Review of the Brando Music Dock for Treo 650

[From Peter Arts] A Palm device should come with a cradle...that's it, end-of-story.Since Palm no longer thinks so, a thriving business in 3rd-party cradles has sprung up all over the place. Buying one should be an easy decision, right?

Not on your life. I have a Treo 650, and I want a cradle that charges my Treo, lets me answer/make calls (speakerphone would be nice, too), listen to music and charge my extra Treo battery...and I want it at a fair price (seeing people like me in the store is what convinces other people to shop online).

To date, there is nothing that strokes enough of my needs to get me to make a commitment (of course, I used to say the same thing when I was a bachelor). The Palm cradle (after-market) charges both the Treo and 1 extra battery, but is overpriced and under-featured.

Seidio and others address the music thing, but accessorize you to death (why do I have to buy a specialized extra-battery charging dock, at an extra cost? If Seidio had enough time to design it in the same style and color scheme as the Treo dock, why didn't they just integrate the bloody
thing in the first place?).

I don't know...it just bothers me to have to choose between making the car payment, or charging my Treo the right way. For years, cellular phone manufacturers have made sure to offer charging docks with an extra battery slot. Obviously, the smartphone society still doesn't understand the '...phone' concept yet.

While pondering this dilemma, I came across an interesting little item at the Brando Workshop site:
The Music Dock for Treo 650.

It didn't have everything that I wanted, but claimed to have most of it, and at a really nice price point ($32.00 [US], including shipping & handling).

Bottom line: I got it, I'm reviewing it, and you're reading about it.

WHAT IT DOES

* Charges the Treo via USB or AC (adapter provided).
* Cable supports HotSync.
* Built-in stereo speakers.
* Hands-free speakerphone.
* Jack & double-male cable for external music source.

The first thing you notice about the package is its 1965, Carnaby Street groove (for those retro-hipsters in the group who missed the real thing, think Austin Powers). Day-glo orange never looked so good.
The package contains the Dock, the USB cable, the double-male cable for external music and an AC adapter for the USB cable. Curiously, the AC adapter I received is for European outlets. Hmmm, maybe
someone's taking me on a trip, and I don't know who!

Actually, I sent Brando an email about it, and they are shipping me the US version tomorrow, so I can plug it into an AC socket. Good customer service. Speaking of when you plug it in...you don't want to be looking directly at the unit...not if you value your eyesight. The package refers to "Blue Soft-Light Illumination." What you get is a brilliant blue LED...the kind they use for keychain flashlights.
Either I'm gonna put a piece of duct-tape over it, or I'm gonna start
wearing sunglasses at my desk (ahhhh, I already did that on New Year's Day).

The Dock is small, but seems to be well-constructed, and engineered for simple operation. The Treo fits perfectly into the Dock, which uses a clone of the default Treo connector. The volume control is at the top of the unit, and the jacks for the USB and external music source are on the back.

The Dock is designed to stand at an angle which keeps the Treo gravity-secure in its cradle, is supported by solid legs, and has grippy rubber pads at the front to keep it from moving around.

My PC and HotSync immediately recognized the Treo when I plugged it into the Dock, and HotSync had no issues

PERFORMANCE

While HotSync works well, there is no way to activate it from the Dock or the cable. You have to use the HotSync screen. I question how much cost/effort it would have taken to place a HotSync button on the Dock, or provide a cable with integrated HotSync cable (they already exist). The twin-power option means that I have a nice, portable speakerphone/charger/stereo kit that fits neatly into my overnight bag.

I used PocketTunes Deluxe to test the audio quality of the speakers. Although they would send an audiophile into cardiac arrest, they are vastly superior to the sound out of most mini-speaker units. By utilizing the PTunes equalizer, I was able to get a very tolerable sound out of them...even with Rhapsody in Blue pounding away. I then plugged my son's MP3 player into the unit, and it worked just fine. However, I found a better use for the double-male cable... PocketTunes sounds fantastic, plugged into my home theater. Of course, I still have to use that dog-legged 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter to run the Treo off of it.

The hands-free speaker phone got a solid test: My Verizon DSL went out, and I had to call tech support on my Treo & Dock. The Verizon tech couldn't fix my problem at that time, but he could hear me
perfectly ("...can you hear me now?") and the speakers provided a crisp, clear conversation on my end.

That alone will make the Dock a good investment for me.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, my initial impressions of the Brando Music Dock are very positive. I have no idea of how well the unit will stand up over constant use and travel, but time will tell. In the meantime, it works as advertised, and seems to deliver value for the buck. In today's market, that's saying a lot. I score the Brando Music Dock a solid triple up the power alley. A HotSync button or extra-battery slot would have given it solo home-run. Both...and its a grand-slam.

PROS

* Hands-free speakerphone works well.
* Twin-power sources.
* Connection to external music sources.
* Decent stereo-sound for the dollar.
* No problems connecting to PC & HotSync.
* Compact, solid construction.
* Simple-to-use design.

CONS

* No HotSync button.
* No extra-battery slot.
* Blue Light of Death.
* Decent speakers could have been good speakers.