Mac|Life - Hardware

Power Tube 3000 Battery Review

Ray Aguilera — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:05:23 +0000

Feed the beast

How many chargers do you use for your iOS device? Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I’ve got chargers in every room of the house, and a charging cable permanently plugged in at my desk at Mac|Life. With all the use my iPhone gets, it’s no wonder. And now that my music beams in via iCloud and Rdio, the demands on my phone’s battery keep going up.

Put the power in your pocket.

Mipow’s Power Tube 3000 solves the problem of a dead iPhone battery in a fairly compact package. While other external battery solutions have gone for bulky battery cases, Mipow keeps it simple. The Power Tube 3000 is a chunky rectangular external battery pack with its own built-in charging cable. To juice up your device, just pop off the top and plug it in to your Apple device. There’s also a USB power outlet, and an included Micro USB cable for charging other devices.

The Power Tube does a pretty good job recharging your Apple devices, although the 3000mAh model could only fill my iPhone 4 once—a higher-capacity model is available if you need more power. Due to the chunky design, charging the battery itself in a MacBook or iMac blocks adjacent ports. There’s an included USB extension cable, although using it kind of negates the coolness and convenience of the all-in-one form factor. A four-color LED serves as fuel gauge—blue represents a 70–100 percent charge, for example. We’d appreciate a bit more specificity, or at least a definitive indicator that the battery is fully charged.

The bottom line. We love the Power Tube’s simple all-in-one design, but you’ll most likely need the extension cable to keep the battery topped-up.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Power Tube 3000

Company:

Mipow

Contact:

mipow.com

Price:

$49

Requirements:

iPhone, or iPod with dock connector

Positives:

No need for a separate charging cable to connect your device. USB port for charging other devices. Comes in ten colors.

Negatives:

Fuel gauge is vague. Bulky design blocks adjacent ports when charging the Power Tube.

Score:

3 Solid

Stanton SCS.4DJ DJ Controller Review

Ray Aguilera — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:42:56 +0000

Digital DJ console keeps the beat

Sometimes it feels like the whole world has turned into a Portlandia sketch, the one where Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen are cajoled by everyone (the bank teller, a garbage man, and even Carrie’s mom) to “come to my DJ night.” But all jokes aside, as a music fan, more DJs is a good thing. The more DJs there are, the less likely I am to hear the same old “untz-untz-untz” when I head out to my neighborhood bar. But learning how to DJ is quite daunting—the gear can be expensive and complicated, not to mention wickedly heavy. Stanton’s SCS.4DJ changes all that.

There are plenty of DJ controllers to choose from, but the SCS.4DJ has one crucial difference: all the software is built in to the unit, so there’s no laptop required. Not only does that lighten your load, but it also lowers the cost of entry for beginners looking to drop their first beats. Plug in a storage device filled with tracks via one of the four USB ports, and get to mixing, yes, an iOS device. The large, color LCD displays track lists, waveforms, and everything else you need to keep the beats flowing.

Matching beats is one of the most crucial (and difficult) DJ skills to learn. For novices, the SCS.4DJ features Smart Sync at the touch of a button. It can instantly sync two tracks, and handles double- and half-time BPMs, so it’s easy to match songs with wildly different tempos (70 and 140 beats per minute, for example). Once your skills have matured, you can forgo automatic syncing, and use the two platters and pitch controls to manually mix tracks. Cue points, loops, 3-band EQ, and even digital effects are onboard, making the SCS.4DJ a pretty complete package. The only sour notes are the somewhat lightweight construction and the length of time it takes for the device to analyze new tracks. Windows users have the option of offloading that chore to a laptop with software called QuickGrid, but there’s no Mac version.

The bottom line. Stanton hardly misses a beat. This controller is simple enough for new users to get the hang of, and experienced DJs will appreciate the MIDI compatibility, looping, pro-grade effects, and onboard recording features.

Review Synopsis

Product:

SCS.4DJ

Company:

Stanton

Contact:

stantondj.com

Price:

$499.99

Requirements:

No laptop needed

Positives:

All-in-one design. Extremely portable. Secure integrated storage for USB drives. Can access playlists on iOS devices. Works as a MIDI controller with traditional laptop DJ setups.

