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Articles and Reviews
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PocketDock for the iPod
While point 1 seems like a good feature at first read, in practice it’s a nuisance to deal with because minute shifts or movement of the headphone’s input jack in the iPod’s jack, will pause the iPod. Merely holding the iPod in your hands while riding a rumbling city bus can result in multiple pausing. Likewise walking on the street with your iPod in a bag or carrying case. It happened often enough that I thought I had a dud iPod and I was nearing the point of returning it for servicing or replacement, but I researched the Internet to see if anyone else suffered the same problem and discovered that the pausing is actually a “feature” of the iPod. Bloody hell! Point 2 is not practical to be hauling a docking station with you on the go. Even if you were that dedicated, how the heck are you going to keep the two together in your pocket or bag? Lost cause, or is it?
The PocketDock is not a wholly new product as earlier versions provided Firewire, or Firewire and USB ports in a convenient little accessory piece that connected to the iPod’s bottom docking port. A new variant of the PocketDock offers a USB port and a 1/8-inch lineout jack. With the 1/8-inch lineout jack, you now bypass the iPod’s headphone jack for superior sound quality and you no longer have to deal with the idiotic pausing feature. Merely walking on the street no longer risks having the iPod pause, because the headphone jack shifted a couple of atoms.
The
USB/Lineout PocketDock is US $30 and while I was hopeful that FutureShop,
which stocked the older Firewire version, would soon be carrying
this new version locally, I grew tired of waiting for it to appear.
I ordered one on-line from
The PocketDock comes with two cables, a mini-to-RCA and a mini-to-mini extension cord, and a plastic keychain accessory so that you can carry your PocketDock with you everywhere. The cables are cheap throwaways and certainly won’t be displacing my two Zu Pivot cables and the keychain does not look good enough to keep the PocketDock secure on the chain. I’d have preferred that the PocketDock just be sold by itself for a cheaper amount than pay for throwaways that I’ll never use.
I’m now back to using my original case that will allow the PocketDock to mate with the iPod, but every time I want to change a track or album, I have to undo the Velcro fastening and pull the front cover down to access the click wheel. It’s a minor inconvenience, but enough that I wonder if I should try and find some plastic adhesive material and create a custom iPod condom instead of using the case. The full portable kit is a bit bulky, but as I carry a nylon bag with me everyday to work, it’s not a big deal to have this rig in the front flap pocket of the bag for music on the go. Link to SendStation in Germany |
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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So,
I have 
A
new product has arrived that kills both problems and also offers
an extra bit of convenience. 
The
USB port provides some measure of convenience if you want to use
the iPod as a portable hard drive and copy files back and forth
with different computers using a standard USB cord, like a USB printer
or scanner cable. It means not having to carry around the dedicated
USB or Firewire connection cords that came with my iPod. It won’t
sync with iTunes though unless the computer already has the iPod
synching software installed.
The
PocketDock works just as I had hoped and I am now enjoying the iPod
+ Zu Pivot cable + Go-Vibe portable amp + PortaPro combo for my
commute. The only niggling comment to make is that the PocketDock
may not be compatible with some of the aftermarket cases to protect
the iPod. To keep your iPod looking its best, it is mandatory to
protect it with a case of some sort. My first case wasn’t so convenient
to use, so I bought another one, but the bottom opening of the second
case is not wide enough to accommodate the PocketDock. 
