Philips underwhelms with lackluster iPod / iPhone accessory line

Is it any wonder Philips is opting out of making a stop at CES this year? If it showed up with this line, it'd literally be laughed right out of Vegas. The outfit's dedicated "showing" in San Francisco this past week consisted of two Streamium Network Music Players (NP2500 and NP2900) that we were already well aware of, a refreshed DLO iBoom JukeBox ($200) that now plays nice with iPhones and two other mildly interesting pieces. First up is the January-bound DC350 Docking Entertainment System ($150), which bills itself as an iPhone / iPod dock "with hands-free conference call functions and the ability to sync with business calendars on your PC." Finally, we've got the 2.1 SPA5300 sound system (pictured), which has evidently been introduced in less traveled corners of the world but is just now making itself visible in the US. On second thought, maybe "underwhelming" is being too generous.

[Via iPodNN]

[allislost Posted Dec 14th 2008 8:55AM]

All it needs is some and a touch of to be better.

[r34p3r Posted Dec 14th 2008 8:56AM]

I must be the only one in the world who thinks the design of those speakers is neat.

Whether the performance can live up to the price is another story. They don't give specifics in the link.

[kaimonkey Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:16AM]

dont worry i like the design as well :)

[GingerFox Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:19AM]

i think they look like speakers should 'angry!' lol

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:31AM]

Yeah, speakers look pretty cool.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:37AM]

I don't like the design it reminds me of sony xplode.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:03AM]

I like the speakers.

[WhyFi Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:11AM]

They look pretty nice for what they are... but the brazen lack of tweeters is concerning.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 2:54PM]

Brazen it is but also sadly very common (probably the norm indeed) in the computer speaker / ipod speaker / home theater in a box world.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:12AM]

They may suck, but they look awesome. Of course, it's those looks that will sell 100% of them to unsuspecting sonsumers.

[erf Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:53AM]

From this article alone, there isn't any mention of the speakers sucking, but they look great.

[Oli D Posted Dec 14th 2008 9:22AM]

To me, that looks like the futuristic toilet i have been dreaming of for years.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 12:33PM]

Hell... when something like this will appear for Zune?! Grrr!!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 10:03AM]

Darren, you must have been very sarcastic, or I just didn't understand the post.

Those speakers look great and seem to do a lot more than the average no-name brand iPhone/iPod accessories out there ("wireless" charging dock slash night light anyone?).

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 10:11AM]

I'd rather something plainer and understated than these monstrousities.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 10:17AM]

It's the NOD base defense from Command and Conquer 3!!!!!

[daPrinz Posted Dec 14th 2008 10:48AM]

OK and what is so bad about the design of the speakers? Just because they said they saved money on the design it's automatically bad looking? I could instantly name ten speaker systems that look worse than these.
What about the performance? Isn't that what matters in a audio product? It's pretty bold to call a audio product "underwhelming" without even mention it's audio capabilities.

[Oli D Posted Dec 14th 2008 10:54AM]

Yeah what the hell man?

That's like saying my cat is underwhelming before you've even seen it dancing!

[exboy99 Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:21AM]

I think the underwhelming part is because the other offerings
are just sort of meh. docks and cradles and speaker setups.
none of them make me go wowzies, so throw them in with the
aisle at the store with the 100 other docs and cradles because
nothing really sets them apart. A good effort though, I like some of it
but doubt I'll be buying any of it.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:41AM]

They're freakin' cheap speakers designed for teenagers to dock their iPods. What were you expecting, this is Philips we're talking about, not some high end brand. Why does every Engadget treat everything that isn't made by Steve Jobs as trash?

[Ethan Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:45AM]

This article is really snobby.

[albundy Posted Dec 14th 2008 1:49PM]

does this even cover the full range of sound? or is it just like bose? i see only midrange and a LFW being used.

