Time for New iPod/iPhone Speakers?

4 years ago I purchased a Bose SoundDock, after considerable research, listening, and debating back-and-forth about which speaker was just right for me. The goal was to have a semi-portable desktop speaker system that could be used in the home office and carried around the house when working on various home projects.

That Bose SoundDock has been put through the paces. Besides being used every day for these years now, I hacked it up to get auxiliary input years ago, and it has now been used as a primary testing setup for hundreds of tests on cables for CableJive. At some point I even replaced the docking circuit board because the 30-pin connector had broken and the speakers no longer worked with my iPhone.

I’ve been contemplating a new speaker system, and have recently gone through the paces again listening to the systems set up at the Apple store and other places. These include a few models of Altec Lansing (IMT800 and others), harman/kardon (go+play and go+play micro) , iHome (iP1 and iH5), Bose SoundDock (Series II, portable and 10), Bowers & Wilkins (Zeppelin and Zepplin Mini). Some impressive stuff.

Reading the iLounge 2011 Buyer’s Guide I was intrigued by their “Speaker of the Year” recommendation, the Geneva Lab GenevaSound S, a smaller version of the company’s reputable, high-powered speaker systems. I had heard of these speakers when they were announced at the beginning of 2010 but figured a high-end speaker maker would bring these in at a price point higher than what I consider reasonable for decent desktop sound.

The design is pretty cool, great for desk speakers. Not so sure it would be a great speaker system for carrying around the house to use when painting a room or redoing some drywall. I guess the SoundDock wasn’t a very rough and tough speaker for that kind of stuff either, but I used it anyhow.

There are some great testimonials on the site. It’s hard to ignore something like the Electric Lady Studios in NYC using the larger brother of this system in all of their studio rooms for monitor checks through the production process. That video may be a bit biased, but the facts speak pretty loudly.

Haven’t had a chance to listen in person, not sure if I’ll just trust the reviews and get it on the way or wait for a chance to listen in person to verify. Will keep you posted.

CableJive’s Black Friday Event!

Black Friday only, get free USPS First-Class shipping on all orders! You don’t have to wake up early and battle through a mob of ravaging shoppers just to get a deal. Stay home, shop here, and let us send it to you for free. Trust me, you’ll be happier.

Stay safe out there you crazy deal-hunters!

Welcome To The CableJive Blog 2.0!!

Thanks for checking out the brand new, sparkling, mint condition, floors-are-still-wet CableJive Blog 2.0! We’ve been working hard to get this up and running so we can start connecting with all of you! We will be updating it frequently with a fresh mix of company news, industry notes, contests, promotions, deals and a variety of other stuff we hope you’ll find interesting. We made sure to move all of our old blog posts over here, which you can check out under the “Old Blog Archive” category, if you feel so inclined.

Also, we are opening up commenting for all new blog posts (starting with this one), so please come share your thoughts (we’d love to hear from you)! To see our commenting policy, please see the “Blog Policy” link above.

Thanks for checking us out! We couldn’t be more excited to get the fun started, and hope you’ll join in with us!

iPhone 4 + Keyboard Dock Compatibility Issue Solved

(Originally Posted 09/29/2010)

Were you frustrated or upset to find that your iPhone 4 won’t physically plug into your iPad keyboard dock? Do your shattered dreams of type-texting the night away have you thinking of taking a Dremel and showing it who’s boss? Well hold on a minute Bob Vila, because CableJive has another solution to help you squeeze the most out of your precious $70 keyboard dock (might as well get the most out of it, right?).

All you need is a dockStubz. Our 30-pin passthrough adapter connects perfectly to the male connector on the iPad keyboard dock, extending the connection out enough for you to be able to plug your iPhone 4 in, case and all (except Apple bumper cases).

So go ahead, who says you can’t write a book on a smart phone? You’ll show ’em!

Road to CES 2011: CableJive Booth Banner

(Originally Posted 09/23/2010)

We’ve been working on the CableJive 2011 CES booth for awhile now and it’s starting to come together. Today we’re working on the banner for the back of the booth. Nothing fancy, just enough to look professional and let folks know it’s us.

If you’re looking for us, this banner marks the spot for booth #4625.

iPad Keyboard Dock + dockXtender Tutorial Video

(Originally Posted 09/10/2010)

As soon as we found out the dockXtender could be used with an iPad and the iPad keyboard dock for landscape typing, we blogged about it. I mean, in the “widescreen age” who thought portrait typing was a good idea anyway?

However, after receiving some emails into customer service inquiring further about this, it donned on me that a video tutorial may be of better assistance to everyone (not to mention help confirm that this actually does work!) What resulted, was this video. Widescreen represent!

iPad Keyboard Extender Cable for Landscape Typing

(Originally Posted 06/04/2010)

If you’re wanting to use your iPad keyboard, but would really prefer to work on the iPad in it’s wider landscape orientation, we’ve got a means to getting that working; the dockXtender cable from CableJive.

It’s really quite simple, just plug the female end of the dockXtender into your Apple iPad keyboard (the connector on the iPad keyboard flexes forward to allow the housing to fit), and plug the male end of the dockXtender into the bottom of your iPad and you’re done. You can move the iPad around, change it’s orientation, and even set it back at a little distance.

And the best thing, you don’t have to take off the iPad case to use it with the keyboard. Pulling it out of that Apple case is a sticky proposition due to thetight case (other’s I’ve seen aren’t quite so tight).

And away you go, typing madly while using your iPad setting sideways in landscape or horizontal orientation.

In the photo we are also charging the iPad with the provided 10-amp charge plugged into the back of the keyboard, while using the keyboard attached to the iPad setting on it’s side. How’s that for total awesomeness.

CableJive dockXtender Makes the iLounge Homepage

(Originally Posted 05/19/2010)

It won’t be there for long, there’s always more news coming behind, but we love the few moments we get when a new product rolls out and iLounge gives us a few minutes on the homepage.

This time it’s the brand new CableJive dockXtender that’s up on the iLounge homepage. A next-generation dock extender cable for iPad, iPhone, and iPod.

dockXtender Pre-order Opens: Otterbox Troubles End

(Originally Posted 05/19/2010)

We’re excited to open up pre-orders for CableJive dockXtender, the next-generation dock extender cable for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod:

http://www.cablejive.com/products/dockXtender.html

The new cables will begin shipping out on May 21st. Unfortunately we’re only shipping 2-foot cables to begin with, but the 6-footers are following behind shortly. They are just as beautiful as the 2-footers.

For the many, many Otterbox Defender users who have called and emailed, this cable fits into the narrow opening on the Defender and lets you leave your case on while docking.

That’s just one example, this cable is designed to fit into every case, skin, and cover on the planet.

Troubles with Charging the iPad

(Originally Posted 04/07/2010)

We’ve heard a lot, and done some digging, and it turns out that a good chunk of 3rd party USB wall and car chargers will not charge the iPad.

Why?

Because the iPad requires a full 2 amps to charge, and most USB chargers are made with the USB minimum 500 mA (we’ve looked at tons of chargers). So your charger needs to be 4x that of the USB minimum for the iPad to pull a charge.

What does this mean? How can I charge my iPad?

The wall charger that comes with the iPad is 10 watts (2 amps at 5 volts), so for starters you should be OK for wall charging. Any 3rd party chargers, and your car charger, will need to be upgraded to a 2 amp charger.

CableJive should be carrying both of these shortly.