Philips has gone and done something with its new range of Fidelio speaker docks that makes you go, "Surely that’s been done before?" You say that because it seems so necessary, yet this is the first range of speaker docks made specifically for Android phones, and they’re out today.
Since Android phones insist on using micro USB ports – which can’t output sound and are in different places on nearly every handset, Philips came up with the FlexiDock. The connector can be rotated 360-degrees and moved on a belt along the dock – leaving your device balanced and centered.
The audio connection is made using Bluetooth and an auto-opening free app, meaning the dock is mainly for charging – which allows you to remove the handset to text while the connection remains continuous, much like AirPlay. And if you’ve got a spare hungry USB device like a tablet, there’s even a USB port on the back to let you charge that too.
There are three sizes of Android Fidelio dock out today: the top end AS851 (top) with Philips Digital sound processing and 30W of ear-vibrating power, the AS351 (first below) flaunts Dynamic Bass Boost power that can run on batteries if you need to go mobile, and the AS111 (bottom) that comes with a clock face and acts as the perfect bedside alarm speaker with 360-degree speaker sound.