[weirdo557 Posted Dec 14th 2008 2:33PM]

looks familiar


http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9MRCTJyMSDA/R1ti-BSwRsI/AAAAAAAAADk/rO8gbYRk4-w/speaker.JPG (not my pic)

[weirdo557 Posted Dec 14th 2008 5:52PM]

link went dead, pic was of Philips pc400 speaker set.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 14th 2008 2:49PM]

It just yells Sony XPlod

[sinai Posted Dec 14th 2008 4:02PM]

i was thinking about the popularity of ipod and iphone related accessories and i came to the conclusion, they suck.

for instance, my earbuds are now broken because the base of the 3.5mm jack now all come in I-shapes instead of the much stronger and durable L-shape because people want to be able to have their things fit the 1G iPhone. What the hell man!

[DougieBear Posted Dec 14th 2008 8:56PM]

If it ain't white and doesn't have a gloss, its underwhelming these days. I have some 600 watt venue speakers and I love the fact they look so mean.

[James Posted Dec 14th 2008 10:23PM]

Sure am glad i picked up those klipsch ultra 5.1's with my last build before they stopped selling them. The best computer speakers ive ever heard.

[Trav261 Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:41PM]

I'm not surprised. Phillips is the worse name brand when it comes to mobile electronics. Especially when it comes to headphones/earphones. The ones I have either owned or tried were not nearly as good as other name brand models in the same price range.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 15th 2008 3:19AM]

I disagree.

Phillips headphones rock.
My SHS5200 cost $15, sound better than some $100 headphones and my last pair lasted 2 YEARS.

How long have your $29 really crummy Apple iPod earbuds lasted? A WEEK?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 15th 2008 7:34AM]

What's with the constant Engadget hate on Philips? Did they pick on you in high school or something?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 15th 2008 7:42AM]

Ah, hell. I guess I should disclose that I work in R&D for Philips, but in the Lighting Electronics sector, not Consumer Electronics. What comes to market isn't always the stuff that we realize, but if you look back at our history, we're a pretty significant leader in innovation.

If you're wondering why I rarely contribute anything of value to the Engadget comments, this is why. It's typically a conflict of interest for me to do so, and I think I'm bound by a lot of NDAs.

/disclosure

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 15th 2008 3:17PM]

@Blanka

Again, I can't really agree or disagree, although I really agree. I work in Tier 2 of development, which is basically making someone else's dream become a reality. It's really a shame to see a lot of bright ideas go to waste and then witness the trash that makes it to market.

[blanka Posted Dec 15th 2008 1:31PM]

For a company doing development in the city with the best design school in the world, the overall output of products just looks disgusting. Even the Koreans are doing better today. Ambilight TV's, WakeUp Lights, Living Colours bulbs, and now this iBoom thing: it all looks cheaper than cheap. Guess its because Philips is recognized as the best employer of the Netherlands. Those titles never mean good things for innovation. A creative boss should be a pain in the ass!

[endgadget Posted Jan 6th 2009 2:41AM]

I couldn't agree more ...is Philips listening ? Or will we soon see the shavers and coffee makers lined with LEDs ? And how about their intimate massagers ;-) ? This ambilight nonsense is going too far ...surprising why Philips doesn't realise that the only reason why no other CE brand has ambilight is because it is UGLY, cheap and honestly useless ..while being constantly compromising Philips' own revenues. If ambilight would rock (like all the iStuff do), then the sonys and samsungs of the world (not to mention Hisense et al) would be lusting after it. Now they laugh their asses off. And Philips will plan their ambilight shavers. Or is it MRIs next ?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 16th 2008 3:25AM]

Not impressed by Philip's iPod Dock, this is a good example of awesome iPod Dock:

http://www.mvixbenelux.com/content/product_09.html

Now we are talking!!!! ALL IN ONE!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 24th 2008 3:04AM]

how are you all~~

if you need ipod,iphone speakers, pls turn to me
mail:[e-mail];MSN:[e-mail]