iSkin Cerulean RX: Hands on Review

I love to listen to my iPhone Music Library on my iHome while lounging in the backyard. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that I need to get up and run over to the iPhone to change the song or answer a phone call constantly. Enter iSkin’s Cerulean RX ($89.99)- now I can do this wirelessly through my iPhone’s Bluetooth. Life just got easier.

Like the product says, you simply dock, pair, and play. It was really that easy. I plugged the little black A2Dp bluetooth receiver in to my iHome, went into the  iPhone Bluetooth settings and paired. The sound quality was not really lost surprisingly. Maybe your annoying audiophile buddy will complain of a loss in quality but who cares what that nerd thinks. I was mostly impressed with how far the Bluetooth connection worked. No joke, I ran across the street (approx. 30 ft) with my iPhone streaming music over the bluetooth- my friends assured me it never loss signal (impressive).

Now don’t think this is restricted to your iPhone or even a 30-pin speaker dock. It can sync with any media device with A2DP bluetooth, like a Palm Pre or Blackberry. Also the Cerulean comes with a RCA to 3.5 auxiliary, and 3.5 to 3.5 auxiliary cable to plug the receiver in to most stereos, and speakers.  Whats nice about the iHome and other similar devices is that it will charge while in use, but if you do not have that luxury, you have a mini-USB to USB to charge with. You will need to use a computer or buy a USB wall charger, which is dirt cheap on Amazon.

Conclusion:

The product is a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for, and that’s the wireless luxury. I have had bad experiences with bluetooth devices in early adaptations, but this has changed my view of bluetooth for the better. Only complaints I could think of is maybe they should just include the Mini-USB. Also it would be nice if it worked in the car for wireless phone calls over my speakers, but instead its only a one way receiver. If you have the disposable income, and this is a feature that would come in handy, then what are you waiting for?