iPod
The #1 portable, sets its sights on your house

by Kevin Ray

he Apple iPod™; its not just a portable music player, its an icon of pop culture. In just three and a half years the iPod has literally taken over the world. It single-handedly unseeded the Sony Walkman™ as the de facto standard in personal music portables. In doing so, it has changed the way we acquire and enjoy music.

Now, for so many people, enjoying music means just plugging your iPod into wherever you are at that moment. Tanning salons, health clubs, hotels, and universities all use the revolutionary geek toy to lure and keep people coming back. Heck, even the President has one. However, there is no official cabinet position for the person in charge of loading it up for him.

As one of the converted, I no longer carry Compact Discs (CDs) with me anywhere. While I still enjoy tearing open the plastic on a new CD (and then spending the next 30 minutes removing all the security and retail related stickers) my new disc purchase stays at home. A nearly perfect digital copy of it travels with me in my iPod.

The success of the product has had an enormous “halo effect” spawning an entire economy of products to support and enhance the iPod experience. Until recently these gadgets have focused on the personal and mobile (car) experience. The biggest and most exciting of these new product categories, are devices designed to integrate the iPod into the home.

While the iPod can plug directly into any audio system that has an auxiliary input, today’s technology has spawned some “way cooler” methods to achieve iPod nirvana. The most notable is made by Sonance, and is called the iPort™.

The iPort is an in-wall docking station for the iPod. An iPod placed in the sleek resting place is always charging it’s internal battery, and is automatically connected to the audio system designated at the time of installation. The iPod can even be controlled by your universal remote, completely integrating it into your home audio system!

Imagine coming home from work, tired from your day. You set your keys down on the counter and pop your iPod Mini into the dock in the wall. Press “play” and your “relaxation” playlist begins, washing you with sound, and cleansing your troubles away.

The iPort will even take the pictures from an iPod Photo, and display them on any TV!

Home integration of the iPod is just beginning. Companies like SpeakerCraft and Integra / Onkyo all currently have products geared to facilitate the use of the popular portable in distributed home audio systems. The key here seems to be finding a dealer or installer that can help you realize your vision.

As computer products become more like home audio and video components, your audio/video people will need to be flexible and open-minded about using technologies not normally associated with their business.

This article provided by Kevin Ray of Custom Audio Video, LLC. Member CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association)