iLuv MobiAir – Music to Your Ears

By Krista Dulaney

In the past two decades, the way we listen to music has changed pretty dramatically. From large, bulky CD players and then advent of personal mp3 players and iPods, many people now primarily enjoy music through their personal cell phones. Smartphone technology allows you to stream music instantly through your 3G or 4G cell service or using a WiFi connection. In addition, your downloaded music files can be accessed through your phone’s hard drive.

Our music is always with us now, but that doesn’t mean the music quality will be spectacular when you want to listen to your music in any way other than through your earbuds. Playing music or radio through a cell phone’s speakers usually means it will be muffled, garbled, and you lose much of the upper and lower registers this way. It’s not a great way to listen, but who wants to be tied down to a speaker dock that doesn’t charge your phone or doesn’t do much to increase the sound quality?

iLuv’s iMM377 MobiAir Adjustable Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Dock solves these problems with its many great features:

• Bluetooth profile lets you stream music from most smartphones or other Bluetooth-enabled device.
• Sliding micro-USB allows charging connection for most smartphones.
• myBot robotic arms secure your smartphone in the dock.
• Watch YouTube videos, movies, run apps, and play games while docked.
• Play music from your smartphone with stereo sound.

I have been using the iLuv MobiAir with our family’s devices for over a month. My personal phone is an Android, an HTC Evo 4G. My husband uses an iPhone 5 and we also have a Macbook and iPad that I’ve used with the MobiAir. Right off the bat, let me clear up something that you might find confusing when shopping for a MobiAir through third-party sellers. While you can use the iLuv MobiAir with Apple devices via Bluetooth, it is NOT a dock/charger for Apple phones. So while you’re not out of luck if you primarily use an iPhone, but iLuv makes plenty of other fantastic speaker docks designed for iPhone.

Right out of the box, the MobiAir is simple to use. There’s very little setup involved:  the speaker dock plugs into a wall outlet and then you can use the myBot robotic arms to adjust to precisely the size and shape of your micro-USB phone. With a few minor adjustments, I got my Evo 4G snugly in place. Whether your micro-USB output is on the bottom, top, or side of your phone, the MobiAir can accommodate almost any configuration!

I have to admit that I was confused by the MobiAir at first. Other speaker docks that I’ve used in the past for my video iPod would play automatically when docked, not using a Bluetooth connection. I expected the MobiAir to work like that, which it does not. You must either connect via Bluetooth or by using an auxiliary cable (not included). If you have any reservations about using Bluetooth to connect your phone to play through the MobiAir, it’s nice that playing through an aux cable is an option.

That being said, connecting via Bluetooth is super-simple. Once you’ve connected your phone to the speaker, it should “remember” to connect again when both devices are powered on and Bluetooth searchable.

To give you an idea of how this would work in a family where multiple phones are connecting to the MobiAir, I can assure you that it isn’t a problem! Our MobiAir is set up in our master bathroom. My husband connects to the MobiAir with his iPhone 5 to listen to music on his Pandora app while he showers before work.

When he finishes, I’m able to set my phone on the MobiAir, connect via Bluetooth, and listen to the I Heart Radio app while I take my shower. No problems whatsoever.

If you receive a phone call while your phone is connected to the MobiAir, you can answer it and talk over speakerphone. One word of caution is that at least on my phone, the ringtone was different when docked. I hadn’t heard that ringtone before and didn’t recognize it at first!

The iLuv MobiAir is small enough that you can easily take it with you to use elsewhere. It’s also powerful enough to use in a larger space (larger than a bathroom or bedroom); we used it in our church’s fellowship hall during a potluck dinner last month. It creates a big, rich sound, so much better than listening to your phone through its speakers. Once you get used to using the MobiAir, you’ll want that full sound all the time!

At a reasonable suggested retail price of $119.99, the MobiAir lets your music come back to life and fill the air with sound!

A Mom’s Perspective

As a parent, we get precious little time to ourselves. You don’t have to settle for tiny, tinny sound when you listen to the music. Using the MobiAir, you can have a beautiful soundtrack to your workday, chores, or time with your family.

*  I was given a MobiAir in exchange for my honest opinion.  All opinions are my own.