Negatives:

Mostly plastic. Analyzing new tracks takes forever. No QuickGrid software for Mac.

Score:

4 Great

PlugBug Apple Device Charger Review

Chris Slate — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:57:05 +0000

Not often a necessity, but nice to have

PlugBug is a simple, slick-looking solution for those who are loaded with Apple gizmos but short on wall outlets. That’s probably a pretty niche audience, so sticking with standard iOS device power adapters and saving $35 will be the better choice for most folks. But for travelers who regularly find difficulty in charging their iPhones or iPads alongside their MacBooks, this diminutive device could be a godsend.

PlugBug--a handy travel accessory for jet-setting gadget junkies.

The PlugBug fits seamlessly around the contours of any MacBook power adapter and acts as a 10W USB charger, filling an iPhone’s or iPad’s battery status bar as quickly as Apple’s own 10W adapters. Using an adapter such as PlugBug frees your MacBook’s USB port for other uses, and allows you to continuously charge your iPhone or iPad even when the laptop is turned off. You can’t plug the MacBook’s longer cord into its power adapter when PlugBug is in use, however, and the short length of an iPhone/iPad charging cable could be an issue when stretched from a wall outlet to a hotel desk. But as previously stated, the product is still a welcome workaround for those with a very specific need.

The bottom line. PlugBug is a handy solution for folks who really need it, but it’s a $34.99 luxury for those who aren’t short on wall outlets and don’t mind carrying multiple power adapters.

Review Synopsis

Product:

PlugBug

Company:

Twelve South

Contact:

twelvesouth.com

Price:

$34.99

Requirements:

Any MacBook power adapter

Positives:

Charge a MacBook and iOS device from a single outlet, no waiting. Stylish.

Negatives:

Two outlets renders PlugBug almost entirely unnecessary.

Score:

3.5 Good

Saddleback Classic Briefcase Thin Laptop Bag Review

Nic Vargus — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:25:42 +0000

Better leather than a Kiss concert

If Saddleback’s Classic Briefcase Thin wrote a book it would be How to Win Friends & Influence People. Everywhere we go with it, this bag inspires conversation. People just want to look at it, feel it, know what the beautiful leather is all about. Even after several months, we’re still ogling it. It’s beautiful, yes. But it’s not perfect for everyone.

There’s a price to all this beauty—besides the whopping $400+ price tag—and that price is comfort. It’s not that the Classic Briefcase Thin is uncomfortable, but it doesn’t offer the same cloud-snuggling-with-our-shoulders feeling we appreciate in other bags. There’s also an issue with space; if you want to use your bag for more than an iPad, MacBook (15 inch), and a few small items, there’s a possibility it simply won’t fit. Unlike traditional bags, the Saddleback just doesn’t stretch, so cramming in a few extras is a no-go. Still, the Thin model is quite a bit more manageable than the Classic Briefcase, making it a better choice for many MacBook users.

Despite the upfront cost, the Saddleback might just save you some money in the long run. These bags are built from leather that is thick, heavy, and tougher than nails. The pigskin lining is even stronger than traditional leather, which is already stronger than fabric bags. It’s so tough that Saddleback offers a 100-year guarantee--which means your Saddleback will outlive you and anything you’re carrying in it.

The bottom line. If you’re serious about buying a good bag, a Saddleback deserves your attention. It’s costly, but the quality construction and 100-year guarantee is an assurance that it’s the last bag you’ll ever need.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Classic Briefcase Thin

Company:

Saddleback

Contact:

Saddlebackleather.com

Price:

$411.00–$423.00

Requirements:

MacBook or other stuff to carry

Positives:

Absolutely gorgeous, tougher-than-leather Pigskin lining, perfect fit for 15” MBP and a few extras.

Negatives:

Heavy, expensive, won’t fit everything you might want it to.

Score:

4 Great

Logitech Wireless Boombox Review

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:49:51 +0000

A boombox for the Bluetooth generation

iPod accessories have taken a turn for the wireless since the introduction of the iPad, especially since it’s a bit bulky to prop up on a clock radio or speaker dock. The tide has shifted toward AirPlay or Bluetooth-enabled speakers that work with a wider range of smartphones, media players, and tablets. Logitech cuts the cord almost entirely with its $149.99 Logitech Wireless Boombox.

