I know this kind of defeats the purpose of "no wires" but couldn't you just use a car charger if the batteries ever run out of juice? Also, I think this is a great idea and could be pretty useful for a few cars in my household. The price will make or break this device.
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CES 2014: Ion Audio Introduces Bluetooth Cassette Adapter to Upgrade Older Stereos
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These adapters have actually been available for years (from sites like Dealextreme). So it would have been super easy for you to just order a container full of these with your own branding, like Ion has now done.
Not sure why MacRumors has picked the item as news this year, but to be fair it seems like many people were not aware of these.
It would have been really nifty if they had used the spindle to power (or at least charge) the adapter.
That looks like a mini USB power plug, which if true, is irritating. About 4/5 of my USB powered devices are micro and 1/5 are mini.
So all you people saying USB is better for portable devices than lightning because it's a standard... I call B.S. There's mini USB, micro USB, USB 3.0, and now yet another USB plug is in the works (that can be plugged in either side up).
It depends on the adapter. I had an RCA branded adapter that, indeed, had poor quality. I "tolerated" it until one day it broke. I replaced it with a Sony branded adapter and it was amazingly better.
I have been trying to get one of these for years and it's frustrating because I can find pictures, reviews, and sites that claim to have them, but they are always discontinued or out of stock. Indeed right now, I got excited by your post and went to DX only to find out for the umpteenth time that they are out of stock.
I try to contact the manufacturers, but they are always made by fly-by-night companies that aren't around any more, never by reputable companies. I'm either having a colossally long run of bad luck, or there's something weird going on with these adapters.
Edit: Just spent 5 minutes trying to find this Ion unit for sale anywhere, including their own online store... no dice. I feel like the world is trolling me.
So all you people saying USB is better for portable devices than lightning because it's a standard... I call B.S. There's mini USB, micro USB, USB 3.0, and now yet another USB plug is in the works (that can be plugged in either side up).
It depends on the adapter. I had an RCA branded adapter that, indeed, had poor quality. I "tolerated" it until one day it broke. I replaced it with a Sony branded adapter and it was amazingly better.
I have been trying to get one of these for years and it's frustrating because I can find pictures, reviews, and sites that claim to have them, but they are always discontinued or out of stock. Indeed right now, I got excited by your post and went to DX only to find out for the umpteenth time that they are out of stock.
I try to contact the manufacturers, but they are always made by fly-by-night companies that aren't around any more, never by reputable companies. I'm either having a colossally long run of bad luck, or there's something weird going on with these adapters.
Edit: Just spent 5 minutes trying to find this Ion unit for sale anywhere, including their own online store... no dice. I feel like the world is trolling me.
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Well now you can keep that crappy old radio in your garage just a little bit longer. Never mind that the speakers are peeling, the wires are rusted, corroded, and frayed (all at once) and that magical humming sound from the transformer that nearly died eight or nine years ago. Nope, now you can push music from your iPhone and hold on just a little. bit. longer.
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Please note that this was a CES pre-announced product. Might not be available for a few months. Keep your eye on Amazon, they sell all the ion stuff.
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Please note that this was a CES pre-announced product. Might not be available for a few months. Keep your eye on Amazon, they sell all the ion stuff.
One of my cars has a tape deck and a CD player, but no aux in. The speakers are perfectly good, so I see no reason to pay *ANYTHING* to upgrade the stereo just to add an aux in. So I use a 'tape to headphone' adapter to connect to my iPhone.
This would be a lot cleaner to use.
(My other car has a factory fully-integrated CD-only stereo, no tape deck, no aux in, no way to add an iPod other than a really expensive third-party adapter that jacks in to the built-in stereo's hidden satellite adapter add-on functionality - that wasn't even an official option. There is no way to replace the stereo on that car, so I'm stuck with an FM transmitter. Unfortunately, the last three I've gotten have all been crap. The last one I had that was any good stopped working with the iPhone 3G and newer - it only supported older iPods and the original iPhone.)
Sorry, but I'm not going to buy a new car just because mine doesn't have iDevice integration. Nor is it worth paying even $100 to upgrade the car stereo for it, when the existing one works absolutely perfectly for everything else. If there was a $50 adapter, sure. But not more. (The CD-only car's adapter is over $250.)
Why would you even need a battery? The old cassette adapters where you could plug in the head phone cable worked just fine without a battery.
The problem is that usually the spindle motor isn't capable of providing that much torque, and too many tape decks use any degree of tension on the spindles to auto-reverse. Having your deck auto-reverse while using this device I would think would be a bad thing.
They *might* be able to drive it off the capstan next to the tape head, but it wouldn't leave much room for the mechanics for generating power, not to mention that it would be a huge potential for failure due to mechanical wear, and heat buildup from friction... Good idea though. Probably the next version no doubt.
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Finally!
Now i can finally use my iPhone in my 94 Suburban!
Wouldn't a used replacement head unit be a better option?
Will this work with an old fashioned cassette based home audio system? I have a couple of them somewhere in my basement and it could be cool if I could pop one of this bluetooth cassette things and stream music from my iphone. Or does it only work with bluetooth car stereos?
Not if I don't feel like tearing the car apart. Its an entirely convenience based purchase.
How about a 30-pin BT or AirPlay adapter
What I'd like to see is an adapter that I can plug into my 30-pin Bose Sounddock so I can stream to it from my newer Lightning-based iOS devices. I imagine lots of people with older audio hardware might benefit from something like this.
What I'd like to see is an adapter that I can plug into my 30-pin Bose Sounddock so I can stream to it from my newer Lightning-based iOS devices. I imagine lots of people with older audio hardware might benefit from something like this.
There are plenty out there, google didn't bring anything up for you?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1PU0GC1582
There are plenty out there, google didn't bring anything up for you?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1PU0GC1582
Not the last time I checked, nope. I'll take a look at the link.
[edit] That's cool. I see that there are a number now. Must have been a while since I last looked.
Not if I don't feel like tearing the car apart. Its an entirely convenience based purchase.
Totally understand that. 'Simple' and 'car radio install' are usually never used in the same sentence. There is always something that complicates the process.
Given that both my cars are over 15 years old and have cassette decks but *not* iPhone jacks . . . this is just the ticket for me.
Also, at 265,000 miles, theres not much point in putting anything into the car.
There's a kit for that... My car was the same way, and I installed an aftermarket single din stereo that looks like it was made for it. Don't have that car anymore, unfortunately, or I'd post a pic.
You can also just add in an audio processor that ties between the factory radio and speaker system to add Aux control or BT. I think they start at $149 or $199.