iHome iA17 Alarm Clock iPhone-iPod Speaker Review

It would have been great to have this as a kid. It it lights up the colors change and is generally a cool thing to have in your room. The alarm functionality make it a practical, worth-while choice.

Sound:
First we will assume you are most likely not purchasing the Glowtunes for superior sound quality. It is a clock and speaker that adds fun to any room while playing music from your iPhone / iPod.

With that being said the sound is decent and clear. While someone who is really into sound may have a lot to say, we feel those who are excited to have a color changing alarm clock will have no complaints about the sound.

The sound is great at lower volumes, but it’s not going to be much louder than a set of computer speakers. It should be plenty loud to fill up any room in your house. If it going into a childs room how loud do you really want it to get?

Design:
The design is fun with white translucent plastic at the bottom that lets the different colors through. It has more of a fun look than the clean lines of other iHome products. The time display is easy to read from across the room.

The speaker is made from a thick hard plastic. It does not have the weight of the other systems that are higher quality with more metal parts. While we have not dropped the iA17 it feels like it can take some mild abuse.

Just below the iPhone / iPod dock are the control buttons. The buttons are under a solid rubber covering. They are easy to use and will be well protected from dirty little hands.

There are 5 options for color changes: Fast, Slow, Pulse, Color and none. In addition to the color changing on the base the display changes color also. I personally could do with out the display color changing but I am not as exciting as I used to be.

Functionality:
The clock is easy to use with many of the standard iHome features such as automatic time sync, a flip switch for day light savings time, an alarm schedule that covers weekday only, weekends only and seven days a week, display dimmer and FM radio.

We like the ease-of-use. Everything is clearly marked and simple to read. Maybe iHome should always design buttons at kid-level.

Two features developed by the apps and now carried onto the speaker systems is the “bedtime” and “wakeup” buttons. After setting your alarms, just hit bedtime to set a sleep timer that puts your iPhone or iPod to sleep after a timed interval. Hit the wakeup button when the alarm starts to go off to silence your alarm.

The dock works with most iPhone-iPod cases. It has the more modern trayless design which gives the speaker both forward and backward compatibiliy which is a nice feature, since new iPhones / iPods seem to be released every year.

The remote has a good layout and all the functionality you need. The construction is light weight. It does not have the same quality feel you see on some of the other iHome models

Conclusion:
We like the iA17 for what it is. A fun alarm clock that changes color and plays your iPhone / iPod. If you are looking for premium sound, dual alarms, and sound loud enough for a house party this is not the speaker for you, but you probably knew that before reading this review.