While the name might inspire visions of huge shoulder-mounted boomboxes, gold chains, and tracksuits from the ’80s (oh, is that just us?), Logitech’s solution is under two and a half pounds and a svelte 15x5x2.5 inches, not counting a pop-out stand on back for propping it up. There’s no dock connector to be found here: you’ll need a device capable of streaming Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) or 3.5mm wired audio output. Fortunately, all of Apple’s iOS devices from the iPhone 3G and second-gen iPod touch forward include A2DP, as do most other modern devices.

Full, rich sound in a small package.

Connecting an iPhone 4S via Bluetooth was a snap and within moments we were blasting tracks from the Music app up to 33 feet away. Pairing requires pressing the Bluetooth button until the blue light blinks rapidly (you’ll have two minutes to connect); power and volume up/down buttons round out the controls on front, while a small rubber widget on back hides the 3.5mm input and AC power jack. The included rechargeable NiMH battery is capable of up to six hours of continuous playback most anywhere you go.

We were also able to stream from iOS devices—and even a Samsung Galaxy Nexus—without a hitch, and once paired, all audio is routed to the Boombox by default. Switching back to previously paired devices required us to remove the speakers in Settings and pair again, however.

For such a small form factor, the Logitech Wireless Boombox produces an impressive aural experience with deep bass, clean midrange, and sharp treble, even at louder volumes. A pair of three-inch laser-tuned neodymium drivers, half-inch tweeters, and four two-inch passive radiators produces rich sound from any source. There are no EQ adjustments on the Boombox itself, but in our experience, you won’t need them.

The bottom line. For everyday use, we prefer a dock-connected speaker system for keeping our gear charged while playing, but the Logitech Wireless Boombox is an excellent choice for cutting the cord. A great addition to any mobile user’s arsenal, it produces rich sound on a budget with Bluetooth streaming for checking email, Facebook, or web browsing while enjoying your favorite tunes.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Logitech Wireless Boombox

Company:

Logitech

Contact:

logitech.com

Price:

$149.99

Requirements:

Bluetooth A2DP capable mobile device or 3.5mm line output

Positives:

Great portable sound with deep bass, rich midrange, and crisp highs. Long-life NiMH battery and Bluetooth are perfect for taking music on the go. Compatibility for any device with a 3.5mm audio output.

Negatives:

No dock connector for legacy iPod use or device charging. Audio is output exactly as streamed (no onboard EQ or adjustments other than volume). Occasional trouble re-pairing with the original iPad.

Score:

4 Great

Wacom Inkling Digital Pen Review

Ambika Subramony — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:10:01 +0000

Large pour l’art

Wacom’s Inkling is a fabulous concept: draw in your own notebook, with a real pen, and easily download digital versions of those drawings onto your computer. In theory, it improves on existing digital tools--support for layers makes it more flexible than a scanner, and real ink and paper offer better feel and control than a tablet. The Inkling should be a perfect bridge between digital and analog art. Unfortunately, the product still has a few kinks to work out before we can truly sings its praises. The Inkling certainly does what it sets out to do--it effectively captures a digital likeness of anything you sketch. We just wish it did a better job.

Setting up the Inkling was a breeze. After charging, all we had to do was clip the included sensor onto our notebook and the device was ready to go. The included software, on the other hand, was not as pleasant to use. Essentially, it has no function but to view and export your images. It does, at least, allow you to play a video-take of your drawing as it’s being made. While you can save images to a variety of formats, exporting our drawings to Photoshop frequently resulted in an unintelligible JavaScript error. Our advice is to skip the bundled software altogether. We ended up ditching Wacom’s offering in favor of SketchBook Pro from Autodesk ($59).

But software isn’t the only shortcoming. We were disappointed to find that the Inkling didn’t always pick up exactly what we wanted it to--the digitized versions of our work didn’t quite match the actual drawings. A little fiddling with the sensitivity settings helped this, but we expected better performance out of the box. Further still, drawing too close to the sensor made us lose some of our sketch—a big bummer when drawing in a small notebook. Also, you’re limited to Inkling’s ballpoint pen, making it more suitable for diagrams, rather than artistic drawings. Some true ink options would make a huge improvement, especially since the Inkling doesn’t respond well to variations in pressure. Overall it was a frustrating experience knowing that what you’re drawing isn’t quite what you’re getting.

