The Product
Brando WorkShop Palm Music Dock
Built-in stereo speakers, let you listen the sound with higher volume, better quality than Palm's internal speaker. The hotsync button, let you perform the data synchronization easily.
Features: Listening music, Watching movie with higher quality sound effect. Volumn Control With HotSync Button.
Compatible:
Palm TE 2 Palm T5 Palm TX Palm Life Drive
The Expectation
I had been looking forward to receiving the Brando Workshop Palm Music Dock for my TE2. Living in South Carolina it takes a few days to get here from Hong Kong. So, I was quite excited when the mail delivery person showed up with it. Heck, my wife was actually thrilled to see it also!
Three-In-One Device
The thing that appealed to me was the fact that this is much more than just a music dock. It is a three-in-one device: music dock, cradle charger, and cradle hotsync. That is packing a lot into a small device.
The Package
In the package was the product itself (which contains the dock, the power adapter, a line in cord, and a USB hotsync cord) and a power adapter for the US, since it comes with the Asian/European standard. It took a lot for me to refrain from ripping the packaging open long enough to take a picture.
Charging
The Brando Workshop Palm Music Dock is easy to set up. For the cradle charger function all you have to do is connect the dock to the power cord, the power cord to the wall, and place the Palm in the cradle. Viola! You are charging your Palm.
Playing Music
First, set it up like you would if you were powering up. To play music you make sure you have your SD card full of music in your SD card slot on your Palm, turn the power on to your Palm, and fire up your music software. On the right side, towards the back, is the volume control. Adjust the volume to your taste and you are listening to your music from your Palm without headphones or pesky cords.
Hotsyncing
First, set it up like you would if you were powering up. You will need to connect the hotsync cord from the cradle to your PC. It is best if you use the same USB port that you regularly have been using to avoid any potentially pesky set up issues that may arise (I am not sure if any would arise, but it is better to be safe). Once set up, press the little hotsync button on the top front of the cradle and you are hotsyncing.
My Impressions- Charging
My TE2 fit into the cradle perfectly. There was not any adjusting needed. After I placed my TE2 into the cradle I plugged in the cradle to test the charging feature. I turned on the device and saw the little lightning bolt on the battery on my screen, which means it was charging. I still plan to use my charging cord when I need to recharge my TE2, but I think the fact that it will charge it while playing music or watching a video is a definite bonus. I do not have to worry about draining the battery.
My Impressions- Playing Music
After I made sure it was charging I tested the speaker. I had placed my music/video SD card into my TE2 before placing it in the cradle. I activated TCPMP (which is a great free player) and opened up a music file (99 Red Balloons). I played it softly, then increased the volume. It has a good sound. It will not be suitable for playing music for a big party, but that is not what it is intended to be. It is designed to play music while you are working at your desk, at your bedside while reading or relaxing, in the kitchen, and many other similar situations. After I played a couple of songs I loaded up a movie (Die Another Day) and began watching it. It worked very well. The sound was crisp and clear. Not only was I impressed, but my wife thought it was fantastic, and she does not impress easily when it comes to electronic gadgets.
My Impressions- Hotsyncing
I use Bluetooth for hotsyncing, so this function was not be as useful to me. Before I could hotsync I had to reconfigure my COM ports as I have not figured out how to have the Bluetooth and cable live together in harmony. Once I did this, I did a trial hotsync. I had the TE2 in the cradle and the hotsync USB cord attached from the cradle to the computer. I pressed the hotsync button and, without any difficulty, it did the hotsync. I did this only once, because I wanted to get my Bluetooth reset as soon as possible before I forgot how.
Other Devices
Included in the box is a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cord (or as I called in "the line in plug"). This makes the device more versatile, as you can use the speaker for your MP3 or CD player. My wife has a Zire 31. We attached her PDA to the dock using this cord and played some of her songs. The quality was just as good as with the TE2 set in the dock. She was thrilled to death to see that her Zire 31 could play through the speaker.
Final Thoughts
The Brando Workshop Music Dock is a terrific product. The fact that it not only provides a speaker for the Palm, but is also a charger and hotsync cradle, increases its value. It looks to be a solid product and did not reduce quality to provide an extra quantity of services. For those who are worried about price and value, it is only $32.00 US. You'd spend close to that amount just for a hotsync/charger cradle elsewhere. To get yours, and many other great products, visit Shop Brando at http://shop.brando.com.hk/
As is my tradition and style, I will post a follow-up on my review in a couple of weeks.
Mike Moore, Associate Writer (South Carolina, USA)
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