Griffin iTrip AutoPilot FM Transmitter for iPhone

[MacRumors]

Griffin Technology announced a new version of the iTrip that is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and regular iPods. The iTrip AutoPilot broadcasts music from your iPhone onto any open FM frequency so you can tune in with your car radio. FM transmitters are useful for cars without any other form of audio-in.

The $99.99 device ("Coming Soon") includes the following features:

- SmartScan scans the radio dial for the three best frequencies and saves them to presets
- RDS technology shows song information on your RDS-enabled car radio display.
- New SmartSound™ Plus technology delivers clear sound under real-world conditions

Article Link

[xUKHCx]

I haven't used an iTrip for a long long time, ever since apple got rid of the connector on top of the iPods in fact, so I don't know if this is a totally new feature but this would be brilliant

Originally Posted by MacRumors

- RDS technology shows song information on your RDS-enabled car radio display.

I would be tempted to buy one just for that.

[w_parietti22]

$99? SmartSound™ hopefully makes the price worth it because I've never heard great sound quality from an iTrip.

[megfilmworks]

You will never get great sound with a FM transmitter. If you have a factory stereo in your car then it's not a big deal but if you have a great custom system you need a direct digital connection. I can't even listen to FM radio anymore due to the glaring lack of sound quality compared to my iPod digital connection.

[carlgo]

My experience with other brands has not been good. On your normal commute you find clear unused channels to transmit to, but on the road you get different stations coming and going and it is a hassle and even dangerous because you have to fool with switching stations all the time to find a clear one.

I kept getting religious stations out in the middle of nowhere. Erie, ooooh.

This system may be better, but I would contact Crutchfield or a local installer to hook up a direct connection with an actual wire.

[bigandy]

Originally Posted by xUKHCx

I haven't used an iTrip for a long long time, ever since apple got rid of the connector on top of the iPods in fact, so I don't know if this is a totally new feature but this would be brilliant

++

I'm not really that bothered about these things, but that RDS thing:

Originally Posted by xUKHCx

I would be tempted to buy one just for that.

++++++


The thing is $99.99 there means £70 here, I'll bet.

I think even £50.45 ($99.99 at today's xe.com rates) is waaaaay too much for an FM transmitter, no matter how cool.

[TEG]

The only advantage that this iTrip has over the regular iPod Connector iTrip Auto (not to be confused with the Headphone Jack one or the Sansa one) is the RDS and that the iPhone won't complain about the device not being made for the iPhone. That is unless there is some special shielding to reduce or prevent GSM noise. Until I'm convinced of the reduction in GSM noise, and that it still uses 12V Firewire Power, instead of the 5V USB for my 3G iPod, I'll stick with my iTrip Auto.

TEG

[rush0]

I'm gonna get one once its avail. Some cars make it very difficult/sloppy to get a real ipod system installed.

[Lexoticstylez02]

I've never had a good experience with the iTrip and that is pretty pricey. Anyone looking to listen to their iPod/iPhone through their OEM stereo should definitely check out www.gromaudio.com. It's $10-20 cheaper than the iTrip and is a direct connection with CD quality sound. It even charges the device while it's in use, I've had mine for about 4 months now and it's amazing, highly recommended. You can even control the iPod through your headunit

[Seamaster]

This has been "coming soon" for a year - Griffin were touting it when the iPhone launched.

Vaporware?

[jay794]

I have an iTrip Auto SmartScan and although when I plug it into my iPhone, the phone says "This Device was not made for iPhone" it asks if you want to put it into Airplane Mode to reduce interferance but when you play music it works fine with the iPhone. So I fail to see why we should buy another one when the current model does work with the iPhone even though it says it doesn't

[jpelario]

$99 for a FM transmitter, sign me up, not!

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I really do not like the sound quality of the FM transmitters along with having to change the station from time to time. I guess this is good for some.

[tfast]

The RDS is nice, I wonder if it sounds better than any of the other FM transmitters.

[jonny]

Save your money and spend an extra 20 bucks or something on a Pioneer car deck with "Made for iPod™" usb connector. Works GREAT with iPhone. I will never futz with another FM Transmitter ever again.

