First, let me say that this item works mostly as advertised. It hooks up fine with my ipod 5th generation and plays over the FM radio without much static as long as I choose an unused station. It also remains in place fairly well in the lighter socket.
My big problems with this product are:
1) Each time you turn off the car and turn it back on, you have to reset the transmitting frequency (station) on the unit. It resets to 88.1 every time power is removed.
2) Each time you turn off the car you have to also turn off (or pause) the ipod or else the ipod will keep playing. Likewise, each time you turn on the car, you have to press play on the ipod to start playing.
In my other car I have an old product (no longer available) that has neither of these problems. I don't need to touch it when turning off or on the car and it continues right where it left off. Black Apple Ipod 5-in-1 Car Charger + Fm Transmitter / Holder Full Range Freq...
Overall this is a fantastic product at a great price and it works beautifully! I bought it to be able to play my MP3s from my Motorola Droid through my vehicle's stereo and it works great for it.....the sound and signal quality from the FM transmitter impressed me - to be quite honest, I figured (at the low price) that it would end up sounding like crap but I was amazed that it works REALLY well. Only two problems I have with it....one is REALLY minor.
1) The mini-jack cord supplied with it to connect your non-iPhone items to it is a bit cheap. Mind you, it works well but I would suggest buying a better quality cord online or at your local Radio Shack (or The Shack as they seem to be called now). It's a minor thing and may only be of any importance to me....lol
2) For any Droid users who are thinking the same thing for this that I did........The FM transmitter seems to interfere with the cell phone signal. I don't know how or why, and it doesn't really make any sense to me, since cell frequencies are considerably higher than FM, but when I put the Droid in the holder it loses it's 3G signal, and most of it's signal PERIOD! If I take it out of the holder it comes back and it will sporadically come back as you drive - I'm assuming when you hit a stronger signal area. I've repeated this over and over again, in different geological locations, with the results always being the same. I don't understand it, but it does it. In a urban area I doubt if it would be an issue, with the signal strength being so high in all areas of a city mostly. But in a rural area, like I currently reside, it does seem to represent a problem.....although I haven't had the opportunity to test that theory as of yet.
If not for the second problem, I would have given the item a five-star rating as it is a great product for an incredible price. If you are going to use it for an iPod (possibly even an iPhone) then it would be a WONDERFUL deal - it comes with an iPod remote as well, which I don't think it mentions in the product description. If you are buying for a Droid, or possibly other phone, then be aware of where you might have issue.
BTW, make sure that you keep whatever you use this for at about half volume and use your stereo for volume control......makes it sound MUCH better!
Thanks for reading my review and I hope it was helpful to you.
I bought this device after my older Belkin model was stolen (with iPod) out of my car! Just after buying it, I moved across the country and if it weren't for this transmitter, the trip would have been a heck of a lot longer! It was great and never gave us any trouble at all. I have a newer nano and I had read that some people were having trouble with the nano staying in the device. I had bought a clear, thin case for my nano and this works like a charm for the holder. No problems, what-so-ever. Plus, once you want to take the iPod inside, you've already got the protective case on it! I would certainly recommend this to everybody!
This is a pretty decent item. It holds and charges my 160GB iPod classic without any problems. It comes with a remote control which surprisingly works very well as long as it is pointed in a right direction which is the blue light located on the bottom of the charger. Do NOT point remote to the iPod itself.
I don't use it as a transmitter, but rather use it as an iPod charger in my car. But I did try it as a transmitter and it worked fine with the limitations of radio frequencies, i.e. the sound was ok as far as radio trasmition goes. Of course, the car adapter cassette delivers much better quality sound.
There is a 3.5 audio jack which is an audio input. It takes precedence over the sound which comes through the iPod dock charger. If an audio cable is not plugged, the sound that comes through the iPod dock charger is transmitted. Once an audio cable is plugged to this device, whatever comes in through the audio cable is transmitted disregarding what comes in from the dock charger.
In addition there is a USB plug which can be used to charge other devices that can be charged with USB cables. I haven't tried it yet.
Why did I give 4 stars instead of 5? Because:
1. It comes with very poor and unclear manual.
2. It doesn't have manufacturer contact information.
--Leonid - Ipod Accessories - Iphone Fm Transmitter - Ipod Charger - Ipod Car Kit'
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