My Trip with the iTrip
If you know me, you know I love my iPod. I've got it filled with the entire Orbit and Well catalogs, songs that I'm currently working on, mp3 converted rehearsal recordings (from MiniDisc), and about 100 of my favorite albums.
So when Griffin came out with their iTrip FM transmitter it went right on my "I Want It But Do I Really Need It?" list. Normally, I use a cassette adapter to play my iPod in my car. It sounds great and my experience with the FM transmitters is that they just don't sound as good. There's usually too much interference and at best I can get a hissy version of my music.
But less and less rental cars have cassette decks. And with a trip to Italy coming up, I decided to splurge, spend the $35, and get an iTrip.
It showed up a few days before the trip. I plugged it into my 20Gig 2nd generation iPod. The first thing that I noticed was that it didn't seem to "click" in. And, in fact, the Firewire port cover would slowly push the iTrip out of the jack. It would stay in for about 15 seconds and then fall out. I removed the Firewire port cover but it still doesn't stay on very well and only a small amount of jostling will make the iTrip fall out. I'm currently trying to figure out some sort of velcro or tape solution to keep the iTrip attached more snugly.
I tested it out on the dial-tune boom box in my office. It was tricky to get a good signal and I ended up with the afforementioned hissy signal. But that boom box has never had very good reception.
I brought it out to my car. With a digital tuned radio, the quality was shockingly good. I like not having the wire sticking out of my dash board. I like being able to hide the iPod in a compartment without having to disconnect it. I like being able to have a preset "iPod" radio station on my radio. Good stuff!
So a few days later we get to Milan and sure enough, our rental car has a CD player and no cassette deck. I pull out the iTrip and start looking for an empty radio frequency. American FM stations are all on the odd decimals (99.7, 99.9, 100.1, etc), but it looks like European stations can be on either odd or even (100.0, 102.6) frequencies allowing for a more densely-packed radio dial. The iTrip only supports odd frequencies. Not a big deal. But I can't find an empty frequency. The trick is to find a good empty frequency with no tuning stations immediately adjacent.
I eventually gave up and waited until we got out into rural Tuscany before trying again. But although the dial was slightly less populated, I still had a really hard time finding a frequency. And when I finally found one down low on the dial, the iTrip signal seemed very faint and temperamental only coming in weakly when I put the iPod up on the dashboard.
Overall, I'd say that while the iTrip looks cool it's not going to be the best solution for everyone. And it's probably going to work better for people in the wide open spaces of Wichita than those in Manhattan. It's a tiny little gadget and takes up less space in my luggage than a toothbrush, but I'll still be packing my trusty old cassette adapter.
Pros: Cool looking. Tiny. Gets power from iPod. As good as it gets for portable FM transmitters.
Cons: Doesn't "click" into my iPod. Requires free space on the tuning dial. Works best far from densely populated radio areas.