JBL OnBeat

usability, design, price, size

78% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

Built for iPads, iPhones, and iPods. Quality audio performance at moderate volumes. Charges docked device even when powered off. Video output for television viewing.

Distorts at high volumes. iPad sometimes blocks IR sensor for remote. Dock arm supports horizontal viewing for iPhones and iPods only, not iPads.

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Inexpensive. Good sound quality. Better-than-average range.

Headset flaps around your ear as you walk. Grows uncomfortable after extended wearing. Small volume controls.

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Pleasant design; Plug & Play operation; Supports all iOS devices; Vertical and horizontal orientation; Fast charging

Audio breaks at high volume; Underwhelming bass at high volume; iPad tilts downwards in horizontal orientation

There are no equalizer settings for the full-range transducers, so you might want to change that setting on your device itself. For playing Trance, Indie and regular pop I found the ‘Electronic’ EQ on the iPhone 4 to be the best for the JBL OnBeat.

Good build quality, Coherent design, Will hold an iPad

Bass falls apart at high volume

Smart design ; simpler material sounds well organised ; works with Spotify

Weak sound ; not nearly enough bass ; harsh treble ; loses cohesion easily

As a speaker for watching video, it’s fine – but as a serious hi-fi dock? Sorry, no dice

The JBL Onbeat isn’t a flawless iPod dock. It’s natural sound signature is good to have but the lacking punch in the lower frequency range is bound to be a problem. We wished it wouldn't have distorted at higher volumes. Price wise, it’s not very cheap...

The ; is a compact speaker dock for Lightning-based iPhones and iPods. It delivers very good sound for its small size, and has a USB port for charging other mobile devices (and playing audio from them) and an auxiliary input for connecting to a PC. It...

You'll have to remove everything but the slimmest cases in order to dock your device; you only get about 5 hours of power from four AAA batteries; you can't play music from the docked device while a second one is charging via USB.

Offering surprisingly decent sound for its small size, the JBL OnBeat Micro makes for a good little desktop or bedside speaker and charging station for iPhone 5 owners.

Very stylish to look at ; Produces very nice sound at moderate volume ; USB port allows syncing with your computer while the iPad is connected

Up close it feels flimsy ; Sounds awful at higher volume

Other bells and whistles include a USB port, so that you can connect it to your computer and actually sync the iPad while it's charging — a very nice touch that's not included by many manufacturers.