Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod (Black)
by Griffin Technologies
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List Price: Our Price: $44.31 You Save: $25.68 (37%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod (Black)
Customer Review: An important accessory for parents who need to consolidate toddler's music for roadtrips...
Summary: 3 Stars
We finally came around and joined the masses and bought an Ipod (nano 5G), mainly because all music CD's we need to keep our toddlers entertained get severe use and wear, especially on roadtrips. We thought consolidating all their music on an ipod would help a lot. I unfortunately then realized we needed a way to connect the player to our car stereo system, since it doesn't have an auxiliary jack to plug into. As such the Griffin iTrip Auto ( or some other radio transmitter is a necessary accessory). I first went to Bestbuy and bought the ITRIP AUTO (4056-TRPAUTO) Charger for $60. I was kind of shocked how pricey it was. I was then even more surprised at mediocre the sound quality/FM signal was. Of course we live in the city, so there's alot of interference from other radio stations. I confirmed this kind performance was common for this type of accessory by reading other peoples reviews. I chose the Griffin mostly because that is what I found first and seems to be the common one sold around.
I then bought the (9501-TRIPCBL-2) as a $14 refurbished unit. I set it up on Eric Williams review/recommendation to set it to 'international' in lieu of 'US'. It hard to say for absolutely sure, but it seems to transmit better (tho not great) than the other newer (4056) version. Generally have to keep the unit as close to the stereo unit as possible for optimum performance. Furthermore, the ipod displays a message saying this accessory 'does not support charging' (the 4056 one clearly can/does recharge the iPod).
I would definitely recommend plugging the iPod directly into your car stereo if you can. For those without the auxiliary jack, many can have a adapter simply installed at the back of the unit (some disassembly required obviously), and a wire coming out to which you can plug the iPod into. Unfortunately, my car year happens to one were one has has to some soldering on the circuit board to make this happen. At this point, I'm still hesitant to do this.
So for those who just need to play 'toddler tunes' in the car and otherwise can't plug in the their Ipod, this is a necessary, albeit mediocre to acceptable solution.
Customer Review: The only iPod radio transmitter I'll ever use!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great iPod radio transmitter. I've been so pleased with it; it's one of the few products that I actually promote to friends. I intend my review to be an addendum to Eric William's amazing review - how to keep your iTrip unit tuned to 87.9 every time in International mode.
To access international mode, press and hold the small button (should be labelled Preset) for several seconds. First it will display a number (1-4), and then it will flash LX or DX (LX is for a weaker stereo signal, DX is for a stronger mono signal). Keep holding that button. In a few moments, it will then display US or INTL. Press the +/- button so that it shows INTL. Use the +/- buttons to select your frequency. In my case, I picked 87.9.
In International mode, every time the unit is reset (car turned on/off), the startup frequency is changed randomly. To keep it on 87.9 on every startup, press and hold the Preset button just like you did before, and when you are able displays US/INTL, choose US. For some reason, even though my iTrip shows 107.9 on its display, it continues to transmit on 87.9 every time I turn on and shut off the car.
Having driven though most of and lived in the southeastern US - From as northeast as DC to as far southwest as Austin and Dallas, TX - the only place have I ever encountered interference on 87.9 was around Birmingham, Alabama. I can't remember if it were downtown, but I definitely remember getting interference around the Homewood suburb. Besides that, this unit has been so dependable that I installed a cigarette lighter behind my dash and tucked the unit back there. The only reason I remembered I had it was because I just replaced my glove box.
I use this unit with a 2nd generation iPod mini that I got from a friend when the battery died. I've modified it with a blue color gel sample over the LCD screen to match my car's interior lighting and a 32GB compactflash drive. So get inspired, folks! Don't throw away your old stuff - it' still good! If you have a newer iPod that won't charge with this iTrip, there are products out there which will bridge that gap. Good luck, all.
Customer Review: Good for iPods, not so much for iPod Touches or iPhones
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good product if you have an iPod Mini/Nano. Shuffles are too small and have their own connectors separate from the rest. Up to November this year, my gold iPod Mini 4GB worked perfect with this in my car. Unfortunately the Mini wouldn't want to hold a charge after 10 minutes of being off charge so it wouldn't charge unless I have it at home for an hour. Once I said its enough trying to beat a dead horse, I was surprised by my sis getting me an iPod Touch 3rd gen 32GB. Only problem though is Apple and their strict 3rd party licensed accessories. While this works fine with my touch, there is that annoying message covering your lockscreen saying its unable to charge off of it. Maybe this is a little underpowered to be charging this too because the pins setup in the plug have changed? I am on a tethered jailbreak so I can't risk the battery dying unless I'm willing to fight to boot it up again. My MC model has some stubborn setup with the tethered nature.
