Rating: Summary: iTrip SUCKS ASS!!!!!!! Review: Upon reading a glowing review from the manufacturer about the new iTrip accessory for iPods (amplifier for car radio), I promptly went out and purchased one. ---Not only is it positively the WORST piece of crap on the tech planet, but here in Los Angeles, there are only 3 stations unused on the FM broadcast...tried all three and got monotone, 1930's era sound only if I held the thing over by the window on the passenger side near the antenna (hardly practical when driving). Please don't manufacture and recommend such garbage to your unsuspecting public. (Major pain and 15% fee off the sales price to go return it to the store.) Anyone own Griffin Technology stock??? SELL, SELL, SELL!!!! Thanks for nothing---iPod Mini Enthusiast, L.A.
Rating: Summary: Bad iTrip Review: Well I had a Bad iTrip. The thing was a knobathon to get going in the car while driving (and that was with my CoPilot) and when i 'luckily' found a station almost by accident, it sounded terrible. Like an MP3 thru an FM channel or an FM station thru a tin can.it has been returned - up for auction it goes. (++ on the plus side the design and concept were way too cool - it hooked me. It might take 2-5 years to perfect the technology maybe then i'll try again...but for now it definitely sucks.)
Rating: Summary: took a chance... Review: After I purchased and fell in love with my 20GB iPod, I did the obligatory online research to decide how I could best use it in my car. As you read here, the reviews fell out into either love or hate, and I was torn. Given the low price of the iTrip, I figured it was worth a chance, and bought one here on Amazon.
The bottom line: I love it.
The reviewers here are right--it takes a little bit of time to find the right FM station, but with all of them to choose from, I think that with a little bit of patience, you can find one that works just fine. I live and commute in central New Jersey, crammed between Philly, NJ, and NY radio stations and media markets, and I've found a little niche that works perfectly.
I am a shuffle-a-holic, and I don't have problems with the fact that when I shuffle the whole library, you get iTrip stations once in a while. If you just let the track play (for a whole 5 seconds), it does not reset your iTrip. A little patience pays off :) Also, the iTrip literature does suggest making a playlist that excludes the iTrip stations to avoid any problems with this.
If you are an entire purist, you might be unhappy with the sound quality. I have never felt that way, because I'm too busy enjoying the music than to care about a little tiny static when the tracks are switching. Considering the fact that you can snap the little iTrip in and rock out to your iTunes music in the car without a zillion wires, a tape adapter (which I can't even use because there's no tape player in my car), or hardware adjustments to your stereo, it is worth it.
And if not, you can sell it to some other sucker. :)
Rating: Summary: Pretty good but not great Review: After doing research and reading many reviews (mainly the bad ones) on the itrip, I decided to pick one up. It seems that there are mixed reviews everywhere I look, but the reoccureing issues I read about were the problem with the ipod shuffle mode and finding a station with no talk or music in a major city.
Well the shuffle mode is not an issue for me. In my humble opinion shuffle mode is weak, meaning I don't use it, and refuse to use it. Play the whole damn album. However I understand many people enjoy their shuffled tunes on their ipod. To each his own. If you're a shuffler, I recommend NOT picking up this product. It will be a waste of your hard-earned $35.00.
As for the finding a good station in a major city, no problem here. I live in Chicago and find that even the default station works wonders. And I mean it works great 20 miles out of the city and great in the heart of Chicago's Loop. It even works great in the parking garage I park in. I get decent sound through my crappy car speakers ( still need to try it on a home stereo), and rarely encounter stactic in the city or out of the city. The only time I hear static is if I move my ipod around, which you shouldn't be doing while your driving anyway (and while I'm at it stop talking on your damn cell phone while your driving... yeah you know you do it, so stop it).
I do enjoy the 'i like to trip'... err itrip. But I would suggest to anyone looking to buy a car adapter; Go With A Tape Version. Those seem to be the best bet, and a good cheap solution. I paid for my itrip, (well not really, I used a gift card) so I'm going to use it and make the best of a decent product.
