Okay Geek Farm
CableJive dockBoss+ review
Jason Tsay
The concept of the dockBoss+ is simple. Back in the days of the iPod, you bought an expensive audio dock for it that uses Apple’s proprietary 30 pin connector. Over the years, you’ve moved on to an Android phone and are no longer able to use that dock. CableJive’s new product promises to remedy your situation with a simple cord. Does it work as intended?
Features
- 30 pin connector to microUSB and 3.5mm
- 2.5 foot long cable
Our Impressions
We’re not sure what the dockBoss+ looks like in retail packaging as ours only came in an anti-static wrapper.
At one end, the dockBoss+ features a female 30 pin dock connector and at the other, a microUSB plug and a 3.5 mm headphone plug. The cable measures 2.5 feet long and splits into two cables about halfway. In testing the dockBoss+, we came to the conclusion that it works pretty well when playing music. Loss in audio quality is negligible in comparison to a docked iPod. And it charged our Android phone in a pretty standard amount of time through the microUSB jack.
So you’re wondering, “does the remote work?” Well, yes and no. Volume controls are usually independent from the iPod (the dock’s volume setting “overrides” the setting on the iPod so those will work but forward/back and play/pause controls are through the 30 pin dock connector so they won’t work. This wasn’t too much of a problem in our testing but could potentially be a deal breaker for those who position their speaker docks out of reach. Of course, CableJive clearly states that the dockBoss+ only provides power and audio signals on their product page so buyers should know what to expect
Overall
Thirty bucks for a conversion cable may sound like a lot and there really is no definite recommendation we can make on the dockBoss+. Of the three things that a speaker dock does (charge, output audio, remote control), it does two and a half things. The real deciding factor is how bad you want to be able to use your phone with your iPod dock. Considering that our Bose SoundDock cost $300 when we initially purchased it, one might say $30 is a small fee to pay. It’s not the most elegant of solutions but it certainly gets the job done with minimal friction.
Pro’s
- it works
- good build quality
Con’s
- some remote functions don’t work
- not a very elegant solution
Where to buy
CableJive — MSRP: $29.95
This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the dockBoss+ by CableJive.
