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cwerdna

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2005
547
194
SF Bay Area, California
I've got $35 of Best Buy Rewards credit that I'm trying to use up and I'm looking for an FM transmitter anyway (for one of my cars which has no tape deck, no aux in) for my iPhone 3G.

I was at a B&M BB today and noticed two different "iTrip AutoPilots", both are actually FM transmitters and both claim to support iPhones. Here's some copy & paste from bestbuy.com.

Griffin Technology - iTrip AutoPilot FM Transmitter with SmartScan for Apple® iPhone - Black
Model: 4046-TRPAUTOC | SKU: 8985672 for $79.99

Griffin Technology - iTrip AutoPilot Apple® iPod® Controller
Model: 10015-TRPAU | SKU: 8959772 for $69.99

Anyone know the difference? I can't seem to find anything about the differences after searching around on the net. The 4046-TRPAUTOC definitely is newer since the copyright date on the package is 2009 vs. 2008 on the other. They have different SKUs, UPCs and model numbers. The units themselves look the same, from a quick glance.

It just occurred to me (but I forgot to check before leaving the store ) that the cheaper one may not have had "iPhone 3G" listed and therefore might only support 12V (Firewire) charging that got removed on the iPhone 3G. Maybe that's the diff? :confused:

I can't even tell from reviews like http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/griffin-itrip-autopilot/ which one they reviewed.

I'd actually rather buy http://www.dlo.com/Products/tdmicro_iphone_Prod.tpl but Best Buy B&M and online don't carry it (they only have an older version that doesn't list iPhone compatibility at all). They have no process for getting this carried either. I spoke to sales droid months ago and he suggested I try the web site. That resulted them telling me to call their 888 #, which was useless. ;)
 

RetiredInFl

macrumors 68020
Jul 7, 2008
2,420
237
FORMERLY NJ now FL
The 10015-TRPAU is an old discontinued model replaced by the 4046-TRPAUTOC and was "pre-iphone 3g." At least that's what Griffin told me last year when I emailed them. The TRPAU isn't even on the Griffin site anymore. You can buy it for a lot less on eBay (new model) and still have your BB card to use on something else. I bought one for like $42 last year. Didn't work for me because I am in NYC and the FM transmitters are useless here.

I've got $35 of Best Buy Rewards credit that I'm trying to use up and I'm looking for an FM transmitter anyway (for one of my cars which has no tape deck, no aux in) for my iPhone 3G.

I was at a B&M BB today and noticed two different "iTrip AutoPilots", both are actually FM transmitters and both claim to support iPhones. Here's some copy & paste from bestbuy.com.

Griffin Technology - iTrip AutoPilot FM Transmitter with SmartScan for Apple® iPhone - Black
Model: 4046-TRPAUTOC | SKU: 8985672 for $79.99

Griffin Technology - iTrip AutoPilot Apple® iPod® Controller
Model: 10015-TRPAU | SKU: 8959772 for $69.99

Anyone know the difference? I can't seem to find anything about the differences after searching around on the net. The 4046-TRPAUTOC definitely is newer since the copyright date on the package is 2009 vs. 2008 on the other. They have different SKUs, UPCs and model numbers. The units themselves look the same, from a quick glance.

It just occurred to me (but I forgot to check before leaving the store ) that the cheaper one may not have had "iPhone 3G" listed and therefore might only support 12V (Firewire) charging that got removed on the iPhone 3G. Maybe that's the diff? :confused:

I can't even tell from reviews like http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/griffin-itrip-autopilot/ which one they reviewed.

I'd actually rather buy http://www.dlo.com/Products/tdmicro_iphone_Prod.tpl but Best Buy B&M and online don't carry it (they only have an older version that doesn't list iPhone compatibility at all). They have no process for getting this carried either. I spoke to sales droid months ago and he suggested I try the web site. That resulted them telling me to call their 888 #, which was useless. ;)
 

cwerdna

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2005
547
194
SF Bay Area, California
The 10015-TRPAU is an old discontinued model replaced by the 4046-TRPAUTOC and was "pre-iphone 3g." At least that's what Griffin told me last year when I emailed them. The TRPAU isn't even on the Griffin site anymore. You can buy it for a lot less on eBay (new model) and still have your BB card to use on something else. I bought one for like $42 last year. Didn't work for me because I am in NYC and the FM transmitters are useless here.
Cool. Thanks!

Do you know if the 10015-TRPAU could charge the iPhone 3G and whether it produced any "do you want to switch to airplane mode?" warnings? I suspect that it might only support 12V (Firewire) charging for cost reasons.
 
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