tech: Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime

The Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime is an iPod and iPhone dock, and an alarm clock. It’s sleek, black and designed for your boudoir, but at £79.99 it’s not cheap so what you get for your hard earned dosh?

The central feature is, of course, the iPod and iPhone dock which is neatly recessed so you’re not going to send your player flying if you wake up as incoherent as I usually do. On either side of the dock are two speakers, which deliver a decent sound - indeed the response at ChannelFlip HQ was one of surprise because we were all expecting horrendously tinny results from a dock of this size and these were not at all awful.

On the unit itself, you have a range of controls including volume and snooze for the alarm at the front. A brightness adjuster for the display, the power button, input selector and the time setting button. The buttons on the right control the three radio presets, the track skip option and the two alarm options.

The Anytime does come with a remote control, but this is really basic - just volume and track conrrol - so you are better off using your iPod or iPhone controls to navigate through your tunes. If you want to wake up to your favourite song - maybe something nice and relaxing like Iron Maiden - you just make sure your iPod has that song selected before you hit the sack.
You also have the option of waking up to the AM or FM radio - but the Anytime doesn’t have DAB which is disappointing.

Here’s the nifty (or silly) bit - to turn it off, you can simply wave your hand over the device, which activates the snooze function. This motion sensing technology also wakes the lights on the top of the Anytime, which will change from bright to low to off. It is - shall we say - handy, but you may well miss the rather satisfactory clunk you used to get with your old alarm clock when you clonked it to get it to shut up.

All in all, the Pure-Fi Anytime is a fairly decent product. However, I can’t help but feel like it’s slightly redundant. iPods and iPhones come with built in alarm clock functionality and there are better speaker systems on the market for less money, so why not pair the two and enjoy the benefit? For ¬£70 the Anytimes are a little bit expensive for the quality and functionality delivered, so they’re going to get a decidedly average 3*s.

For the best of the rest:

CNET:
Understated, travel-friendly design; compatible with both iPods and other MP3 players (via auxiliary line-in); speaker sounds great; has a built-in, rechargeable battery; comes with a travel case and an innovative wall charger; included remote lets you navigate the iPod’s menus.

Trusted Reviews:
Got an iPod - will travel. When you’re on the move, whether for a business trip or on holiday, it’s easy to take all your music with you in your iPod. It’s harder to share that music though, which is why portable speaker docks makes sense. We’ve got two contenders, one from Logitech at around £100 and another from iRhythms at a more affordable 50 quid. Which to go for? Let’s take a look, and listen.

Audioholics:
Lately I find myself traveling quite a bit, which means lots of time in hotel rooms away from my home theater. I take my iPod for the flights, but in my room I tend to just turn on the TV, or if I am working, just play music through my laptop speakers. Logitech has just released a new portable speaker system designed for iPod called the Pure-Fi Anywhere, and after testing it over the past month I can tell you that it is worth considering if you are looking for something that sounds big, yet can be packed in your carry-on.