Tag Archives: Multimedia

Samsung Multimedia Desktop Dock costs a mere $16 USD on Amazon, compatible with the Galaxy S4

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Samsung retails a universal dock for Galaxy phones on its own website for $ 49.99. It’s quite pricey, but it is of the utmost quality. If you’re not interested in spending that much money, a variation of the dock, the Samsung Galaxy Multimedia Desktop Charging Dock, sells on Amazon through a vendor for a mere $ 16 USD.

The $ 49.99 dock from Samsung’s own website supports a wide variety of Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S4, S3, Note and Note 2. With the cheaper dock being a variation of it, we’d expect it to support the same devices. In fact, one person who reviewed the dock on Amazon says the Galaxy S4 and S3 work with it “amazingly.”

According to the technical details on the Amazon listing, this dock will work with or without a Flip Cover or Protective Case attached to your device, but a second person reviewing the device said it did not work with a Galaxy Note 2 with a 1.5mm case on top.

Being a cheap dock, you’re not going to find all of the bells and whistles like you would on others. There are no HDMI or USB ports to be found like on the Galaxy Note 2′s Smart Docking Station. You get the bare essentials on this one: charging and a 3.5mm jack for audio output.

It doesn’t seem like this particular dock comes with a microUSB cord either, so you’ll have to provide your own. Regardless, it’s really does not seem like a bad docking solution. As we mentioned earlier, it’ll cost you $ 16, but you’ll also get free shipping with it.

Does a cheap dock like this Multimedia Charging Dock interest you at all? Would you rather purchase one for your Galaxy device from somewhere more official like Samsung’s own website? Sound off in the comments!

Android Authority

IK Multimedia iRig BlueBoard and iRig HD hands-on (video)

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Last year at CES, IK Multimedia unveiled its iRig Stomp as a foot switch controller for wrangling the outfit’s Amplitube software for iOS. Here at NAMM though, the company has cast off the wired connection for the Bluetooth-sporting iRig BlueBoard MIDI foot pedal. In addition to managing presets sans cables, the device can access four effects / amp modeling combos via backlit selectors without the need to swipe the screen of your iPhone or iPad. The gadget is AAA battery powered and there’s no power adapter or in-built power pack. It’s a bit of a bummer that the BlueBoard isn’t rechargeable, but then again, a lot of guitar pedals and stompboxes are either battery or adapter powered. Two 1/4-inch jacks fare along for the ride in case you need to add on volume or expression pedals to the $ 99 rig that’s set to arrive in Q2.

During our visit, we also took a look at the recently announced iRig HD guitar connector. The next-gen version of the original iRig touts higher quality sound (as the moniker suggests) and now connects via 30-pin or Lightning port for use with a mobile device or via USB for laptops and such. There’s also a input level adjustment on the side in a form factor that resembles the Apogee Jam — albeit with different connectors. Even with the help of headphones it was hard to tell just how good the captures were thanks to the painfully noisy show floor. However, in our brief time with the setup it worked like a charm for handling our feeble attempts at a few Taking Back Sunday riffs. Hop down past the break for a quick tour of the duo.

Gallery: IK Multimedia BlueBoard and iRig HD hands-on

James Trew contributed to this report.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Engadget

IK Multimedia iLoud and iLoud Mini hands-on (video)

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IK Multimedia got a jump start on NAMM with the announcement of its iLoud speaker duo just before the proper start of the show. Today, we swung by the company’s booth to take a closer look and spend a few minutes with the Bluetooth-wielding wireless duo. The first thing that we noticed was the build quality. Both the iLoud and iLoud Mini sport a soft-touch rubber-esque coating on the top and bottom that we’ve seen in other Bluetooth audio units. The pair also has an adequate amount of heft without being overbearing when added to the weight of an already packed rucksack. In terms of the Mini, a single volume control rests on the right side, both USB port (for charging) and aux inputs reside around to the left and the power button is at home up top.

For us, the real star of the show here is the regular iLoud. In addition to the same wireless capabilities as the smaller sibling, this unit packs a 1/4-inch input that houses the outfit’s iRig circuitry. Essentially, one of IK Mulitmedia’s adapters is crammed right into the speaker. Said jack along with controls for power, gain and Bluetooth pairing hit the backside in addition to an auxiliary port for connecting a handset or tablet via cable. The volume knob is around front on this beefier model, encircled in a glowing red light. One of the main selling points is the advertised studio-grade sound quality — especially in the 40W iLoud — which we were unfortunately unable to confirm due to the overly noisy show floor here in Anaheim. Jump down through the gallery to take a gander at the pair that is set to arrive in Q2 for $ 300 and $ 200 respectively.

Gallery: IK Multimedia iLoud and iLoud Mini hands-on