Kensington 33169 Digital FM Radio and Transmitter for iPods by Kensington
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Our Price: $86.40 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $59.99 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Kensington 33169 Digital FM Radio and Transmitter for iPods
Digital camera Review: A great disappointment
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered two of these in December 2006 -- one for me and one for my wife. We'd been using Sony cassette adapters to play our iPods in our cars, and while the sound quality was quite good, I was sick of the cassette adapter cords tangling up around the gearshift. So I ordered these.
On first use, I was reasonably satisfied with mine. The sound wasn't nearly as loud as through the cassette adapter, but the signal was strong and clear. My wife's didn't work as well. We had to spend about five minutes fiddling around with it before we could get it to work, and the sound was very muffled and staticky, no matter what station we put it on.
The second time I used mine, it didn't do anything. I did everything I could to make it work, turning it on and off, disconnecting it, setting it to different stations, switching it from transmit to receive, etc. I set it aside in disgust, and about five minutes later, without me touching it again, it started transmitting to my radio, and a song from my iPod started playing at a very low volume. I checked the iPod; it's volume was set on high, and my car stereo's volume was on medium. It was like the transmitter was possessed.
Neither my wife nor I have used them since. Too much hassle. We just hook up the old reliable Sony adapters and listen to our music that way.
I purchased these during a special sale at Amazon, so I'm only out about $20 apiece. I've wasted more than that on a single meal, so I'm trying not to be too bitter about it -- but I'd be remiss if I didn't caution others to save their money and get quality cassette adapters instead. Stay away from these transmitters. Far away.
Digital camera Review: A lot of static
Summary: 2 Stars
It was cheap after rebate, but useless. Now this device is in my Junk Box gathering dust. The static interferes with the sound quality. The music would fade in and out depends on the locate of the car. If you have a proctector casing for your Ipod, the connector is either not long or narrow enough to fit the Ipod. Also it uses the battery from your Ipod, and will drain if you keep this device on.Digital camera Review: An Ok Product
Summary: 2 Stars
The Kensington Digital Transmitter is at best a mediocre product. It does it's job barley. It is a battery hog that really doesn't overpower the static on many channels. It takes up the interface port at the bottom and then doesn't have a charger port so you can plug in your car charger into it (Which would have alleviated the battery problem). If it's on sale (which it was for me, I got it for 10 dollars) it would be an ok pick up if you REALLY needed an FM transmitter for your iPod.Digital camera Review: An surprisingly bad product
Summary: 1 Stars
Loved the idea. Have owned other Kensington products. Have owned other (less expensive) iPod fm transmitter solutions. This one is surprisingly, almost unbelievably bad.
Absolutely unacceptable sound quality through any FM station in the car. Absolutely unacceptable signal strength. Consistently over-powered by even the smallest radio/electrical/magneteic field disruption, from power lines, to other cars, to almost anything that emits a field.
My favorite feature is the ability to pick up OTHER iPod FM transmitter products in other cars passing by. I get to hear what other peoples' musical tastes are through my own FM stereo iPod transmitter.
Digital camera Review: Average sound quality
Summary: 3 Stars
CONS:
-All stations will have some static.
-the 4 preset buttons on the bottom are flimsy and need to be firmly pressed.
-the unit can easliy be dislodged while in use.
-The ipod's volume control cannot be adjusted via the ipod.
-The FM stations have static. Not all stations have strong reception because there is no antenna.
-May need to remove an ipod case to securely attach the device.