If you are anything like me, and let’s hope for your sake that you are not, then your idea of a perfect Saturday night is a dive bar, good friends, cold beers and money in the jukebox. However, if you are tired of paying for overpriced drinks and being forced to listen to Emo music by the drunk girl crying in the corner, then you should bring the fun of the jukebox to your home.
I absolutely love jukeboxes. Don’t ask me why, but there is nothing more satisfying than putting $20 in the machine and spending a good ten minutes figuring out what you want to listen to. The possibilities seem endless as you select one song only to be reminded of another that you danced to with Ashley Connor back in the seventh grade.
However, the problem with the jukebox dock is that the people that are old enough to have grown up with them, and not in a nostalgic 60’s diner kind of way, aren’t likely to want a large, colorful dock in their house. The build and coloring seem to be geared towards the early to mid twenties crowd, while it boasts of having multicolored neon trim and a classic wooden cabinet, its plastic looking body and blocky karaoke shape do not the sleekest of docks make.
The cool thing about this dock is that your iPad fits perfectly within the middle compartment, making the integration look sleek and seamless. Many docks leave the iPhone/iPad sticking out awkwardly or sitting on top of the device, so it is nice to see a dock that nestles the product safely. The question is, how difficult is it to insert/remove the device from the dock? Is it a snug enough fit that it will be difficult to line the device up properly, at the risk of scratching it, or will it pop right in?
As the product is not slated to be released until mid-2012, the specs for the dock are unknown. Therefore customers cannot be sure of the size, weight or brightness of this product, nor if it comes with accessories like a remote or if it requires a specific app to be installed. Rumor has it that the price for the jukebox will range between $99 and $249, depending on the size you choose. No word yet on how the size differs; will it be all around larger, or just taller?
For those, like me, who do not have an iPad, the Jukebox Dock has an input that allows users to connect their iPhone or iPod to the device, though there is no word as to whether the connection is made within the opening intended for the iPad, or if they plug into the back. Either way, the Jukebox charges your device while playing music out of its integrated speakers, which when it comes down to it, is all I am really looking for in a dock.