Rating: Summary: too much static, sound is substandard Review: I was very excited when I purchased the itrip as I didn't want to go throught the trouble of running cables/wires through my car. I figured that the FM transmitter would be sufficient for my driving to work and such... boy, was I wrong. I agree with the other posts that this device suffers from too much interference even on empty frequencies! I live in an area that does not crowd the airwaves and even then I receive quite a bit of static that is even more noticeable when the hard drive searches in between songs (annoying). The sound quality is terrible and is akin to listening to a radio through a tin can. I purchased this device this morning and intend to either return it or sell it on ebay tomorrow. A good idea (although the playlist problem is annoying as well) and good design which delivers what it promises but does it poorly.
Rating: Summary: Very weak - not enough transmission power Review: It does work but the transmission is very weak. I had to set my home stereo to FM Mono for it to receive. I later hooked up an FM antenna to the stereo and had to place the iPod directly on top. Still, There was an audible hiss and volume level was very low. I live in a rural area so there was no contension with any radio stations. In the car (which is what I purchased it for) it wasn't much better. Yeah, it works, but sounds like crap. Don't expect to "crank it up", unless you like static. I'd suggest trying the Monster brand version, it cost more but does have better reviews.
Rating: Summary: It looks cool, doesn't it? Review: I went to three different local stores to look for FM transmitters for my iPod, and after 2 hours of looking, finally found myself an iTrip. Wow, fits right on top of your iPod, no batteries needed, no wires, and even the color matches. Separated at birth, indeed. However, what it fails to say on the box is "this product transmits like a block of wood."
Sure, if you're desperate to hook some kind of external device up to your car (and don't have a cassette tape player to stick an adaptor in), if you don't mind a lot of radio static, go for it! But if you're willing to take the time to get the best possible FM transmitter, DON'T get an iTrip!
The main problem with it is the fact that the only way that you can change the frequency on an iTrip is by putting a playlist on your iPod that contains all the frequencies. So, if you happen to have your iPod on shuffle, chances are that with 80+ frequencies programmed on it in MP3 form, your iPod is going to pick one of those files to play...That retunes the iTrip, of course, and you end up with a couple of beeps and a loud bunch of static...Of course, you could always get rid of the frequency files, but if you travel out of your city, you will most likely completely lose reception. Not that the reception was ever good enough.
What the iTrip worked really well for was my home stereo...But don't buy it for your car.
Rating: Summary: Not worth the money Review: I bought iTrip to use instead of a cassette adaptor in my car. I live in Orlando and could not find a station that was totally clear of music or talk. Every station that I tried, I would get static along with my music. I was better off using the car adaptor through my cassette player. You can not use the wire remote with this product either.
Rating: Summary: Not Too Good Review: I bought this on saturday and returned it the same day! the signal was poor at best, i could constantly hear the static in the back ground and the sound was heavily degraded. not even close to cd quality or just directly pluging the ipod in. save your money.
Rating: Summary: Not recommended for urban areas; battery drain Review: I have been disappointed with the iTrip after having used it for about six months.
First, my specs: I have a 3rd-generation iPod, drive a BMW with a Sony sound system (and I assume a good receiver antenna, because I get FM stations with no problem), and live in urban Portland, Oregon.
My two complains about the iTrip:
1. Driving around the city means a frustratingly imperfect signal to the radio. It appears there are just too many FM signals in the air and I get constant interference. When I have made road trips with the iTrip in more rural areas, I don't have a problem, but I cannot find an FM station that is remote enough from an FM signal to get good sound from my iPod using the iTrip.
2. Unfortunately, the iTrip is impractical for road trips as well, because it drains the iPod's battery pretty severely. Granted, I have the 3rd-gen iPod, which is prone to battery problems anyway. Still, using the iPod without iTrip gives me about 6-8 hours battery life, but using the iTrip, I get only about TWO HOURS of battery life before the signal starts getting too much static to hear the music clearly.
These things considered, the iTrip is not right for me.
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