When Dope Retro Tech Meets AI - HiDock H1

[@UltraDoug]

This is pretty great. At $269 that’s very reasonable. Only ding I would say is it looks a little plasticky? I’d be willing to pay a bit more for some nice metal construction, but still, I’m in. Great vid!😎👍🏼

[@PatrickRambles]

Yeah it's a good price point for the features. I can see what you mean about the plastic, although it does hit that retro spot.

[@TheBenByers]

Can you record a landline phone call in an office setting?

[@samparekh3128]

Can I connect my external speaker to the hidock and use that as the main audio output while keeping all the hidocks functionality?

[@victorvillacis6764]

Honestly one could just use an online transcribe transcription and use OBS to record meetings

[@ChillyWillyJr]

I've been looking at this as a gift (and one for myself). Your review helped me decide. One question: any privacy concerns on the free transcripts for life? I mean, that transcribed data could potentially be considered data exfiltration, or worse, used to enrich ChatGPT machine learning at a businesses expense (copyright, intellectual property)?

[@cardmstr]

No review I’ve seen so far has talked about the headset’s sound and mic quality or battery life. Can you break that down pretty quick? And it seems like even if the dock aspect of this is only firmly connected to one computer that the mic and headset could be paired to two different computers at the same time, would that be correct? So I could use it on my Mac and windows work computer simultaneously for the transcriptions and summaries, right?

[@cardmstr]

Less than a week of owning one of these and I hate it. Mic and speaker quality is atrocious, I’ve heard better audio from free headsets on airplanes, connecting it to a work computer with usb port data transmit blocks is impossible, they really should’ve just added a WiFi module to the device so it could upload recordings without having to go through a pc… just nothing but problems. And of course there’s no refund process for dissatisfaction, only warranty related items.

[@victorvillacis6764]

⁠@@cardmstrare you able to connect external blue tooth speakers? And what do you mean “connecting it to your work computer to transmits blocks through a usb port”

[@cardmstr]

@ ​​⁠​​⁠no. Which is actually related to a big complaint I had with it. You’re limited to THEIR Bluetooth earpiece which is poor audio quality both on the speaker and microphone, and it isn’t comfortable at all. So they really should add Bluetooth and the option to use any headset you want with it. On the usb limitation, that’s my employers fault so not necessarily the fault of hidock. But some IT departments or sometimes entire industries have IT-controlled restrictions on what usb ports can be used for. So in my case, my work laptop’s usb ports can only transmit power. If I try to put an external drive into one, I can’t open it as a hard drive. It’s usually to prevent either trade secret leaks or client data leaks by ensuring data can only be stored on company-managed hardware and servers. Often with the ability to remotely wipe the device if it gets stolen or lost. So because the hidock requires a cabled connection to a computer for file transfer (no other way) this device is useless for any work computer with the same kind of restrictions on work computers. So I think they should incorporate a dedicated WiFi chip into the next hidock so it can just be connected to the internet and upload directly to their website that provides the call transcript and summary.

[@victorvillacis6764]

@ that makes sense. Thank you, helped in my decision

[@OneLoveDigital]

Arrgh eating my morning cereal and watching your video. This item looks great, it might be a contender to replacing my ThunderBolt docking station. As always..thanks for sharing.

[@PatrickRambles]

Haha I appreciate being your morning view 🙏🏻

[@scottseaver4070]

So we need to pay for a membership to summarize meetings?

[@TheThaiLife]

Wow, that thing is actually awesome. I want!

[@mrefai89]

also, there was a voice saying “start recording” in the audio sample, when I watch the Haddock video. I wonder if that is audible to the other caller during the call?

[@y4x]

First time i saw you on youtube. Your doing an awesome job Man. Your video is really professionnal and cosy. I feel safe , the kind of feeling that you have when you sharing geek stuff with your best friend. Subscribe done!

[@PatrickRambles]

Ah thanks man, I appreciate that 🙏🏻

[@shashankImarati]

Great review. I wish you spoke a bit about the speaker performance as well.

[@chris9384]

Nice device. As always, not sure how I would use it, but I want it. LOL

[@PatrickRambles]

Haha

[@João-k2t8k]

How did you connect your Imac Monitor to HiDock?

[@PatrickRambles]

Studio display? USB c.

[@timlee-u6q]

wow the design is bold.

[@SonjaandMaximilian]

How much is the premium subscription?

[@dmcosta]

What about security concerns. This would be awesome at work, but I can already see the CyberSec guys freaking out....

[@ChillyWillyJr]

As a cyber security guy, I would freak out. And knowing the Chief Privacy Officer, personally, his head would explode! 😂

[@k10hrn]

You said it works well with your Macbook- which do you have? I've had issues with plugging two HDMI cables into docks on my M1 and it'll only take one (if that makes sense)

[@PatrickRambles]

Hey there. I'm not sure I understand the question. There isn't a mac that takes two HDMI cables. The double headed cable is a dual USB c cable.

[@TheKurtLyon]

Whoa!!! 😮 yes please!

