Griffin iTrip - iPhone FM Transmitter device - review (non affiliate)

GRIFFIN ITRIP REVIEW. (this is a non-affiliate review)

Now that I've moved to Buxton, the daily commute is at least an hour each way. For such long journeys, I much prefer my own music to the radio but it got a bit of a bind having to remember to swap the CD's in my car each week.


So I invested in a tiny fm transmitter device called an iTrip which plugs into the bottom of my iPhone and allows me to play my music via my car's stereo.

I'd looked at these clever devices before but always been put off by the hoard of negative comments, ranging from "too much interference to listen to the music" to "can't turn the music up loud enough to hear it" etc etc.

So it was with some trepidation that I bought mine, via Amazon (and no, I'm not an affiliate before you ask) in a bundle that came with a duel jolt usb charger (which plugs into the cars one cigarette lighter socket but provides two usb outputs - handy with the kids) and a micro usb cable to plug it in with. The whole lot came to about £37.

So, well and good it arrived a few days later and I spent a lunchtime tuning it in. The iTrip gives you 3 settings per 'tuned' frequency so you can easily switch between frequencies if you encounter interference from another local station on your journey.

Anyway, I thought i'd found a handy free station and tuned it it, looking forward to the journey home that night.

Sadly, I'd only just turned out of the driveway when the interference got so bad I switched it off and began to curse myself for buying something that so many commentators had pronounced as unfit.

But I stuck with it - pulling over into a lay-by and trying the re-tuning tips.

I hit upon a frequency which in over 6 weeks, between Derby and Buxton and even Derby and Coventry has had no local competition.

True the music isn't the loudest ever to be produced - I've had to turn my car stereo up a couple of notches above the usual radio setting but I can still hear all the rich tones of my classical as well as '80's pop playlists perfectly well.

If you've got an iTouch or iPhone, then there's a handy free app that allows you to retune via the device screen rather than use the rather fiddly buttons (in a moving vehicle) on the iTrip itself.

The Griffin power adapter and lead are faultless.

I use my Kensington Car Mount to hold the iPhone and connected iTrip when i'm driving - a slight modification, because the iTrip's buttons 'hang over' the bottom edge means you can't use the bottom 'rests' built into the car mount. You have to really pinch the holder's foam sides together to hold it all in place and fold the bottom 'shelf' out of the way. So far, the grip has been superb and on some pretty rural bumpy roads, it hasn't slipped or fell at all.

Take care though - I forgot I'd folded the 'rests' in and in the dark, just put my iPhone into the holder - where it promptly fell straight through and landed on the soft car mats (phew!). I shan't do that again.

So, all in all I'm delighted I did buy the iTrip - it does exactly what it says on the tin and aside from the slight modification to the way my car mount holds the device, and the novice tuning issue, I've had no other issues at all.

Based on my experiences, I can recommend the Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter for iPhone and in my case, the power adapter and cable it came with (sold separately).

Downside: Volume could be a little higher, button design on iTrip means you can't use most car mounts with a bottom 'ledge'.

Upside: Uninterrupted playlist music direct from your iPhone, iTrip is small and unobtrusive enough to take anywhere, easily transferred from vehicle to vehicle

Verdict: Try it, stick with it re: tuning but if you really can't get on with it, buying online should mean you can return it for a refund. Once you've used it successfully, you'll never listen to your car radio again.

To view this product on Amazon.co.uk - click here (non affiliate)

To read my previous review of the Kensington Car Mount - click here (non affiliate)

Kensington iphone car mount review - update.

Kensington iphone car mount review - update.

Regular readers and those who read my initial review of the Kensington car mount for the iPhone will remember that although I was impressed withe overall build quality and the incredible suction cup device it uses (it still hasn't fallen off my car windscreen once despite traveling along some very bumpy back country roads), i wasn't too keen on the amount of 'judder' produced by the springy arm.

I thought it was worth posting a quick update now that I've been using the car mount for a few months.

On the plus side:
It's never fallen off the windscreen! Not once. Also, the pressure grip sides feel really secure and I feel confident that my iPhone isn't going to go crashing to the floor or worse, fly out of the side window as we head into summer and lots of window down, arm out cruising.

I positioned it in the bottom RH corner of the car windscreen so that i can steady my arm on the side door trim to press the 'call' button. The iPhone doesn't support voice dialing (yet) and this was my only reservation about buying the iPhone in the first place. The kensington car mount kit makes button pressing an effortless task - the action of pressing a button not enough to move the sprung arm / holder.

