebay and bought some new iPhone universal dock adaptors from the apple store.

Wen I plugged my phone in it said that the accessory wasn't supported and asked me if I wanted to go into Airplane mode 'no', and although it charges and syncs fine, when I try to play music using the iPhone controls, no sound comes out , at all.

Any ideas?

 

[CD3660]

I have both, and I can tell you that the iPhone feels kind of loose, unbalanced and like it's going to fall while it's on the universal dock, not extremely, but enough to make me uncomfortable about it. The control only work while playing videos on your tv, not the actual interface.

I just bought a Universal Dock for my iPhone so that I can have it linked to my Bose Companion 5 speaker system. Works very well. My observations:

1. The iPhone does not fit as tightly as the iPhone Dock, but using the iPhone adaptor which comes with it, it is not loose and is in no danger of falling.

2. The remote works well for track selection and volume when using the iPod function.

 

[kellen]

I would go with the universal dock, as it allows you to dock the phone if you have a case on the iphone. Plus you can use it later with other ipods, doesn't make sense to me to buy one for the same price and limit yourself to just docking the iphone.

Plus check ebay, I ran into alot of them and sold them there, averaging around 25 each (new).

Kellen