I've been looking at devices like the Griffin AutoPilot (not the iTrip one) and Kensington LiquidAUX and trying to figure out what would be best for my 1st gen iPhone. It seems many of the products are not certified for iPhone use and trigger the "do you want to use airplane mode" message every time you plug them in, even the LiquidAUX which supposedly is made for the iPhone. This seems like it would get annoying pretty fast, although it COULD actually be useful if there was interference/buzzing from the phone normally. Reviews indicate there is little interference with these devices but I won't know until I try one.
I'm mainly interested in them as a means to
- control the iPhone, because it's too difficult to use the touch screen while driving and takes time to unlock the screen and whatnot.
- plug into my stereo's AUX input using the dock connector, because it supposedly sounds a fair bit better than using the headphone port (I already have an adapter for that, doesn't sound any better than my Shuffle, noticeably worse than playing the same MP3s from a CD).
- but seeing as I'd be listening to my music on my commute every day, I would then want to be able to charge it too — it runs down fast enough without using the iPod functions.
So right now I'm leaning towards the Griffin AutoPilot as despite triggering the "not made for iphone" warning message, it's the cheapest, simplest, best-reviewed, and seems to provide some of the best audio quality. The 12V power socket in my car isn't in a terribly convenient spot (recessed at the very bottom left of the console) but it's as-within arms reach as the pocket below my aftermarket stereo where I keep my iPod Shuffle in my current setup. In fact I used to keep the Shuffle down there right next to it. So a remote would be nice, but only if it's going to work reliably and not fall off the wheel all the time. Not a terrible important feature to me. The Griffin TuneFlex AUX comes with a remote like the LiquidAUX but I'm not hot on the iPhone holder that would block access to just about everything on my console. Monster makes the iCarCharger 200 which looks like it has a convenient design with retractable cables but reviews say it has very poor audio quality.
I'm mainly interested in them as a means to
- control the iPhone, because it's too difficult to use the touch screen while driving and takes time to unlock the screen and whatnot.
- plug into my stereo's AUX input using the dock connector, because it supposedly sounds a fair bit better than using the headphone port (I already have an adapter for that, doesn't sound any better than my Shuffle, noticeably worse than playing the same MP3s from a CD).
- but seeing as I'd be listening to my music on my commute every day, I would then want to be able to charge it too — it runs down fast enough without using the iPod functions.
So right now I'm leaning towards the Griffin AutoPilot as despite triggering the "not made for iphone" warning message, it's the cheapest, simplest, best-reviewed, and seems to provide some of the best audio quality. The 12V power socket in my car isn't in a terribly convenient spot (recessed at the very bottom left of the console) but it's as-within arms reach as the pocket below my aftermarket stereo where I keep my iPod Shuffle in my current setup. In fact I used to keep the Shuffle down there right next to it. So a remote would be nice, but only if it's going to work reliably and not fall off the wheel all the time. Not a terrible important feature to me. The Griffin TuneFlex AUX comes with a remote like the LiquidAUX but I'm not hot on the iPhone holder that would block access to just about everything on my console. Monster makes the iCarCharger 200 which looks like it has a convenient design with retractable cables but reviews say it has very poor audio quality.
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