The bottom line. The Inkling has so much potential, but we just can’t see it delivering a faithful representation of a drawing for serious sketch artists. And for diagrams, rough sketches, and notes, while the Inkling performs well, it’s hard to justify the $199 cost.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Inkling

Company:

Wacom

Contact:

wacom.com

Price:

$199.00

Requirements:

Mac OS 10.4.0 or later, a notebook (not the digital kind)

Positives:

Effectively transports your notes and sketches onto your computer; works with any notebook; nicely portable.

Negatives:

Cumbersome software; doesn’t always reproduce sketches accurately; ballpoint pen isn’t the most fun to sketch with.

Score:

2.5 Okay

Fretlight FG-421 Traditional Electric Guitar Review

Zack Stern — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:06:29 +0000

Let your dim light shine

A musician otherwise, I’m also a trained singer with decades of experience. I sight-read sheet music well enough to jump into something new on the fly. But I’m an absolute beginner when it comes to the guitar. Well, I was until I started learning and practicing with the Fretlight Guitar and software eight weeks ago. I’ve always thought of the guitar as that intimidating, too-beautiful woman--I’d never be able to connect, so I never approached. Could the Fretlight help me learn to play? Yes, but it’s a tumultuous romance.

The 21-fret Fretlight guitar is a real electric axe. It functions the same as a standard instrument. Plug it into an amp, and get to shredding. But on top of that, it connects to your Mac to control LEDs embedded in the neck, right in time with the music. Push strings at the lights, and you’ll be able to strum chords or pick the melody. It’s the guitar’s highlight and a nice extra, but never feels essential; since your fingertips cover the lights, the feature works best to identify mistakes or to slowly drill chords.

It’s a real guitar; jam on a standard amp, or connect to a Mac to learn with the lights.

The Lesson Player software, where I spent most of my time, explains the basics: holding and strumming the guitar, music theory, guitar notation, and much more. Onscreen text presents most of the deep lesson content, although audio tips appear regularly. The drills taught me the most, and I was eventually playing along to a MIDI version of “Frère Jacques” while reading onscreen notes and occasionally looking down at the blinking guitar neck for guidance.

I sampled the optional Guitar Pro 6 software ($99.99), which targets intermediate and advanced players who are notating music, but it still helped teach me. I downloaded a few simple rock tunes, including “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and some Green Day tracks, slowing down tempos, lighting up the frets, and repeating to learn. The bundled Fretlight M-Player software can also light up the guitar when playing special MIDI files (available at the Fretlight store), but it doesn’t show sheet music or tablature, both of which are important for learning. Serious students will no doubt end up ponying up for those features in Guitar Pro 6.

After working with all of these tools, I can now play a few basic songs, strum a handful of common chords, read guitar tablature to figure out new songs, and best of all, I am eager to learn more. But I had to fight the poorly designed software to make it this far. The Fretlight Guitar hardware is the musical-instrument supermodel I always imagined, but the software is a needy diva.

The Lesson Player is the biggest offender. You can’t resize the window to fit any screen; you have to choose between three preset sizes, forcing scrolling in the middle of songs. (Too bad Lesson Player can’t automatically scroll sheet music like Guitar Pro 6.) You can choose between “slow” and “fast” speeds but can’t adjust beats per minute beyond that—sometimes “slow” wasn’t quite slow enough for me. You can’t loop a section to practice. The software doesn’t keep track of which lessons you’ve completed or resume your place. Nor does it monitor your playing to offer feedback.

Learning with the Fretlight can be a constant bug-battle, from the minor to the show-stopping. At one point, all MIDI music sounded flat, contrasting sharply with the in-tune guitar. Tech support thought the bug had been fixed in the software I was running but still told me to reinstall the many Fretlight applications, and when I did, the problem persisted.

The bottom line. If you’ve ever wanted to play guitar, the Fretlight can facilitate the process. But while the hardware, lesson content, and overall idea rock, the software is barely functional. You’ll fight against the tools as often as they guide you.

