ipod in my car

[Wheelrepairit]

Howdy folks.

Well, as normal im 10 yrs behind everyone and have only just brought myself an ipod. Fantastic bit of kit I must admit, ive sorted the home speaker set up and now my attention turns to car use.

So, how do you listen to a ipod in a car, im aware of the fm modulator set up, is that the only choice unless you have an ipod plug in the car. I dont in mine, its a Nissan Navara.

So, whats the best way to play the ipod in my car, is there such a thing as a dash mounted kit, ie like a phone cradle, that the ipod sits in and plays/charges.

Its a ipod touch if that helps.

Thanks, Pete

[10JH]

I've got an FM transmitter thing that can charge my iPod too. Works well, good quality and very easy to use.

Mines from Garmin, dunno how much it cost though. I bought a really cheap one ages ago from a petrol station and it wasn't much good!

[niva441]

I might be able to give you a better answer after the weekend. I'm replacing the head unit in a car and allegedly the lead I've got will tell the head unit it is a CD changer and also charge it.

The simple alternative is a cassette tape converter with a head phone connector on it.

[GingerRob]

What iPod have you got?

[ChrisRS]

GingerRob said:

What iPod have you got?

Says Ipod touch in the OP

[Furyous]

Fm things will drive you insane eventually, a new head unit which plugs directly into the bottom of the ipod is the only decent answer Im afraid.

Budget around £200 ish.

[10JH]

Furyous said:

Fm things will drive you insane eventually, a new head unit which plugs directly into the bottom of the ipod is the only decent answer Im afraid.

Budget around £200 ish.

Why would they drive you insane? I just leave mine in the 12v socket, then attach the iPod when I want to use it and put it on a playlist.

Cheaper and far less fiddly option then changing the head unit.

[GingerRob]

I would personally recomend the tom tom cradle (I have iPhone version) in the tom tom cradle it has speaker, it charges it and a line out aswell as a built in gps reciever also I would recomend the tom tom sat nav works really well ideal if you always wanted a satnav and very easy to use also it doesn't need a wifi or 3g connection unlike google maps.

[DrainTheSpuds]

Depending on the head unit, you could get a Dension Gateway 100, which will give you a single dock cable through into the glovebox. The iPod is then controlled entirely from the head unit.

I have it's predecessor, the Dension Ice Link Plus, which was installed over 3 years ago, and I think it's a fantastic piece of kit.

[clonmult]

First, grammar. You didn't "brought" an iPod. You bought an iPod. Two totally different things.

As for the best in-car solution - those FM transmitters sound absolutely dire. The iPod UI is also totally unsuited to use in car. Either buy a Dension Ice Link or something like an Alpine IDA-X100/200/300 (or whatever the current model is) - as good as you'll get in car, with a UI that mirrors that of the iPod, but is considerably easier to use whilst driving.

[Wheelrepairit]

clonmult said:

First, grammar. You didn't "brought" an iPod. You bought an iPod. Two totally different things.

Yes and no, you see I didnt buy the ipod, my wife bought it for me, all I did was brought it in from the car when she home from shopping, so really my statement was correct, now if I had had bought the ipod, yet put brought then yes, you are correct and can tell me so, however as the wife bought it, and I only brought it in from outside then I think im correct all along.

I would have thought with you being such a smartarse you would have known my wife bought it, and I brought it in from car, oh dear, guess you didnt.

Thanks for tips and info folks, seems there is no real clear way of fitting an ipod into a car, time to get inventing I think and make my millions.

[eybic]

The FM things are ok as long as you dont travel any real distance, the problem is they use an empty FM frequency, this might not be empty 20 miles up the road so you have to keep changine the frequency. My Dad has an X-Trail and I got him a tape thing that plugs into the tape slot and the other end plugs into the headphone socket of the ipod, you have to change songs using the pod rather than the stereo though.

[Sixpackpert]

The FM things are terrible.

I have an L200 (much better truck ) and there was a cable available from the dealer that plugged into the back of the connector for the stereo which then allows me to plug in my iPhone.

I have to control the tunes from the phone itself but for 15 quid I don't mind.

Installed it myself, neat, tidy and cheap.

May be worth asking your dealer, or an owners club first.

Or go mad and trade it in for the new L200 Barbarian which has this head unit http://www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk/technologies/...

[clonmult]

Wheelrepairit said:

clonmult said:

First, grammar. You didn't "brought" an iPod. You bought an iPod. Two totally different things.

Yes and no, you see I didnt buy the ipod, my wife bought it for me, all I did was brought it in from the car when she home from shopping, so really my statement was correct, now if I had had bought the ipod, yet put brought then yes, you are correct and can tell me so, however as the wife bought it, and I only brought it in from outside then I think im correct all along.

I would have thought with you being such a smartarse you would have known my wife bought it, and I brought it in from car, oh dear, guess you didnt.

Thanks for tips and info folks, seems there is no real clear way of fitting an ipod into a car, time to get inventing I think and make my millions.

You said that "I brought myself an iPod". Don't try and worm your way out of making a typo or grammatical error

There are 4 main methods of connecting an iPod in a car.

- FM transmitter. I said earlier that they're terrible. Not strictly true. depends on your aerial location, quality of the transmitter. But generally they're the worst on sound quality.
- 3.5mm/aux input on stereo. You'll have to get the iPod mounted somewhere though.
- stereo bluetooth connection. Have to buy a head unit that supports A2DP. And then get bitten by the fact that the iPod doesn't fully support A2DP.

and by far and away the best ...
- head unit with a direct iPod connection. I've been using an Alpine IDA-X100 for a year now, I can connect two iPods, or 1 iPod and a USB drive. Displays album art when available, browsing by album/artist/genre/etc is ridiculously easy (and quite fast).

If you have the budget, the latter is the best solution. There are a variety of properly "iPod Ready" head units available from around £100.

[clonmult]

swerni said:

I've got an Alpine with the ICE link in the Mustang, which while it does give better sound it is useless for scrolling through to find tracks. I've got the best part of 40 gig of music on mine and have to create play lists as finding tracks is too painful.

The other Alpine integrated solutions are a lot easier.

Press the big center button, then select artist/album/genre/podcast. Once in artists or albums, rotating the big volume button goes up and down the list. It displays something like six lines of text, which makes it easier. If thats too slow, if you press the dial in while rotating it goes through the alphabet. Ridiculously easy.

Previously had an Alpine with a one line display and the iPod connection. That was incredibly painful, and the reason why I didn't go for a Dension/ICE Link solution when I got the Audi.

[PJ S]

http://www.xcarlink.co.uk

[E36GUY]

I have and Alpine headunit with iPod connector in one car which is a bit clunky to control and search for albums or songs but have put a Parrot MKi9200 into my other car which controls the iPod beautifully and is obviously a rather good hands free kit to boot. The little screen sits discreetly on the dash and displays album artwork. Brilliant little gadget.

Edited by E36GUY on Friday 5th March 10:57