Kensington 33169 Digital FM Radio and Transmitter for iPods
by Kensington
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Our Price: $86.40 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $59.99 (click here) 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 Kensington 33169 Digital FM Radio and Transmitter for iPods
Customer Review: Rocks both ways!
Summary: 4 Stars
This unit does both: receives FM as a radio, and transmits FM to your radio. Just purchased this yesterday, so I don't have good numbers on how long it takes to drain the iPod's battery. I do know that you can get a solid 4 hours at least. This unit does a fantastic job of transmitting my iPod selections to my FM stereo radio. I can take the iPod 30 metres away, around the house, and the music continues without interruption. I've heard that some of the FM transmitter systems didn't have much of a range, and was pleasantly surprised to find that this one is quite good.
For FM reception - you stick your headphones into the unit itself, rather than into the iPod's headphone jack - so I presume that it is just using the iPod as a power source rather than anything particularly intelligent.
Not needing to buy two different units seems like a good idea to me.
The one downside is that there is no way to charge the iPod while the Kensington unit is connected, whereas some of the FM transmitter-only systems can be plugged into car power supplies.
Customer Review: Static static static...
Summary: 1 Stars
I would not recomend this product. Although I could hear my Ipod music, the quality was terrible. I noticed that when I changed my radio to "mono" instead of "stereo" the static disapated a bit, but, well...it was mono and there was still a lot of static. Plus, I couldn't hear my music at all unless I was holding it right next to the radio (within 2 ft).
I also tried it on my two car radios. Although there wasn't as much static on one car radio as my home stero, the sound quality was awful (yet again) and I had to turn the volumn way up just to hear it. Also, every time I moved the Ipod I would hear a surge of static. I'd rather listen to a skipping CD than that sound!
But, the other car (a 92 VW) had much better sound quality for some reason. There was still the static (although still better than the ladder two radios) so I am still returning it. But, maybe those who have had luck just play it on the "right" kind of radio?
I thought I was getting a great deal...but this will be my first return to Amazon.
Customer Review: Good performance
Summary: 4 Stars
This came as a package deal for the iPod video 80GB and was an awesome offer from Amazon.
I have mixed feelings on this product. It works well for what it was advertized for (ie. good sensitivity, quick scan, etc..) but the controls
(ie. buttons) were a little clumpsy and hard to use. The display was hard to read and the light distribution was not even (ie. bright on left side and dark on right side). Also, the connector to the iPod does not have a locking mechanism (like the USB cable that comes with the iPod). The good side is it makes insertion and removal easy. The bad side is it can slide out when not intended due to the unit potentially being moved around. I'd rather see a locking connector. Dimension-wise I would have love to see the size expanded to fit the width of the iPod rather than the way it is (ie. shorter on both sides).
Would I pay $50 for this unit? Probably not but since it came "free" with the iPod it was a good deal. The unit does work very well.
Customer Review: Works but has it's own quirks
Summary: 3 Stars
The unit does work but it has quirks. The radio works in my office which no other radio seems to do. Of course it has problems all mini radios do in getting weak signals as the antenna is the headphone ccable. The transmitter also works well. It is hard to find open frequencies between NYC and Philadelphia but when found the unit transmits clearly.
Now the issues; the display does not show all crystal digits; they come and go (It started 10 minutes after I started using it. On Transmit it will not search for blank frequencies, or possibly in my area there are none so it never finds one. The operating buttons sometimes do not work, I essentially have to reboot the unit by disconnecting and reconnecting. And if I turn off the power on the iPOD Nano the Kensington unit will not function without a "reboot". But it does work and receives and transmits well.
You can make your own decision whether to buy it. I purchased on sale and it is worth it for me as I use it when traveling.
Customer Review: FM Transmitter/Radio
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this transmitter for over a year now. It came with my 80GB iPod Video, which was a good deal. It is the ideal FM transmitter for my purposes, listening to music in my room because I can't hook my iPod up to my radio. Unfortunately about 2 weeks ago it stopped working, for reasons unknown to me. It looks like its working, the FM radio works fine, but its not transmitting a signal to my radio anymore.
Anyway:
Pros
-Clear signal, better than any transmitter I've used before.
-Uses the iPods power, so I don't have to worry about turning it off or replacing any batteries.
-Able to quick scan for a clear signal if the one I'm using changes
-Able to program in my favorite stations to use or listen to
Cons
-Can't charge my iPod while using it (fair tradeoff IMO)
-Doesn't fit very well if you have a case for your iPod
-A little loose fitting, can fall out if you move it suddenly