Broken ihome

[DeeCee735]

Just checked into AKV Kidani one bedroom savannah view. Awesome! My favorite resort.
Clean, comfortable. I never complain so this is a first. The ihome tells time but that's it. I have one at home so I do know how they work, this will not play music from my iPhone or charge it. I called housekeeping but they only brought a regular radio/alarm clock, said they don't have any ihomes. It will have to do, however if I were paying cash at what $500 a night, I would expect that a 5 star resort would be able to replace a broken ihome. Bummer since I'm solo for a few days and do enjoy pandora radio, certainly not a vacation ruiner though. Just thought I'd share.

 

[mouse]

We have had a problem with some of the ihomes at Disney. Now I am not very technically inclined, but we found that our ipod did not work if we set it in the "slot" but did work if we use the "cord" to attach it. Sorry for the lack of the correct jargon.

 

[DeeCee735]

Thank you. I did try that as well it's not working. I am using the mp3 cord on the regular clock radio and its fine. I can now listen to the Disney sound tracks I intended on playing! Yes, I'm that Disney geek! LOL!

 

[hakepb]

I believe it was reported that the iPhones were being phased out.

 

[DeeCee735]

I can't imagine why. They are available in standard hotels all over the place, and I'm not paying thousands in maintenance fees in those places. Seems these should be standard in a first class place like Disney. JMHO.

 

[mybabesuz]

They don't have any more to replace it with.
We had a problem last summer at two resorts.
OKW found us one to use but no luck at Kidani.
Luckily we had our Laptop and found a charger cord in the giftshop.
Lesson learned... we now have chargers in the Purple Locker.

 

[disneynutz]

The iHomes have been discontinued by Disney.

They only fit "i" products not other phones or devices and as Apple continues to change their designs, only legacy products will fit on the connector.

About 52% of smart phone sales are iPhones.

Bill

 

[Snurk71]

Fyi - Android has about a 4 to 1 lead on Apple smartphones worldwide. Not counting any specific quarters sales of new devices, which can be misleading when a new Apple device releases.

Android dominates the smartphone market.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Fyi - Android has about a 4 to 1 lead on Apple smartphones worldwide. Not counting any specific quarters sales of new devices, which can be misleading when a new Apple device releases.

Android dominates the smartphone market.

As an android geek (rooted many devices and never use an iPhone, but love my iPad) this number is skewed and it says worldwide. Android devices are outselling iPhones in the US, it is no where near that margin. However, once the iPhone 4 rolled out, many of those i devices no longer work correctly as apple has changed what can charge & play through it. Even though they are the same connector it doesn't work the same for every iPod and iPhone. My iPod ( before the iPhone) had a FireWire charging and sync cable. That never worked for any iPhones or iPod touch, even though the 30 pin connection is the same.

Those ihome are outdated. I would hold it against any hotel that had them and they didn't work anymore.

 

[Sammie]

And I have never gotten one that kept proper time, it was always off. We had to put a towel over it, to keep from always being late.

I am glad they are going.

 

[tjkraz]

However, once the iPhone 4 rolled out, many of those i devices no longer work correctly as apple has changed what can charge & play through it. Even though they are the same connector it doesn't work the same for every iPod and iPhone. My iPod ( before the iPhone) had a FireWire charging and sync cable. That never worked for any iPhones or iPod touch, even though the 30 pin connection is the same.

Those ihome are outdated. I would hold it against any hotel that had them and they didn't work anymore.

The changes to the Apple 30-pin connector occurred many years ago--around 2005/2006. My wife had an old iHome clock radio that would charge and play her iPod Mini from 2004 but refused to charge newer iPods and iPhones.

The iHome radios in Disney resorts are newer and did not have this problem.

However the dock connector on the iPhone 5 is a completely different design. The newest iPhones cannot be charged with the iHome radios Disney was using. Additionally there are dozens of other smartphones running Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc. which are also not compatible with the iHome.

About 3-4 years ago Apple dominated the MP3 and smartphone markets--Apple brought those products into the mainstream. For a time, the iHome units were an ideal match for many guests. But now it's a crowded market with many different hardware manufacturers and device specs.

Today it really doesn't make sense for Disney to support one platform over another. The iHomes are expensive units and only a fraction of resort guests can use the more advanced features.

The iHome units were frequently stolen, too.

 

[Kidanifan08]

The last few times we were there, we couldn't get the time set correctly on the iHome. After our most recent visit, I received an on-line survey and there were 3-4 questions about alarm clocks in the room, which kind of alluded to them discontinuing the iHome. Like others have indicated, I suspect they are getting away from devices that don't work with all smartphones. We never used the in room alarm clock, since I can just set my phone as an alarm.

I recently bought a Bose SoundLink, which connects via bluetooth or cable, and it is awesome for listening to music. It is fairly light an fits well into a carry-on.

I keep all of our device chargers in a zippered case and that case goes in my carry-on with my sunglasses, medications and swimsuit. The airlines can lose my clothes, but they are not going to paralyze me by losing my device chargers!

 

[Lost boy]

We were at OKW for two weeks in a 2bdrm last month and the iHome did'nt work in the master, my wife called housekeeping and in 10mins they were at the door with a new one still in plastic plus a new large skillet we were missing.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Just checked into AKV Kidani one bedroom savannah view. Awesome! My favorite resort.
Clean, comfortable. I never complain so this is a first. The ihome tells time but that's it. I have one at home so I do know how they work, this will not play music from my iPhone or charge it. I called housekeeping but they only brought a regular radio/alarm clock, said they don't have any ihomes. It will have to do, however if I were paying cash at what $500 a night, I would expect that a 5 star resort would be able to replace a broken ihome. Bummer since I'm solo for a few days and do enjoy pandora radio, certainly not a vacation ruiner though. Just thought I'd share.

And if you were staying at a "Five Star Resort" you might have a complaint

You are staying at a Disney resort. They are not "5 start" by ANY measure except pricing...

Not sure where you got this 5 star from but... Disney resorts don't measure up. I think the only "rating"group that rates them near that high is AAA and it's hard to view them as independent.

 

[tjkraz]

We were at OKW for two weeks in a 2bdrm last month and the iHome did'nt work in the master, my wife called housekeeping and in 10mins they were at the door with a new one still in plastic plus a new large skillet we were missing.

Resorts are able to exhaust their stock of replacement iHome radios but no new ones are being ordered.

 

[tjkraz]

And if you were staying at a "Five Star Resort" you might have a complaint

You are staying at a Disney resort. They are not "5 start" by ANY measure except pricing...

Not sure where you got this 5 star from but... Disney resorts don't measure up. I think the only "rating"group that rates them near that high is AAA and it's hard to view them as independent.

Even on AAA's Diamond scale, Animal Kingdom Lodge tops-out at Four Diamonds.

According to the AAA Diamond rating guide, an "MP3 docking station" is only listed as required criteria for reaching Five Diamond status. And Disney resorts fall short of 5D in many respects.

Only a standard clock radio is required to meet 4D and under criteria.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Kidani Aug/2012, OKW Nov/2012, neither had Ihomes....

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

OP, if you're still there, check to make sure the cord is plugged in. I seem to recall having a problem with an iHome on one trip. It was still showing the time, but wouldn't do anything else. I traced the cord and found that someone had unplugged it.