Speaker Docks vs Wireless Bluetooth Speakers for iPhone 5
With Apple's release of the iPhone 5 comes its new Lightning connectors. If you do not know what this means, it means that any accessories utilizing the old 30-pin connectors seen on the previous iPhones are now useless with the Lightning connectors. They just don't work. Since the Lightning connector is relatively new, accessories using the new connectors are very rare. This means accessories using the Lightning connectors can be charged at a premium price for subpar quality since there is no competition. Not only that but only Apple products use the Lightning connector, which means if you decide to buy a speaker dock for your iPhone 5, it'll have to include an auxiliary port if you wish to use other devices with it. They can also tack on extra for that kind of feature too. Pretty unfair isn't it?
Wireless Bluetooth devices on the other hand, are supported by many of today's modern mobile devices. Laptops, smartphones, tablets pc, computers, and game systems all support Bluetooth. Here's a list:
Nearly every smartphone and tablet with Android, Windows, or iOS. Laptops with operating systems Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and 8. Macbooks with OSX 10.2 and up Playstation 3, Playstation Vita, Xbox 360
As far as device compatibility goes, Bluetooth is almost universal and it will be continue to be supported well into the future. But what about the Lightning connector? Will it also one day be replaced by something else just like it did with the old 30-pin connector?
If you're planning on buying speakers for your iPhone 5, do not buy a speaker dock. Save yourself money and buy yourself something of higher quality at a higher price that is compatible with multiple devices. Apple accessories has consumers fooled that their connectors are the best when everyone else is using something different when it comes to wired connections, such as the micro-USB.