Product: naviPro eX Wireless Remote for iPod
Company: TEN Technology
Price: $49.95
Reviewer: The Sitter Downers (Aaron Jackson)
Date: Thursday, April 07, 2005

I ordered my naviPro eX direct from the Apple Store®. After shipping and tax the unit cost a grand total of $57.07. I missed being eligible for free shipping by $0.05. Very painful, but shipping was ONLY $4 for UPS so I really came out on top…of an anthill. I ordered the remote on Monday, April 04, 2005. Three days later I had the critter in my grubby little hand. I always wanted to say that. It seems like a “reviewer” thing to say.

The first thing I noticed was that the packing job was pathetic. Admittedly this is probably not the fault of TEN Technology so much as the Apple Store® or UPS. Still, the product was packed in only a bubble wrap envelope and had obviously had a rough trip. Inside the plastic package that housed the remote had indeed been damaged. My first concern was that the product might also be damaged. I was fortunate that this was not the case.

The first thing I took out of the package was the remote control unit. The remote looks awesome in my opinion. It has great icon design indicating button function and the classic iPod white and gray coloring. The remote did not appear to be poorly constructed per say, however if unpacking a naviPro eX in a windstorm, you may want to hold on tight. This thing weighs about as much as two paperclips. Let me just classify it as NOT substantial.

The remote is packed with the 3-volt battery pre-installed and is covered by a plastic insert that must be removed before use. With the unit I received, I had to actually remove the battery tray and re-seat it after I pulled out the plastic packing, as it was not closed correctly. This allowed me to discover that the battery tray must be tilted up ever so slightly to get the thing to slide in. Once it is closed though, it isn’t coming out…at least not at this point.

The receiver portion of the device looks very nice as well. I like the design and I really appreciated the way TEN Technology integrated the metal stand, which holds the device upright to provide for a better line of sight…the device is IR not RF. Once the stand is attached it would take quite a bump to knock over your iPod® . In contrast to the remote control, this aspect of the design is VERY substantial.

Plugging in the audio jack takes some force. This is actually a good thing. It holds the jack firmly and it isn’t coming out on its own. This is another reflection of good design in my opinion.

Using the system has its obvious drawbacks because there is no display on the remote to tell you exactly where you have navigated on your iPod. Hopefully, those that purchase a remote for the iPod will understand this before hand so I won’t hold this against TEN Technologies.

When you power on your iPod via the remote, the first song in your library begins playing (unless you powered off in the middle of a song in which case it resumes just as the iPod normally would). Immediately after you turn the iPod on (assuming you aren’t resuming a track) you can push the “Next Playlist” button and begin navigating your playlists. I am an avid playlist user so I found this to be intuitive and just down right awesome. Within each playlist you can also navigate albums, so if you have a playlist with all of Perl Jam’s albums you can just click through to Ten and be done with it. If you have audio books installed on your iPod you can navigate them as well. I would have liked to have seen some alternate function for these buttons as my guess is that the majority of users don’t have Audible books on their iPods.

Bottom line:
Is this device worth $50? Well, I don’t know if I would go that far. Perhaps for a an RF device the price tag would be valid. I received mine as a birthday present so it was well worth the $50 to me. Still, the naviPro eX makes listening to my tunes at bedtime 100% easier and the remote works flawlessly. I love the design and as long as the device can stand up under heavy use I will be pleased.

2 Out Of 3 Stooges