I would like to put my iPhone 3G S in the car, I have a craddle and now I need to make a choice between going for an FM Transmittor/Charger or a new Car Stero, with Bluetooth/USB connection on it.
Can anyone out there shed any light on this subject ? The Apple store a bit light on FM Transmittors/Chargers and the reviews are pretty bad.
I would like to put my iPhone 3G S in the car, I have a craddle and now I need to make a choice between going for an FM Transmittor/Charger or a new Car Stero, with Bluetooth/USB connection on it.
Can anyone out there shed any light on this subject ? The Apple store a bit light on FM Transmittors/Chargers and the reviews are pretty bad.
does the USB connection the new headunit charge your phone? if it does, then that would probably be the better route.
but if it does not, i would probably stay with the stock radio and get a FM transmitter/charger because you can at least listen to your phone while charging.
When I got an iPhone I looked at a lot of craddles and didn't like any of them, so I bought a cheap simple Griffin charger and made a cradle myself out of a cut down small plastic electronics box sourced from a Maplin shop (in UK). I wanted something that would fit in any car, but doesn't use a suction mount. I photograph cars as my job and don't want the suction device visible in shots. I also don't like the suction mounts getting in the way and advertising the presence of a satnav. They also leave a circular smear that shows up in photos. My cradle has a short flexible band fixed to the rear. At the top of this is a hook, that so far fits every car I've sat in! The back of the cradle is covered in velcro, and I have a few velcro covered foam pads that I can stick in any order to make sure the cradle is angled towards the driver and avoids bright reflection, and stops it swinging in corners. It's far from perfect, but very convenient, portable and extremely cheap!
FYI I made a video review of a trip from Zurich, Switzerland to Oxfordshire, UK using the Western European Tomtom app. Although, I found it was too low for the video camera so wedged it further up the dashboard with the photographer's best friend; namely Gafer tape! I'll start a new topic for this
Of course I'll have a look at the proper Tomtom car cradle when i have a spare moment....
Also BTW, I was surprised that the Mercedes I had on test didn't have satnav built in, and also discovered that the iPod connector in the glove compartment didn't work with iPhones....
I have a Canada Drive Safe. It works beautifully within my Volvo 60S. Only difficulty is finding a fm station not being used when I want to use the built-in transmitter. Other than that issue, the mount and charging are wonderful. I highly recommend this unit.
I have a Brodit cradle with a Griffin powerjolt charger, used witha GPS booster for Tom Tom app (I have a heated screen in my Passat and I think this screws with the GPS signal), all hardwired into the power feed to the cigar lighter. My headunit is a JVC KD AVX33 which has bluetooth, so I`m happy with the setup...
I was wondering if anyone has tried parrot bluetooth products? I'm considering one of these units but want to know how it works when playing music. I'm assuming you have to use the headphone jack which isn't a problem since I currently use the aux jack on my car stereo but hate how the phone answers when it is plugged in.
I have a Brodit cradle with a Griffin powerjolt charger, used witha GPS booster for Tom Tom app (I have a heated screen in my Passat and I think this screws with the GPS signal), all hardwired into the power feed to the cigar lighter. My headunit is a JVC KD AVX33 which has bluetooth, so I`m happy with the setup...
did anyone notice anything about the battery life on the ipods after using the chargers from the car?
well it seems like my ipod's battery life was signifcantly reduced after constant charges from the car...
is it just me or is anyone facing similar problems?? 😕