Purchase a pet

Ozaki is a brand that offers all kinds of iPod accessories, including these cute little docking station called the iMini Pet. Why Pet? Because it has a little stuffed animal perched on top of it, and wait, the animal dances to the music! You may find it a tad childish initially, but once the dock is on, you just can't take your eyes off it.

What is it ?
It's essentially a docking station with a radio and alarm, all wrapped in soft fur, with just the docking station exposed on the top, plus an alphanumeric LED screen and joystick pad button visible in the front. The stuffed animal on top of our model is called Charles, and he happens to be a cuddly frog. The other pets available include a puppy dog, a panda bear, a lion cub and a few more. These have an 'ON' switch on their pudgy paws.

Once switched on, the 'pet' starts dancing to the tunes your iPod plays. It seems to match steps perfectly to your music. But in essence, the moves are pre-programmed. The mouth also opens and closes and its hands seem to be doing this robotic dance along with the music — a feature sure to make people smile.

The technology
iMini has an in-built rhythm decoding chip called the MJ1191. The skeletal frame is called HIPS skeleton. The device has a rated frequency response of 200 Hz — 16 KHz, so the bass seems a bit compromised. It has various sized moulds for different iPod devices, and also has a line in for other MP3 players. There is a mic in too.

Performance
The sound output is quite loud and almost clean, with just a tad of audible distortion at the max volume.
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