TIP: When I first get in the car, i always select the favourites page of phone numbers (as very often, if i'm going to be calling anybody on a journey - they'll be in my top ten) so all I have to do is press the standby button and the call I wish to make.

On the minus side:
Depending on the direction of the sun, you can get an annoying glare off the surface of the phone whilst driving. That same 'tight-holding' sprung arm makes it difficult to simply 'swing' the phone out of the glare. Perhaps a more central position on the windscreen would fix this?

The side pressure grips - after just a few months, they seem to be a bit hit and miss when pressing the release button to remove the phone. Sometimes they jump back with quite a force, others, you literally have to peel them apart to remove your iPhone. It's a small complaint but one to note nonetheless.

That judder! OK My biggest problem with the Kensington iPhone car mount is the shake and judder transmitted via the car to the phone cradle. It's very off-putting and doesn't make for an easy phone use experience on anything less than a good surface.

The springiness of the arm from the windscreen suction cup to the phone holder, is too stiff (or not stiff enough?) either way, the result is the arm is unable to dampen any judders or shocks and transmits all of the cars movement to the phone. When I first used it, I was worried the vibration would have a negative non-warranty covered effect on the iPhone but it seems made of sturdier stuff than that.

Conclusion:
I like the car mount - it suits my usage perfectly - apart from the vibration and constant movement (imagine a nodding dog on caffeine) and I wish I'd read more reviews on this subject before I'd bought it as I would have probably explored a ventilation grill mounting holder first.

If you can put up with the vibration (as I now have too), then the Kensington iPhone car mount kit is an excellent choice. If you can't put up with the constant movement, then it's not for you.

P.S: I've even tried 'lodging' the arm into the dash more to restrict the amount of free space the arm has to bounce around in to no effect (apart from a shiny patch on my dash where the arm rubbed).

Review written by Jonathan Crouch - Technical Partner at Fabulous Photo Gifts

iPhone Kensington car mount review

My friend garethbraid over at Twitter knows I've been looking into a car mount for my iphone. He tweeted what had i chosen and if it was the Kensington car mount, what I thought of it?

As Twitter only gives you 140 characters to reply, I thought a more in-depth review might be appropriate (and helpful to anyone else considering buying a car mount for their iphone / itouch or ipod - as the Kensington mount fits all three)

First impressions opening out of the box - very sturdy piece of design. The flexible arm from the holder to the suction cup was very stiff - no loose flapping around here!.

The holder was padded in the right places and featured a handy quick release button behind where the top of the phone will rest, to release the two side 'holders' that push in to fit. It can also be rotated independently of the flexible arm so you can twist your iphone screen just like holding it in your hand (probably best not while driving though!).

The suction cup for the windscreen really sticks with a handy plastic (sturdy) lever to clamp up and make the seal complete - I've been driving down some rough roads and it hasn't showed any signs of movement at all.

Fitting:
Fitting was easy - the kit includes a medical style wipe to prepare the glass first - postage stamp size but enough to wipe the patch of window where you're going to place the suction clamp.

Warning! Make sure the wiped area is completely dry before attaching suction clamp other wise it just slides about!

If you prefit the iphone holder (in my case) to the arm which is already attached to the suction clamp, try a few different positions until you're happy with the bend of the arm - it's very difficult to bend it once 'fitted' / in situ.

Try this with the iphone in the holder.

Road Test:
Overall, the holder performs well. It doesn't move about, hasn't dropped my pride and joy iphone and is a sturdy and well built look about it.

My only complaint is that the phone judders with every vibration of the car - transmitted via the windscreen i suspect although the flexible arm does seem to act like a spring on really rough roads.

I've tried positioning the arm so that at its lowest point, it rests onto the dash but this has not steadied it any. It would be really annoying out of the corner of your eye if the iphone screen was lit up the whole time but as it isn't, I think i can live with it.

The Kensington mount does come with sticky pads to affix the iphone holding bracket direct to the dash - probably better (if the pads are as sticky as the suction clamp) for vibration but more tricky for position.

Extras:
My Kensington iphone car mount came with an additional cable (3.5mm to 3.5mm jack plug at each end) presumably for plugging your iphone etc into a mp3 socket on your car and a jack plug adapter.

Overall:
More than happy with the quality but wish I'd read that this judder/vibration problem could exist - might have considered a vent mounting instead if that had been the case. One of those things I'll have to live with.

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