Anyways, the sound output is crystal clear even on a bad station. Between the songs on both touch and mini, there is slight hissing but nothing too loud. It did work on my Brother's iPhone 2G but after the 2.0 update it said it was incompatible. Now all iPhones 3G/3Gs will not charge off this but they do put out audio clearly. Genius makes some good mixes for the road and while I'm at a red light, I make it reload a new mix. I wouldn't put an EQ effect because YMMV, it may sound better or worse. My mom wanted to get a CD player but why waste that money on an old 2001 C320 Benz? just get this and save hundreds and save the hassles of CDs. Newer cars have built in Aux or their own docks but this does the job just as well for older cars.
The lack of charging is not Griffin's fault but the strict sense of Apple's. These companies pay extra to get extra licensing to be working with each product exclusively so that contributes to extra cost on us. I will unfortunately get an iPhone compatible Griffin iTrip cuz this is really iTrippy. Buy this is you are for sure you don't mind lack of charging on iPhone/iTouch and/or you got a Mini/Nano any generation.
Customer Review: A bit disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the iTrip Auto based largely on my positive experience with previous iTrip models. What attracted me to this unit was the fact that it does double duty as a source of power for my iPod since FM transmitters drawing power from the iPod itself tend to drain the battery very quickly.
On the positive side, the iTrip Auto is extremely easy to set up and use. Just plug one end into your iPod, the other end into a suitable outlet, tune it to the appropriate frequency, and you're all set. The latest version of the iTrip Auto includes several user programmable presets, so it will be convenient to use even if you live in an area that requires you to change frequencies every so often.
The downside of this product is that the audio quality leaves a lot to be desired. Curiously, I get almost dead air when the iTrip Auto is just on its own, but when plugged into the iPod, there is significant hiss in the audio signal. With louder songs, it's not as much of a problem since I can turn my radio down low enough that the hiss isn't especially noticeable, and the sound quality is actually quite acceptable in that situation, but on quieter songs where I have to turn the volume up, the amount of noise is very distracting. This is in LX mode. When set to DX mode, the signal is extremely quiet, but the trade-off is you have to settle for monaural sound.
Bottom line: The audio quality, while a bit disappointing, is probably comparable to other FM transmitters, but it seems to me that the previous units I've used had less noise, though transmitters that use the iPod's 3.5 mm audio jack can get a signal boost to compensate for signal noise simply by turning up the iPod's volume, an option not available to the iTrip Auto which uses the iPod's line-out. However, Amazon's current price ($32.99) is very good as I've seen the iTrip Auto in stores for a staggering $69.99!
My best advice is to see if you can somehow do a try-before-you-buy since you may find the downsides of the iTrip Auto unacceptable.
Customer Review: It does the job just fine.
Summary: 4 Stars
Of course any product of this kind can never match up to hooking your MP3 player up to your car via a cable, but if you have to go with an FM transmitter like this, then this is definitely one of the better ones.
I live in a fairly large city and receive pretty good reception. If the song was recorded at higher quality I can't really tell the difference between listening through the transmitter and listening to a CD. But, if I'm listening to a song that was recorded at a lesser quality and is quieter than most I'll have to turn the volume louder and can get some static.
As long as you're in the city it works great and for the most part has CD-like quality. Once you get out of the city or in bad weather conditions the signal is not as good or it may even not work, but this is to be expected from this kind of product.
The bottom line is that using an FM transmitter at all is never ideal and will always have problems every now in then. However, if that's how you can listen to your music then this is not a bad transmitter at all. For me it does exactly what it needs to do, and I'm able to play all my songs at a relatively nice quality. A major key is to play around with "empty" stations until you find the one with the best signal.
I have heard reports that some iPods don't charge with the iTrip. This seems to be a problem among newer iPods. I have an older iPod Nano and it charges very nicely which is extremely convenient. I've tried an iPod Classic and it charged as well, but again, it was an older iPod so I can't vouch for newer iPod charging capabilities. I know Touch users especially were some of the ones who complained about a lack of charging.
Overall this iTrip has suited my purposes just fine. I don't know if I just happen to live in the perfect area for it or not, but I can say that I use it on a regular basis and I'm able to listen to music now when I used to not be able to. I hope it works as well for most people as it has for me.