Philips AS851

How long have we been waiting for a docking station designed for something other than an Apple device! Philips, answering the demand for Android devices on the smartphone market, has taken the plunge and has launched a range of dedicated docks. Let's hope that other audio manufacturers will follow suit!

Hardware: sliding connector for maximum compatibility

The advantage of developing a product for iOS is that you only have to provide support for a single connection and a single communications protocol. Up until now, the same couldn’t be said for Android products, but Google has now taken action on the matter.

The compatibility issue hasn't however been entirely resolved. Smartphones and audio players exist in all shapes and sizes, with screen size going from under two inches to over five! What’s more, the microUSB connector isn’t necessarily always in the same place on different devices… The Philips solution is to provide a sliding connector with considerable latitude for movement and a piece of rubber right in the middle of the speaker to grip onto your device.

All you have to do is slide the connector so that your smartphone is more or less centred and when you lean it against the rubber, the rubber sticks to it and stops it from falling: an ingenious, practical solution, very good if you want, say, to listen to music on a friend's phone.

It will all the same be worth checking where the microUSB connector on your smartphone, audio player or tablet is before you buy this dock. If the microUSB on your tablet is positioned along the length, you may have trouble fitting it onto the AS851 in spite of the rubber grip and this could well end up damaging the USB port on your tablet or the speaker. Philips could, we suppose, have come up with a get-around by adding a grip opposite the connector, but who knows, maybe this wouldn’t have worked for all devices either… The Philips portable speaker is compatible then, but within limits…


The AS85 battery will last you 5 hours. You can recharge your phone via the connector even when the speaker’s not plugged into the mains, though this does of course bring down battery life quite drastically. You may be wondering how to get the most out of the battery? By using Bluetooth. In fact, the microUSB connector is only really of any use to charge your phone - all transfers are wireless. Moreover, you can link up a device whatever its OS (this is also the case for computers) on any of the wireless docking stations, both in the Android range and the iOS range, the only difference being the physical connector.
The on/off switch, the Bluetooth and the volume controls can be accessed on the dock itself, while the remote offers the playback controls on top. Note, Philips provides a remote that has the same look of its TV remotes - this remote is much classier than the usual cheap plastic mini-remotes that often come with this kind of product. Some additional settings and features can be accessed via Fidelio (see inset).

Audio: less power than preceding models but with plenty of energy in reserve

As we said above, the Android range replicates certain models from the iOS range: with the AS851, it’s the DS8550 which has been copied. The speakers are therefore less powerful with just 2x15W, which is something you’ll notice when you push it right up to full power: the AS851 won’t handle big rooms as well as the DS9010.

Nevertheless, the audio quality is excellent. The lower end and more precisely the bass is really well reproduced with the sort of presence that isn‘t all that common on medium range docks. The mediums are soft and very clean and the top end brings brilliance without becoming too aggressive. The resolution of the sound is very good and the spatialisation pretty decent, no doubt thanks to the width of the speaker.

With its wide compatibility, good quality audio and nice design and finish, the AS851 is sure to make an impact on the market. To finish on a positive note, the AS851 is priced lower than the S8550, which makes it very good value, even, why not, for owners of an iOS device.