Review - Griffin AirClick (Dock)

Another review from the Griffin goodie-bag (Yes, someone actually sent us stuff to review). Today we are reviewing the Griffin AirClick (Dock).

What is it?
The AirClick is a radio frequency (that means it can work through walls) remote control for any iPod with a dock connector. Sorry shuffle fans (there must be some, right?), this one isn’t for you.

It comes with the receiver, a remote control and a remote holder with velcro straps.


There isn’t much to the receiver. It clicks onto the bottom of your iPod and you are pretty much done. (As a bonus it does have a little blinky light on the bottom that blips when it receives a signal and as we should all know by now, I love the blinky lights.)


The remote allows you to control: Up/Down Volume, Next/previous Track, Play/Pause and a Hold switch (locks the keypad so you don’t accidentally smack a button). The remote also has a little clip on the back for attaching to whatever. The clip on the remote does appear to be rather breakable. I haven’t broken it yet (after two weeks of testing), so it may be stronger than it appears


It also comes with a neat little holder that you can attach to things via a 7” or 12” Velcro strap. So something with a relatively small diameter (think steering wheel or Calista Flockhart running band).


The Setup

The setup is so easy, The Wife (a kindergarten teacher) hooked it up in about 10 seconds. You just click the little receiver unit onto the bottom of your iPod and viola, you’re done. Granted, this ain’t the most complicated device in the world, but anything that is this easy to use appeals to my sense of efficiency (or laziness as The wife calls it).


Well, how was it?!?

The short version.
Pretty cool.

What? Fine.

The long version.

I ran the unit through our patent pending, extremely scientific, Clubbing Baby Seals testing process and here are the results.

In the car:
Works like a champ. The only problem I encountered was finding a spot on the steering wheel to hook the holder thingie. I settled for attaching it so it covered one of the horn buttons (my middle finger works way better than a horn anyway).

In the house:
It does exactly what it is supposed to (unlike those penis enlargement pills). Now the blurb from Griffin claims it will work from 60’ away. It might, if you are outside. Inside however, it seemed to be effective to about 25-30 feet. Not bad considering I had a couple of walls in between the remote and the receiver. Quite snarky really. I could wander the whole house (about 1700 sq. ft.) change tracks and volume with no problems.

At The Party:
Fortunately, we hosted the usual pack of idiots over at our place for BBQ/Birthday Party during the testing phase. The party (or what is now know as The Great Mohito Debacle) proved to be a rather fortuitous testing environment.

I learned a couple of things at the GMD.

1. Never let Baa mix your drinks (apparently, 6’4” and 200+ pound Baa don’t make any allowances for us 5’8” 165 pound bastards).
2. The AirClick is a fantastic party game!

I’ve even made a name for my new game (patent pending of course). It’s called Gimme That God Damned Remote!

Here is how the game is played. You listen to The wife’s playlist during a party. When you hit a song that sucks (or whenever you get bored), you hit the next track button. Then the wife screams “Gimme That God Damned Remote!”. * This game works best when you can say “But honey, I have to test it for the review”. **

*Warning! Serious injury and/or death can result from playing this game. Especially if your wife/partner is a 6’ tall, half Cuban, Amazon freak.

** This game is also much easier to play when Baa is mixing her drinks too.

I also discovered a fantastic alternate use for the AirClick. Let’s say your daughter/wife (in my case both) runs around with the god damned iPod attached to their head constantly. Instead of playing Mr. Mime and/or screaming your fool head off trying to get their attention, simply attach the AirClick and anytime you want to get their attention just click pause. Works like a champ.

Final Words

Pros:

Does exactly what it says it does.
Extremely easy setup.
Gimme That God Damned Remote! Party game.
Super lightweight (Remote control .8 oz, Holder .3 oz, and the Receiver .6 oz)

Cons:

Flimsy looking clip
The hold switch feels kinda cheap.

Final Verdict

4 out of 5 stars and the much coveted Clubbing Baby Seal of Approval.






P.s. An idea for Griffin. How about integrating the RF remote control into the Grifin iTrip? Since they both use the dock connector it is impossible to use them at the same time (which I think would be pretty cool).