[@DatDudeDullah]

This is great device. I love all of the features. Part of me really wants one, but I’m a little dubious about the information going to a server for storage then re-downloaded locally. Seems like lots of privacy concerns here, and like we are further training the ai in a way that may not be above board. I’d also be worried about the company selling information, metadata, subject matter, etc to the highest bidder. I can’t help but wonder if part of the benefit to the company is capturing so much data from users.

[@PatrickRambles]

That's always the thing isn't it. Who can you really trust with your data. I am convinced our phones and computers are already listening to every word, it's inevitable.

[@DatDudeDullah]

@@PatrickRamblesfacts!!

[@ZanyZoomers]

I think just carrying a phone these days isn’t really private. I just accepted this a long time ago, then cracked on with buying the gadgets 😊

[@danielfrg1191]

Just received mine this morning. Let alone the fact that it came associated to a gmail address so, 1. it's a returned unit rather than brand new, 2. they did not check the returned unit or they would have noticed, 3. I can't use it until they respond my emails and dissasociate it, which is frustrating. Does your unit overheats like crazy? You can feel the heat on the buttons, but I could fry eggs on the bottom plate... Maybe that's why it was returned??

[@PatrickRambles]

Oh man that sounds awful.. No mine doesn't overheat so I'm guessing that would have been the reason for the return. Usually they will read the comments here so I hope you get service soon.

[@Daniel-ro6ih]

Well, it wasn't a great experience with HiDock. They offered me another unit but I told them that it had to arrive before the 2nd of August because after that there would be no one to receive it and I'm not going to go around trying to track a parcel while I'm on holiday, just because they decided not to check a faulty unit that was returned to them and instead tried to place it with another customer. I even accepted a different colour unit because they say they have no dark grey units. You would think they would admit their mistake and arrange for express delivery to compensate the customer. Instead, they tell me they can't guarantee it will arrive before 10 working days and ask me to contact another department to request a refund. Then there is the issue of security. I have been sent a unit that is registered to someone else's account. I was not asked to return it. And I'm not going to return it because I recorded a meeting on it before I discovered the overheating problem and that it was registered to the previous owner's account, and now I can't access the memory to delete it (via HiNotes). If I open the unit and access the memory, will I find the previous owner's recordings? I really don't know what they're thinking, but apart from annoying a customer, which can happen to anyone, this laziness doesn't give me any confidence in their handling of my calls...

[@SinisterLabz]

You need a subscrition for it to work as advertised.

[@Daniel-ro6ih]

Well, that’s not exactly the problem. The device comes with a lifetime subscription with some limitations. The problem is they sent a returned unit that was still linked to the previous owner, so I can’t link it to my account. It’s being some 1 week discussing with them and loosing my time. The concept is good, but the company support is crap. Furthermore, the problem evidenced that they do not have strong data protection protocols and that makes the whole idea a no-no for our business, I would stay away and wait for someone to take the idea to the next level. I’m not gonna go in detail since we still may take legal action but, oh boy…

[@SinisterLabz]

@@Daniel-ro6ih , Perhaps, but in order for you to use it as advertised on the webpage, you need the subscription. You can't export, identify speakers, or get a good summary without the subscription.

[@ys-cal]

So which part is AI?

[@PatrickRambles]

The noise cancellation and the transcription/summarizing

[@SinisterLabz]

You need a subscrition for it to work as advertised.

[@alycapo3391]

Your own chatgbt one or one with them

[@SinisterLabz]

@@alycapo3391, the one that they offer. You will get subpar results if you use the product's basic AI. You defiantly, need to pay for the upgrade if you want it to work as advertised. Overall, I was not a fan. Furthermore, the earpiece that comes with it has a poor design, and it doesn't sit in your ear properly, and you can't really hear what is being said.

[@dalestark9505]

"Good morning Charlie!"

[@PatrickRambles]

😂

[@SteveHinrichs]

What, you give things away? I haven’t even gotten a PaperLike. 😂🤣 This device really reminded me of an old Atari system. I think I am older. Looks like a cold device. Thank you for the reviews.

[@PatrickRambles]

A paperlike? 😅

[@CED.Dweller]

We’re not old. We’re perfectly vintage. Shout out to Charlie’s Angels. 😂

[@PatrickRambles]

😂🙌

[@raycheshire5581]

​@@PatrickRambles six million dollar man was way better than Charlie's Angels IMHO

[@PatrickRambles]

@raycheshire5581 yeah but he didn’t have a dope phone.

[@raycheshire5581]

@@PatrickRambles Ah, good point. 😁

[@PatrickRambles]

@@raycheshire5581 😅

[@BMB1990]

The intro 😅

[@PatrickRambles]

😝

[@DavidLewisTech]

…looks an interesting bit of kit….not gonna lie….👍🏻

[@PatrickRambles]

Thanks David! It’s actually fun to use and the meeting features are super useful.

[@DavidLewisTech]

@@PatrickRambles you mean smoother than our FaceTime call 😆

[@PatrickRambles]

@DavidLewisTech no such thing.

[@TimHüpner]

we have tested it in our company for the german language and it was utter garbage. The AI did not understand so many words or converted the word into a similar word in a way that the transcription wasn't very readable. We have tested cockpit from microsoft too with the same hardware (headsets) and it was suprisingly way better than hidock. for me that thing was like a very expensive toy for children. Maybe it is good in english, however my german friends, dont touch it...