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Electronics : Griffin RoadTrip 4031 - FM Transmitter & Charger for iPods - Black
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Rating: 
- A complete waste of money!
I bought this as a secondary unit to an iTALKonline transmitter, and while I have probably been spoilt by that piece of kit, I honestly wasn't expecting the Roadtrip to be as bad as it is.
Firstly, the basic fitting is not quite long enough to fit into the cigarette lighter and allow me to actually see and use the ipod. Due to the angle of the socket in my car (Audi TT), the ipod ends up pointing towards the floor, making it difficult to change tracks etc.
Also, the extension arm supplied is way too long and the unit is too heavy to be supported safely by it, leaving it sticking out too far and waggling around.
Secondly, the sound quality is dreadful - far too quiet and when the volume is wacked up to compensate, the resulting FM hiss is far too much to enjoy your music through.
All in all, a truly disappointing purchase and a mistake I would not repeat. I've only given it 1 star because it's not possible to give it any less!
Rating: - Doesn't work with new generation nano.
Bought this as it says it's compatible with all dockable iPods, but it doesn't fit the new Nano.
Rating:
- Idiot-proof iPod in-car gadget
I needed to replace my Griffin iTrip which had basically died of over-use - the contacts either on the iTrip or the iPod seem to have gone mustang.
I bought a Belkin Tunebase II in Dixons (£49.99). Pants. Had to take it back for a refund - my iPod 1st generation didn't fit the holder satisfactorily (and neither did any other more recent iPod in the family) AND the gadget didn't charge the iPod AND you couldn't work the dial on the iPod. Also, the swan-neck bendy thing wobbled if you gave it a dirty look let alone drove over a bump.
This Griffin 4031 was completely numpty-proof - stuck it in the fag lighter, shoved in the iPod and bosh - top quality sound comes out of the radio. I can see that you might have a slight problem if you have to use the extension to get the unit far enough out from the fag lighter socket or if space is restricted but mine rests a little of its weight on the gear shift housing and it's fine. My iPod is ancient and as heavy as they come so if you've got a newer, lighter-weight iPod and your fag lighter socket is easily accessible then you should have no probs whatever. For the money, it's far better value than the Belkin. I give it 4* because it could be a little lighter in weight and for some cars with inaccessible lighter sockets, weight and the added mechanical advantage of using the extension could be a problem but then, that's more of a problem with your car's layout than the device.
Rating:
- Cheap and handy, but flawed and can be difficult to position
I bought my Road Trip recently and have generally been pleased with it, but it's not without it's problems.
My iPod - 5th Gen 30GB - fits into the road trip very snugly, VERY snugly. So tight in fact that I'm sure it will scratch the iPod before too long. But hey, it's got loads of scratches already.
I have a Nissan Primera and a Vauxhall Vectra. We took the road trip on holiday with us in the Nissan - a 2 hour journey. Getting the road trip positioned is the first problem. Due to it's size and the limited amount of movement allowed for in it's mounting system it was tricky to get it positioned so that it didn't hit the gearstick. After some faffing around I got it in an acceptable position - I can't see the iPod display as the iPod faces my knee but I can reach the controls to skip tracks. Not ideal but acceptable.
As for the sound quality it's ok. It's nowhere near the quality you get from a radio station or the CD player but by turning the treble up to maximum it sounds acceptable. The other drawback I found was that over a trip of this length you may start off with a frequency that works with little or no interference but as you drive you come across other radio stations on different frequencies and start to get problems receiving the signal from the road trip. It's not too difficult to change frequencies while driving along but it's not ideal.
Then I tried the road trip in the Vectra and it was a very different story. It was hopeless. Because you plug into the cigarette lighter socket horizontally the road trip wobbles around a lot and it cuts out every few seconds. And even when it hasn't cut out the signal picked up by the car radio is very weak with lots of interference. So a total failure, really.
So - the road trip can work reasonably well if it fits in your car and if your car radio works well with it.
If it had worked properly in both cars I would have given it 3 stars. If there was less interference and better sound quality - 4 stars.
Rating: - Terrible cheap and nasty!
If you demand even just reasonable quality music in your car this item still doesn't deliver. The sound quality is terrible with a constant background hiss and crackle no matter what frequency you choose. Its also big and bulky - much better off just upgrading car stereo to one with ipod input. Avoid this item, it really isnt that good at all.
