Home > Consumer Reviews > iHome iH26B Portable Travel Alarm Clock for iPod (Black)

This is a fun little device - the perfect size with plenty of features. It fits on my nightstand in place of your typical alarm clock, not taking up any extra room. It easily packs up to go on the road with you. It has custom adapters included for every size of docking iPod, as well as a connector for non-docking iPods. Great sound, great control of sleep vs. wake volumes, and a nice dimming feature with 4 settings to it, so that the light of the clock doesn't keep you awake. And if you forget to dock your iPod, the buzzer alarm will still sound (actually it's a beeping alarm).

If you are a heavy sleeper, or like 90 minutes of sleep music in addition to your wake music, I recommend putting your iPod on shuffle all songs before docking it on this station so that you won't get to the end of your playlist and run out of music.

I only have two complaints about the iHome 2 Go travel alarm clock. One is that my clock seems to gain a few minutes every day, so it ends up being very fast. I reset the time once a week. The other is that I have to remove my iSkin to dock my iPod. I was sure when I bought the skin that it said I wouldn't have to remove it to dock the iPod, but because of how the docking works on this station, I do.

I got this alarm clock for my birthday from my parents (im 20). SO, about the ihome2go: This little thing is awesome. Speakers: get loud, and quiet. I had no trouble falling asleep with the "sleep" function and i didnt have it on the lowest volume. Alarm function: take your ipod out to get the standard "beep" alarm. the remots is mad convenient too. Not to mention this thing comes with a case! People are complaining about the ac adapter not fitting in the pack, but i dont think its a big deal. The batteries in the alarm clock last long enough on short trips that if i were to bring it with me, i would only need the ihome and my ipod. the audio cable is also really convenient, allowing any and all ipods, cd players, and mp3 players to offer alarm music. Basically, best gift ever.

this is an awesome product I'm just going to do a pro and con table thing

pros-
-Nice sound
-Can run on batteries and play music
-Back up battery for clock only
-Waking up to music rocks
-almost if not all iPods work on it
-can hook up a mp3 player to it
-Comes with a case
-Has a remote

cons- (only a few)
-Case is good except u cant fit the speakers and the ac adapter, u can fit your iPod and the remote though
-remote has to be faced at the speakers to work
-You have to take off your skins to put it in... unless its really really small but i don't know you still might have too

As the other reviewer said, the lowest volume setting is far, far too loud, making this a poor choice for an office desk or a home nightstand. (I can't even begin to enjoy the "sleep" function.) Also, for a travel unit, the carrying bag provided is not big enough to hold the base unit, the iPod and the charger. All in all, a nice design and look, but these two flaws (especially the volume issue) put this unit directly into the return pile.

Just purchased this unit because I found a good deal at a local retailer (less than here - sorry Amazon). However, since I checked the reviews here first before purchasing I thought I should contribute. Before acquiring this unit, I purchased it's big brother, the iH8BR, which I am very happy with, both in sound and price. Because of this I already had a good vibe for the manufacturer and product. When looking for a portable speaker system for my iPod I definitely looked at the SDI products as an option. Their units have a nice solid, heavy feel to them, and provide good sound (rich, bassy quality). The same holds true for the iH26. It was simple to set up and use, and i like that it has doks for multiple iPods and a line-in for other devices. I found this unit to have almost similar sound quality to it's big brother, iH8B, if not the sound volume. I'm not quite sure what was meant by some of the other reviews that mentioned that it "was not low enough", as this unit can be adjusted to be barely heard (maybe not "loud" enough?). It did break up/distort slightly at higher volumes, but that depended on what was playing, in that it does not handle the treble well at higher volumes. Overall the sound quality was as good or better as compared to some of the other portable speaker systems (JBL, iSound, etc) in this price rage (under $50, if you can find it a that price).
I only have three gripes that are more cosmetic/functional. First, it's weight, somewhere around 3-4 pounds sans iPod. While the unit is indeed portable and folds flat, it is kind of thick(about 2") and heavy as compared to other units (maybe that accounts for the good sound). As a frequent traveler I will definitely adding to my load carrying this thing around (hopefully it will be worth it). Second, the case that came with the unit is only slightly adequate to house the unit and peripherals, and should have more padding along the edges, especially where the LCD panel rests. Also, it is too small to store the AC adapter in, unless you squeeze it in and deal with a bulging case that barely closes. SDI should have either made the case to accommodate the adapter, or provided a real travel AC adapter, perhaps one where the prongs fold. My last gripe, again purely cosmetic, is that the unit has a high glossy finish, so fingerprints galore.

So overall I am please with my purchase, and if you can find it for $50 or less I would recommend it (local stores, etc). Any higher that $50 and you will probably be disappointed with the unit.

Pros
-Good Sound quality (on par with iH8B), although not as loud
-good solid, heavy feel
-easy to setup and use
-portable, folds flat

Cons
-Some sound distortion at higher volumes, especially with sources with high treble
-somewhat heavy for being a "portable Travel" device (3-4 lbs)
-Carry case is too small and not padded enough. limited space for AC adapter.
-high glossy finish - lots of fingerprints