The MiDocks Unibody Dock Holds Any iPhone With A Stylish, Elegant Form [Review]

Having finally fulfilled its Kickstarter premium rewards with backer MiDocks units, manufacturer Mi has begun selling black and a silver brushed aluminum MiDock on its own web store.

This unibody iPhone dock is lightweight, solid, and has a fairly impressive look about it, as if Apple or Twelve South could have designed it. It’s a wonderful first effort from the company, and backers and early adopters alike will find much to like about the MiDocks they bring into their homes.

The killer feature here is, by far, the universality of the MiDocks. Any Apple cable can fit underneath and up through the dock, poking up above the soft rubber shelf that the iPhone is set on when docking it. The cable is then held in place with a screw which is set into the back of the unit. This screw is loosened or tightened with an included hex-style screw bit, like the one you might find for an electric drill or screwdriver. The recessed nature of the setup allows the cable to be held solidly without any ugly screws sticking out the back; it’s a lovely design.

As a 30-pin or lightning cable can be used, the MiDocks unit becomes a universal dock fairly easily. An added positive here is the way the cable can be raised or lowered to accommodate any case the docking iPhone might be in; as my iPhone is in a nice Truffol case, I merely had to loosen the screw, raise my lightning cable up a bit, and then tighten it in. The bottom of the MiDocks unit has an indented channel that clips the flexible bit of the cable in and directs it out the back of the MiDocks, keeping the unit flat on any hard surface.

The bottom of the MiDocks has two areas with sticky, micro-suction material that holds the MiDocks and attached device solidly to any flat surface I tried, including my Corian countertops, my wooden bedside table, and a glass shelf on the wall. The MiDocks unit held fast, and it was also able to come up with a bit of effort. The stuff never left any residue, either.

There are open areas just below where the iPhone 5 speakers are, so that when it’s docked on the MiDocks unit, the sound is not blocked, but channeled instead toward the rear of the aluminum dock. I found that the sound was a bit tinnier than when I just held the iPhone in my hand, but the volume didn’t decrease as it does when I set my iPhone on a flat surface with speakers down.

I was even able to dock my iPad Mini with ease, using the lightning cable I had connected for the iPhone. The MiDocks held it as securely as it did the iPhone, adding perhaps just that bit of universality to appeal to someone with both devices. Setting my iPhone in the MiDocks at night is by far my favorite application of the dock itself, letting me use apps like Rise or iTunes just a bit more functional.

The killer feature here is, by far, the universality of the MiDocks.

Ultimately, the MiDocks unibody dock is an affordable, well-designed and good-looking iPhone dock that will fit any kind of iPhone you might have, as it uses your own cable to connect to the iOS device. The design and fit is precise, and while the audio thins out a bit when attached, it’s still better than many docks without any thought given to opening up the speaker areas to allow sound to get out.

Product Name: MiDocks The Good: Good-looking design sense with solid, lightweight, precise manufacturing. The Bad: Audio gets somewhat tinny when an iPhone is connected. The Verdict: Ultimately, the MiDocks functions exceptionally well as a dock, allowing iPhones (and even the iPad Mini) to dock securely and safely. Buy from: MiDocks Webstore



[rating=excellent]