iB969 Charging Station – Review

iB969 Charging Station
Company: iHome
Price: $49.99 USD

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve found that I have my electronics scattered about in my house. My iPad was being charged overnight in the den, my iPhone was being charged in my bedroom and my iPod was relegated to another room. Another part of the problem was that the outlets in the each of the rooms already had other items plugged into them, like computers, lights, etc. The iB969 Charging Station has changed all of that for me.

Made of plastic and relatively small in size, only 9” wide X 1.9” in height  X 6.75” in depth, the iB969 is able to handle my iPad, my iPhone, my iPad and even a Kindle at the same time. The iPad is set in on its side and you use the charging cable that comes with the iPad minus the wall outlet plug, while the iPhone and iPod are set into the unit vertically. The Kindle or other eReader is positioned horizontally on the front portion of the unit, which expand outwards to allow the reader to lay flat. The iB969 comes with an AC power adapter, a 36 inch sync cable for syncing to your computer, a 12″ mini USB cable, a 12″ USB to 4mm plug for the Sony eReader and a mini-USB to micro USB adapter.

Setting up the iB969 Charging Station is simple and easy. The unit has two universal docks for either your iPhone or iPod. If you set the station up and plan to sync your iPhone or iPod while you charge it, you place it in the left dock and if you just want to charge your iPhone or iPod, you place it in the right dock. Once your item is charged, the Charging Station will stop charging your unit. iHome provides an iPhone insert with the Charging Station while you would have to use the insert that came with your iPod. You simply place your iPhone or iPod in the dock with the appropriate insert and your unit will be charged.

If you want to sync to your computer, you simply connect the small end of the sync cable to the Charging Station and the other end to a USB port on your computer. You then throw the sync switch on the top of the Charging Station to the on position and it will sync with your computer.

The Charging Station has two more USB ports located on the bottom of the station; one port on the left side for quick charging an iPad or other device and one port on the right side for a standard charge of devices. Both ports have a mode switch to handle the USB devices. The A position will charge an iPad or iPhone units while the B position will charge a Kindle, a Nook, a Sony eReader or a Blackberry or similar devices. You just need to follow the instructions, set the switch to the appropriate position for what you want to charge, connect the cable to the port on the bottom, feed it out the back of the unit and then plug in your device. For my iPad I used a spare charging cable which I thankfully did have available, connected it to port on the left side bottom, placed the switch in the A position, fed it out the back and then I simply place my iPad in the horizontal position in the slot at the rear of the station, as seen in the picture above, and it charges. The Kindle I place on the flat surface, after I’ve extended the rubberized tray out further, connect the 12 inch USB to mini cable, place the mini USB to micro USB adapter on the end, and then plug it into the Kindle. Since the Kindle doesn’t need to be charged that often, I simply leave the cable to the rear of the Charging Station.

Things have definitely become more simple since I started to use the iB969 Charging Station. All of my items are now located in one room, the unit does not take up a lot of space and my devices are readily available when I need them. The iPad and the iPhone are in the unit more than the Kindle or my iPod. iHome provides a limited 1-year warranty with the unit. The user just needs to read the small instruction manual that comes with the unit, select the appropriate cables for the items that they want to charge, and enjoy the reduced clutter of cables throughout their house and a centralized location for one’s devices. Everything now in one neat package. Neat idea, huh?

If you are looking to solve similar issues of devices being charged throughout your home, consider the iB969 Charging Station. Good value for the price. My only small complaint is that it would have been great to have a cable for the iPad provided, and to be black like all of the other cables that iHome provided with the unit.

All in all, I give the iHome iB969 Charging Station a My Mac rating of 9 out of a possible 10.