Review Synopsis

Product:

FG-421 Traditional Electric Guitar

Company:

Fretlight

Contact:

fretlight.com

Price:

$499

Requirements:

Mac Pro, Mac OS 10.5.2 or later, one PCI Express 2.0 slot or later, one PCI Express

Positives:

Flashy guitar hardware works as a standard instrument and also lights fingering positions. Lessons include valuable material for a range of playing skills; you will learn if you work at it.

Negatives:

Minor and extreme software bugs. Weak software interface. Lesson Player can’t automatically scroll with the music. Can’t loop lessons to practice. Fragmented software requires multiple installations and downloads of multiple tools. No integrated software update or unified installer across the many Fretlight applications. Can’t manually adjust the window size in Lesson Player. Lesson Player doesn’t automatically scroll music.

Score:

2 Weak

Withings Blood Pressure Monitor Review

J.R. Bookwalter — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:19:19 +0000

Keep daily tabs on your health for less than the cost of a single doctor visit

With the rising cost of health care in the U.S., it’s no surprise that a small cottage industry has popped up for gadgets that allow us to skip costly doctor visits and monitor our health from home. One of the more intriguing devices is the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, a $129 solution for tracking weight, fat/lean mass, BMI, heart rate, and blood pressure daily through an iOS device.

Keep tabs on your numbers, without paying for a doctor visit.

The Withings Blood Pressure Monitor includes an adjustable sleeve for arms ranging from 9 to 17 inches in circumference, and sports a bit more style than the one at your doctor’s office. Attached to the sleeve is a cylindrical air pump and two-foot dock connector cable. If you’re skeptical that a battery-powered (four AAA, included) monitor can do the job as well as the real thing, don’t be—the Blood Pressure Monitor is accurate to within two percent.

After downloading the free companion WiScale app from the App Store (it’s universal for native iPad support and works with all iOS devices except first-gen iPod touches), simply strap on the cuff (it’s easy to do by yourself) and plug it in—the WiScale app will launch automatically. You can sign up for a free Withings account inside the app and add multiple users in order to track your entire family with a single login, viewable from any iOS device or online via a web browser. Graphs can also be shared with other Withings accounts and blood pressure data can be emailed direct to your doctor with a few taps.

Colored dots provide real-world information for those mysterious systolic and diastolic numbers (orange indicates moderate hypertension).

The app offers one or three measurements in a row (which uses a mean average of three readings), depending upon your physician’s advice. After a measurement, systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as BPM (beats per minute) are presented and synced to your account. After a reading is displayed, tap for more detailed information—a green dot indicates normal or optimal blood pressure, orange indicates mild hypertension, and red indicates moderate or severe hypertension, which should definitely get checked out by a doctor. It’s been years since our last blood pressure check, and during that time we’ve developed a case of moderate hypertension. Thanks to the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, we can take steps to reverse this trend, using educational information from the included booklet and in-app FAQ.

The bottom line. It’s a simple, accurate way to track your health from home, and for less than the cost of a single uninsured doctor visit, it could even save your life.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Blood Pressure Monitor

Company:

Withings

Contact:

withings.com

Price:

$129

Requirements:

iOS 3.0 or later (iOS 4.x recommended)

Positives:

Cuff is easy to place by yourself and fits both large and small arms. Free Withings cloud account tracks multiple users and syncs results between devices. Battery-powered air pump doesn’t drain power from iOS device.

Negatives:

Free universal app has awkward UI navigation. Daily app reminders require iOS 4.x or later. No way to edit user name from app (can only be edited from Mac or PC browser).

Score:

4 Great

Momentus XT Hybrid Drive Review

Florence Ion — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:26:09 +0000

It’s an SSD! No, wait—it’s a hard drive!

Whether it’s cars, dog breeds, or plant species, it seems like there are hybrid versions of just about everything these days. It’s not a bad idea—why not mix two generally wonderful things to create something even better? That’s what Seagate hopes to accomplish with its next generation of hybrid drives. The Momentus XT Solid State Hybrid Hard Drive packs the storage of a standard hard drive with the speed of an SSD. It’s totally worth it if you can’t afford a high-priced, low-capacity SSD, and are sick of the slow read and write speeds of the standard platter-based drive.

