Alright, here's a brief review of what I just purchased.
What I needed for my car was a wireless FM transmitter that would play music through my iPhone (2nd gen) while charging. So after doing some digging, I discovered the "Hands-Free Car Kit & FM Transmitter for Apple iPhone". The website wasn't designed very well, but the YouTube video tutorial they provided gave me a little more confidence in the product. The cost of the item was quite cheap too, when compared to similar products -- $28.88, plus tax and shipping costs. I thought, hmm... at such a cheap price, will this be a cheap product that won't work? But I went ahead and bought it.
It finally came in the mail today (ships from Canada), and I tried it out. Here are my general observations...
It works on either the original iPhone or the 3G. It plugs into the cigarette lighter of your car. It needs to be within reach of your hands to control it, obviously. When plugging it in, match the frequency on the LCD screen of the device to the radio station in your vehicle. Look for a station that just contains static. After finding one that works decently, place the iPhone (or iPod) into the cradle, and adjust the goose-neck arm (approx. 6 inches). The cradle itself can be adjusted to suit your viewing angle. There is an attached 30-pin iPod/iPhone connector, which is on a short (maybe two inch cord) which has to be plugged into the bottom of your iPhone, which will provide the charge to your device. Then, plug the attached 3.5mm headphone cable into the headphone port on your iPhone.
And play some music.
Make sure the volume on your iPhone is turned up LOUD, otherwise the static will overpower the audio of the phone. The music should come through pretty crisp, in stereo sound. Good bass and treble reception, I was really impressed actually.
The device also has a built in USB port, allowing you to charge another device while your iPhone or iPod is docked. So you could charge two devices at once, if you'd like. Very convenient.
Finally, my only real complaint at the moment is the "beeping". Strangely, I'm not sure why... but this device will "beep" every 45 seconds exactly. While your radio station is hijacked from the transmitter, a beep -- sounding similar to the individual beep of a buzzer alarm clock -- will play through the speakers. If your iPhone is turned up loud enough, it's not really noticeable, although it may be on a quiet song. I'm going to give it a little bit and see if I get used to it.
So far, I like it a lot. For this price, too... the product is definitely well worth it. Aside from the beeping, it works great, and sounds better than the old FM transmitter I had used on my iPod (which I paid $80 for...). Well, I'm going to use it a little while more before I can totally make a judgement, but at this point, I'm going to recommend it, hands down. Watch the video on their site to get a really good idea as to how it works.
Hope this helps another looking for a similar solution!
