Belkin Auto Charger for iPod (White) by Belkin Components
|
List Price: Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
(Click here)
Digital camera reviews of Belkin Auto Charger for iPod (White)
Digital camera Review: Good charger, poor audio.
Summary: 2 Stars
I recently purchased the Auto Kit so I could get line-out quality sound from my iPod and port it directly to the aux-input of my car stereo. At first blush it seems like a great product, however in practice it is sorely lacking. The amped line out on the Auto Kit picks ups the electrical interference from the alternator and other electrical systems producing a very annoying hum to outright buzz while driving.
I investigated the problem and determined that the Belkin Auto kit lacks an appropriate filter to mute the interference. I found that if I plugged the RCA cable into the headphone jack and left the power adapter connected, I still got the whine. If I removed the power adapter, the whine, buzz and humming were gone. Had I known this was going to be an issue, I would have saved myself the $40 and just set things up to plug into the headphone jack.
Belkin obviously thought that people would be using their product with their FM transmitter or cassette adapter which are noisy in their own right and thus the interference introduced through the Auto kit wouldn't be a problem.
I would not put any money into this particular Belkin product and find another way to get line-out quality sound.
Digital camera Review: Good in theory, Poor in reality.
Summary: 1 Stars
So after purchasing the iPOD I wanted to know how I could fully integrate it into my life and take advantage of iPOD's mobility.The Good - The charger worked great, it is the one star, able to charge your iPOD while on the road and would reccommend this for people that use it while they travel. I do travel often and it's nice to have a fully charged iPOD for a morning run.
The Bad - The Belkin TuneCast mobile FM transmitter runs through the charger so that you can listen to your iPOD through the radio without the annoying cassette adapter, however, it uses two "AAA" batteries, which after the first day of having this transmitter, the batteries were dead. I don't understand if it's plugged into the battery of the car, why you would need two puny batteries?
The Ugly - Plain and simple the mobile FM transmitter didn't work. It gives you four band choices 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, and 88.7. After trying all four, the best that I could get was a very faint sound of the iPOD track, with a lot of hissing and crackling, kind of like when you're listening to a radio station and you just start to get "out of range".
I think that this product is a good idea, and I'm a big fan of Belkn's product lines, but I can't believe that they would put something like this on the market when it simply does not work.
Digital camera Review: Good product
Summary: 4 Stars
We have an older ipod that has a motherboard issue, so the headphone jack no longer works. This is the only power adaptor that I could find that also had an audio out on it. It allows me to charge the ipod and connect the ipod to the aux input on the car stereo. We have other ipods as well, but this product has allowed me to leave that ipod in the car so we have it at all times. The only negative is the built in amplifier. You have to get it just right to avoid getting a feedback type of hum throung the car stereo.Digital camera Review: Good product
Summary: 4 Stars
I use this with the sony cassette and it works good. I like the volume option on the charger as well. The light at the charger end lets you know that it's plugged in correctly.Digital camera Review: Great Product
Summary: 5 Stars
You can trust this product. I bought it based on the fact that the mini stereo audio out is located next to the dash and not at the bottom of you iPod. I can tolerate a wire running to my iPod because I want it to be able to charge but I don't want cables running everywhere. As long as you set it up properly it will sound great. If you use a tape adapter or FM modulator you may get hiss, I don't know because I bought this so I could you the auxilary port on my Alpine receiver to avoid all that, and it sounds amazing. My newer CD's I rip at 320 so the bass and highs really come through, there is no way you could tell the difference between a CD and the iPOD. My older stuff like the Beatles get ripped at 192 so I save the space and it still sounds great. If you get any hiss its from something else beside this.