- A complete waste of money!I bought this as a secondary unit to an iTALKonline transmitter, and while I have probably been spoilt by that piece of kit, I honestly wasn't expecting the Roadtrip to be as bad as it is.
Firstly, the basic fitting is not quite long enough to fit into the cigarette lighter and allow me to actually see and use the ipod. Due to the angle of the socket in my car (Audi TT), the ipod ends up pointing towards the floor, making it difficult to change tracks etc.
Also, the extension arm supplied is way too long and the unit is too heavy to be supported safely by it, leaving it sticking out too far and waggling around.
Secondly, the sound quality is dreadful - far too quiet and when the volume is wacked up to compensate, the resulting FM hiss is far too much to enjoy your music through.
All in all, a truly disappointing purchase and a mistake I would not repeat. I've only given it 1 star because it's not possible to give it any less!
Rating:
- Doesn't work with new generation nano.Bought this as it says it's compatible with all dockable iPods, but it doesn't fit the new Nano.
Rating:
- Idiot-proof iPod in-car gadgetI needed to replace my Griffin iTrip which had basically died of over-use - the contacts either on the iTrip or the iPod seem to have gone mustang.
I bought a Belkin Tunebase II in Dixons (£49.99). Pants. Had to take it back for a refund - my iPod 1st generation didn't fit the holder satisfactorily (and neither did any other more recent iPod in the family) AND the gadget didn't charge the iPod AND you couldn't work the dial on the iPod. Also, the swan-neck bendy thing wobbled if you gave it a dirty look let alone drove over a bump.
This Griffin 4031 was completely numpty-proof - stuck it in the fag lighter, shoved in the iPod and bosh - top quality sound comes out of the radio. I can see that you might have a slight problem if you have to use the extension to get the unit far enough out from the fag lighter socket or if space is restricted but mine rests a little of its weight on the gear shift housing and it's fine. My iPod is ancient and as heavy as they come so if you've got a newer, lighter-weight iPod and your fag lighter socket is easily accessible then you should have no probs whatever. For the money, it's far better value than the Belkin. I give it 4* because it could be a little lighter in weight and for some cars with inaccessible lighter sockets, weight and the added mechanical advantage of using the extension could be a problem but then, that's more of a problem with your car's layout than the device.
Rating:
- Cheap and handy, but flawed and can be difficult to positionI bought my Road Trip recently and have generally been pleased with it, but it's not without it's problems.
My iPod - 5th Gen 30GB - fits into the road trip very snugly, VERY snugly. So tight in fact that I'm sure it will scratch the iPod before too long. But hey, it's got loads of scratches already.
I have a Nissan Primera and a Vauxhall Vectra. We took the road trip on holiday with us in the Nissan - a 2 hour journey. Getting the road trip positioned is the first problem. Due to it's size and the limited amount of movement allowed for in it's mounting system it was tricky to get it positioned so that it didn't hit the gearstick. After some faffing around I got it in an acceptable position - I can't see the iPod display as the iPod faces my knee but I can reach the controls to skip tracks. Not ideal but acceptable.
As for the sound quality it's ok. It's nowhere near the quality you get from a radio station or the CD player but by turning the treble up to maximum it sounds acceptable. The other drawback I found was that over a trip of this length you may start off with a frequency that works with little or no interference but as you drive you come across other radio stations on different frequencies and start to get problems receiving the signal from the road trip. It's not too difficult to change frequencies while driving along but it's not ideal.
Then I tried the road trip in the Vectra and it was a very different story. It was hopeless. Because you plug into the cigarette lighter socket horizontally the road trip wobbles around a lot and it cuts out every few seconds. And even when it hasn't cut out the signal picked up by the car radio is very weak with lots of interference. So a total failure, really.
So - the road trip can work reasonably well if it fits in your car and if your car radio works well with it.
If it had worked properly in both cars I would have given it 3 stars. If there was less interference and better sound quality - 4 stars.
Rating:
- Terrible cheap and nasty!If you demand even just reasonable quality music in your car this item still doesn't deliver. The sound quality is terrible with a constant background hiss and crackle no matter what frequency you choose. Its also big and bulky - much better off just upgrading car stereo to one with ipod input. Avoid this item, it really isnt that good at all.