Bose® SoundDock® Series III Digital Music System: Rock out to your favorite jams with this speaker system that features a proprietary acoustic design that provides full, robust sound. The Lightning connector allows compatibility with select Apple® iPhone® and iPod® models.
Customer Rating
2
Great sound, big oversight in design
on June 14, 2013
Posted by: spinoc
from Orange County, CA
Type of Listener:Casual listener
Most Important to Purchase:Sound quality
How Often Used:Daily
I waited patiently for a Sound Dock that was directly compatible with the iPhone 5 (Lightning connector) and the Sound Dock III seemed to be the answer. It's fairly expensive as sound docks go, but the sound quality always seems to make it worthwhile for someone that appreciates the rich, deep sounds of such a small package. The features are few, perhaps too few, but it makes it a simple unit to operate. So far so good.
The big issue with me is, the Sound Dock III cannot accommodate an iPhone 5 fitted with a protective cover. Suffice it to say, I don't know of anyone that doesn't have a protective cover on their overpriced iPhone 5, so it's a huge miss in my opinion, that Bose did not accommodate for this in the design of the product. Now I understand that, with the wide variety of protective covers not everything can fit all the time, but I expect more from Bose, and I expect them to understand that covers are a reality for the vast majority of cell phone users. My particular cover is very thin. Perhaps 1mm thick, but likely a little but less. The sound dock, confirmed by Bose support, is not designed to accommodate the use of ANY protective cover. This means having to remove and re-install the cover each time you want to use the Sound Dock III, or remove the cover all together and take you're chances. I chose the latter because there's no way I have time to pull the phone in and out of the cover each time I want to use the Sound Dock. I've already paid the price with a couple short drops leaving blemishes in the trim ring around the phone, but at least I was luck enough to not shatter the glass.
I'm very disappointed in Bose for having designed their product without factoring in the reality that nearly all cell phone users use protective covers on their cell phones. It might not be easy to accommodate, but that's why I've bough this and other Bose products in the past - they're supposed to be a cut above. I'm afraid to say that this is the first Bose product that's a disappointment overall for me.
What's great about it: Typical high quality Bose sound