[Peel]

Originally Posted by TEG

The only advantage that this iTrip has over the regular iPod Connector iTrip Auto (not to be confused with the Headphone Jack one or the Sansa one) is the RDS and that the iPhone won't complain about the device not being made for the iPhone. That is unless there is some special shielding to reduce or prevent GSM noise. Until I'm convinced of the reduction in GSM noise, and that it still uses 12V Firewire Power, instead of the 5V USB for my 3G iPod, I'll stick with my iTrip Auto.TEG

I see in the photo that the iTrip is now inline with the charging cord, instead of being directly against the iPod/iPhone. I'm guessing that this is so they could better shield it from the iPhone GSM antennas. Per Apple, in order to say "made for iPhone" on the package, a device that includes an audio component (i.e. dock connected speakers, transmitters, etc.) has to provide proper shielding.

Originally Posted by jay794

I have an iTrip Auto SmartScan and although when I plug it into my iPhone, the phone says "This Device was not made for iPhone" it asks if you want to put it into Airplane Mode to reduce interferance but when you play music it works fine with the iPhone. So I fail to see why we should buy another one when the current model does work with the iPhone even though it says it doesn't

Umm, that would be so that you DON'T have to put the phone into Airplane mode. In airplane mode the phone is turned off, so you don't get any incoming calls.

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Peel

Umm, that would be so that you DON'T have to put the phone into Airplane mode. In airplane mode the phone is turned off, so you don't get any incoming calls.

yes. but "you *don't* have to put it in airplane mode, and it works fine" is what the poster is saying.

[Peel]

Originally Posted by jonny

yes. but "you *don't* have to put it in airplane mode, and it works fine" is what the poster is saying.

Oh, I read the post as saying "put it in Airplane mode and it work's fine." That's good for that person then. My iPhone however constantly sends interference beeps through my iTrip unit if it's not in airplane mode.

[DavidLeblond]

Meh for a couple more bucks you could get a decent car stereo with an iPod connector from Crutchfield. Mine was $120 and its the best car stereo I've ever had (its a JVC.) I haven't even ever used the radio or disc function, my iPod Nano is permanently plugged in.

[xUKHCx]

Originally Posted by DavidLeblond

Meh for a couple more bucks you could get a decent car stereo with an iPod connector from Crutchfield. Mine was $120 and its the best car stereo I've ever had (its a JVC.) I haven't even ever used the radio or disc function, my iPod Nano is permanently plugged in.

Not an option in a company car.

And say you travel in other peoples cars from time to time are you going to replace everyones stereo.

Granted it may not be a solution you need but doesn't mean that other people won't need it.

[ehurtley]

Finally. This has everything I've been wanting in an FM transmitter. (Sadly, my car has a fully-integrated stereo that is essentially impossible to replace, with only a CD player, no tape deck, and no aux in. I can buy a $300 adapter that requires ripping the dash apart to add iPod functionality, but that's more than I'm willing to spend; since I can't even move that from car to car.)

iPhone? Check. RDS? Check. Power and FM transmitting at the same time? Check. The other features are just cake.

[teleromeo]

here in Europe, especially Belgium FM transmitters are almost unusuable. I installed a wired sollution with an adaptor on the dashboard. Happy ever since.

[jonny]

Originally Posted by Peel

Oh, I read the post as saying "put it in Airplane mode and it work's fine." That's good for that person then. My iPhone however constantly sends interference beeps through my iTrip unit if it's not in airplane mode.

that's poop. i tried around a half a dozen fm transmitters in my search a few years ago. what i found was that most of the griffin ones were actually kind of crappy. At least the ones that were battery operated. I ended up with a Belkin which worked pretty well plugged into the cig port because the power cable looped up over the rearview created an excellent antenna for it. On batteries it wasnt worth it's weight in dog feces

[sanford]

Originally Posted by carlgo

My experience with other brands has not been good. On your normal commute you find clear unused channels to transmit to, but on the road you get different stations coming and going and it is a hassle and even dangerous because you have to fool with switching stations all the time to find a clear one.

I kept getting religious stations out in the middle of nowhere. Erie, ooooh.

This system may be better, but I would contact Crutchfield or a local installer to hook up a direct connection with an actual wire.

I had them default to the tape deck in our Honda -- yes, they're often still the basic, no cost deck in many cars. CDs players may be a $100 more on the sticker; not much, and they like to make that money. But you can get a cassette deck. Then get cassette adapter, and if you need one for an iPhone, a $10 headphone jack adapter: it's analog, but these are compressed AACs we're talking about: the sound quality for a car stereo is very good, as good the CD decks in mid- and high-end factory upgrade option, not custom installed, audio systems. And you save A LOT of money over having a third-party installer drop aux jacks into a reasonably priced factory audio system.

[chuckles:)]

I used to have an iTrip, but i switched over to a tapedeck because the sound is better, and it only cost around 15 bucks. Here in toronto, there arn't really any stations open at all.