Inside the Momentus XT’s 2.5-inch chassis is a 7200-rpm hard drive connected to 8GB of solid state memory and 32MB of DDR3 cache memory. It’s all tied together with Seagate’s own FAST Factor technology, which is basically flash-assisted storage that learns what you’re frequently accessing—your operating system, for instance—and stores it in the SSD for faster access. The custom algorithm does all the guesswork for you—all you have to do is install the drive in your Mac.

The Momentus XT Hybrid drive has a platter inside and 6GB of solid-state storage.

The benchmarks clearly put the Momentus XT between an SSD and a traditional platter-based drive. Start up time went from a minute on a standard 7200-rpm hard drive to half that with the Momentus XT. The read and write speeds of the hybrid drive were 106 MB/s and 72 MB/s, respectively, while the regular HDD read and wrote at 85 MB/s and 62 MB/s. For comparison, an Intel 510 Series SSD clocked in at 190 MB/s and 150 MB/s in our read and write tests.

But like a hybrid car, the Momentus XT has its quirks. It’s still a platter-based drive, so it’s not as durable as an SSD. Also, speed gains can be incremental, as the drive learns what files you access most. And while Momentus is cheaper than solid state drives, the cost-per-gigabyte is still considerably higher than traditional platters.

The bottom line. The Momentus XT is a hybrid in the best possible sense. You get the capacity of a traditional disk, along with (some of) the speed of an SSD, without breaking the bank.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Momentus XT Hybrid Drive

Company:

Seagate

Contact:

Seagate.com

Price:

$245, 750GB

Requirements:

MacBook, Mac mini, or MacBook Pro with Intel processor running Mac OS X or later

Positives:

Flash memory means faster speeds. Drive adapts to your usage.

Negatives:

Moving parts means it’s still susceptible to damage, just like your regular drive. Speeds up boot times, but transferring files is pretty much the same as traditional drives. Higher cost-per-gigabyte.

Score:

4 Great

Sound Step Recharge iPad Speaker Dock Review

Ray Aguilera — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:21:24 +0000

Sounds about right

There are tons of audio docks for your iPhone or iPod touch, but models for your iPad are much harder to come by. The Sound Step from Soundfreaq is built to accommodate your iPad or any other dock connector–equipped device. But the connectivity doesn’t stop there. This small speaker dock is also Bluetooth-enabled, so you can stream wirelessly, and there’s also an auxiliary input, so you can connect with just about anything. But for those times when you just want to disconnect, the Sound Step Recharge also comes equipped with a rechargeable battery so that you can cut the cord and take your tunes on the road—or at least to the backyard.

It’s easy to carry anywhere you need a little musical accompaniment, but if your Sound Step is more likely to stay anchored to a desk, you can save yourself 20 bucks on an otherwise identical battery-less version. Despite its small size, the Sound Step is packed with features. In addition to all the connectivity options, there’s a powered USB port in the back to charge additional devices—your Apple gear charges via the dock connector. If you somehow can’t manage to find enough audio to listen to with all of your devices, the free Soundfreaq companion iOS app allows you to control the Sound Step’s built-in FM radio. It works, but it’s a bit cumbersome, and the app doesn’t have much else to offer.

While the Sound Step’s many bells and whistles are sure to please, the smaller size does offer a few drawbacks. For one, the Sound Step’s sound quality is a few steps down from its larger sibling, which we reviewed last year (Feb/11, p66, 4.5 stars). Sound Step heavily favors midrange tones. That said, it’s not a bad listening experience, and the Sound Step will be right at home on your desk or nightstand.

The bottom line. The Sound Step will connect to just about anything. It’s not a party-starter, but for more modest needs, this small dock has a lot to offer in the way of portability and connectivity.

Review Synopsis

Product:

Sound Step Recharge

Company:

Soundfreaq

Contact:

soundfreaq.com

Price:

$159.99

Requirements:

iOS device or other music source

Positives:

Small enough to be truly portable. USB port charges other devices. Can connect to just about anything.

Negatives:

Otherwise lackluster app is the only way to control FM radio. Remote feels like an afterthought.

Score:

3.5 Good