Reviews for JBL OnBeat Loudspeaker Docking Station

Seldom would I be so negative towards any product, however as this product didn't satisfy the main reason why I purchased it, I must give it a poor rating.

My carefully designed plan was to put my iPad 2 running some great clock application on my nightstand. I would be able to read the time without glasses, it's sort of a night light, and with the right application, even receive real-time weather information. During the day, I could listen to my favorite music and at night, have the clock application wake me up. Sounds like a great plan and a simple plan.... but noooooooooo. Some Product Manager trying to be overly Politically Correct thought engaging a Stand By Mode in the event your iPad doesn't generate any audio for some 10 minutes and thereby turning off the speakers would be a good idea... thinking it would save power... And to make matters worse, they decided not to go out of Stand By Mode in the event the iPad begins to speak... That means, unless you set your alarm for less than 10 minutes after you go to bed, the next morning you get to sleep in late... even if you had an important meeting to wake up for!

My comments:

1) It would have been so easy for the JBL On Beat to detect the audio and automatically take itself out of Stand By Mode. My guess is that was the original plan but the final design ended up with a flaw. The good folks at JBL surly would not have intentionally designed something with such a glaring flaw.

2) Having earned a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering for a major university, I am here to tell you the difference in power consumption between an amplifier that is engaged yet not producing any audio and this same amplifier in Stand By mode is insignificant. This is a "feel good" everything must be green feature rather than any significant savings in one's power bill.

3) To the best of my knowledge, this problem is 100% JBL and no iPad application, outside of something that makes a "keep alive" beep every 5 minutes or so, is going to correct JBL's design flaw.

4) As the iPad 2 is so thin, one needs to carefully line it up before inserting the iPad into its docking position. I would have liked to see some kind of a back-stop so I could seat the iPad as far back as this back-stop and insert. As it is now, one needs to line it up carefully... not a big deal, but again, a simple problem to fix so it's easier and quicker to mount the thin iPad 2.

5) OK... now the good news... assuming the JBL On Beat isn't in Stand By Mode, it sounds great! Perfect for a average sized room in that it fills the room with quality sound... for the price, the sound quality is more than acceptable.