thanks to my folks for their recent gift of the TomTom (TT), i find myself having to think of future changes to a few things within my car to accommodate my toys. you see my car only has one 12V outlet. it seems that my iPod, and now my TT will have to fight over this outlet.
or...
thanks to Griffin Technology they have part of the solution that may just be the answer to my trivial dilemma. the first is Griffin's iTrip. this is an FM transmitter that attaches to the dock connector of all current iPods including the iPod Touch. what's convenient about it - aside from the FM transmitter - is the conversion of the iPod dock into the universally acceptable USB connector for charging.
at this point i can make due using the TT's USB car plug to charge both the TT and iPod/iPhone simply by swapping the cable between the two devices to charge up the battery. however, in the event i find myself needing to charge both simultaneously the second solution is Griffin's PowerJolt Dual Universal, a 12 volt adapter designed to provide two 5 volt USB ports to charge any USB powered devices. one for the TT, and one for the iTrip attached to my iPod.
i have a Motorola RAZR cell, and from time to time i have run out of charge while on the road. however, i don't charge my RAZR in the car, because Motorola requires me to have a proprietary car charger; even though the RAZR is powered via a USB connector. simply connecting any USB charger will result in the RAZR reporting unauthorized charger. Motorola sucks ass. this is why i'm looking forward to dumping the RAZR, and replacing it with an iPhone. that plus the convenience of having both my cell and iPod in one device.
so the other part of the solution to my trivial dilemma is converging my cell with my iPod. hence the iPhone. though, not noted on their site, i suspect that the iTrip will work with an iPhone. this is based on the fact that the iPod Touch and iPhone are (for the most part) identical, and, therefore, should work fine. my desire is to jump on the iPhone bandwagon once the 3rd generation is released; assuming that Apple decides to increase the storage capacity to 32GB. which is more than enough storage for just my favorite tunes, pics, and videos.
in an effort to advise me on further convergence i know that someone can argue, "the iPhone can work as a GPS. no need for the TT." yeah, well, it doesn't. that is to say that it's positioning system does not work with a satellite, but triangulation system dependent on cell phone towers. so it's not that accurate or dependable unless you're in a heavily populated metropolitan area. i don't think it works very well if you go on a road trip across the county.
anyway, this is just me being a gadgeteer. i just love how this stuff works together.
peace,
@riel
@riel
2 comments:
You may want to hold your tongue on the iPhone / iPod Touch compatibility. When looking for a Sound Dock for my iPhone I looked at many store models and only found a 'few' that were compatible with the iPhone. I ended up with the JBL Onstage IIIp. You'll note that you need the IIIp vs. the III because otherwise it interferes with the phone signal and speakers on the bottom of the iPhone. I ran into this same dilemma when looking for a car charger/ FM transmitter for the iPhone. Talk about interference!! I returned two that were made for the iPod because you wound up with interference from the phone and speakers on the iPhone. The phone frequency and FM transmitter had a debate with each other that was rather loud and staticy. When the accessory says iPhone on it, use it, otherwise, expect to be disappointed.
I got me an iTrip here - http://www.easyishop.co.uk/section.php/185/1/itrip_and_fm_transmitters - I was pretty impressed, but not over excited about it - I think it's probably worth upgrading your system to use a 3.5mm jack, this gives better results...
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