Customer Reviews

Griffin RoadTrip FM Transmitter for iPhone and iPod (Black)

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

This is a great and useful product, but must be turned to European mode to reach 87.7 - 87.9 since for some reason Griffin thinks that they are not allowed to use these frequencies (they are).

On the FM transmitter box, push the middle button (Function) and then press and hold the "Mode" button (the right one) for approximately 10 seconds. When you let go you will see a menu for "Us" "Eu" "Ja", select the middle button, "Eu". Let the device sit for a few seconds until it goes back to the main screen, then tune your radio and the transmitter to 87.7 - 87.9! Now you can use the device on the frequencies that will rarely give you interference (I have the best luck in St. Louis with 87.7).

I have owned many Griffin FM transmitters for the iPod and iPhone over the years, and a couple from their competitors. I keep coming back to Griffin for their high quality products, which when properly used provide the best sound possible over an FM transmitter (even better than most wired FM transmitters).

Several reviewers have mentioned running the Roadtrip in its "EU mode," which is excellent advice. 87.7 FM is the going to provide the clearest frequency in most locales and almost all vehicles. Other FM frequencies' reliability will vary greatly based on the stations in your area and the sensitivity of your FM antenna. My wife's Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter with SmartScan, for example, transmits flawlessly on 104.1 FM via her Subaru's head unit here in Seattle. In my Audi, only 89.1 and 89.3 seem to work with the same transmitter.

I am surprised that the product description and customer reviews fail to mention an excellent feature of this transmitter: RDS output. If your car stereo is capable of displaying RDS data (used by many radio stations to display station identification or song titles), the RoadTrip will display the artist and song name for the currently playing MP3/AAC. Not an essential feature given the easy access to the screen the RoadTrip provides, but it was a nice bonus I was not expecting.

My only gripe so far is how unreliably the RoadTrip engages with my car stereo. Sometimes, I find myself reseating the connection to my car's DC outlet over and over before the static is finally replaced by the silence of the RoadTrip transmitting on 87.7. I'm not sure if I just have a defective unit, or if my car is the problem. Besides this glitch, it works so flawlessly that I'm willing to overlook that one quirk.

Over all this is a nice looking device The transmitter works well in my Honda Ridgeline, it comes in as clear as any other FM radio station.

Griffen could be a bit more careful with the form and fit. One of the buttons was too tight and I had to cut it back a bit with an exacto knife to get it to stop sticking.

The one thing this unit lacks and it is not made clear in any reviews I read was that while it is true that it pauses the music when a call comes in and plays the ring tone over your car speakers it DOES NOT play the callers voice over the speakers. What an oversite on Griffin's part! The unit is really complete, except for being able to take a call through it.

Griffin if you are listening, I have no problem paying $60+ for this unit if I could hear the caller over the speakers and use either the iphones built in mic or a mic in the RoadTrip but as it sits now I am tempted to give it back. Just an FM transmitter is not worth this much money.

Griffin's new RoadTrip for my iPhone 3G works extremely well. You have to searcha litteto find the right frequency to use, but having done so, I have very good performance on my daily commute with no interference whatsoever. The mounting is great as well. Could be a little longer neck, but great overall.

The numerous reviews on this product and the competitors are really helpful in making a decision; especially if you've tried to buy in a brick and mortar store. At least there are some opinions here. Key issues that got my attention were quality of the "arm" and functionality.

With the Griffin Unit you are getting very high quality. The connections to the Iphone is excellent and stays connected; the adjustable arm is excellent quality and stays put. With unit multiple "holders/connectors" come with the unit. Each one is specifically designed for each version of the Iphone, so you do get a perfect fit. Only draw back is none work with a case on the phone. Wish a larger version were available to hold the Iphone with a case on it.

The appearance of the unit is very good and does look like it belongs with the car; not factory installed but doesn't look like a cheap addition. Once connected this unit stays put: holds the Iphone and stays in position. You can easily work with the phone menu without removing the unit; it is very stable.

However as many reviewers have stated, if you are going to use this unit or any FM unit in a metro area there are going to be reception problems. Finding an unused frequency is a challenge. This has nothing to do with the unit; that's life in the big city. I'm in Atlanta; 87.7 works best in the City. But when you get near the large buildings, especially where construction is taking place, other personnel communication devices do come in. On the roads outside the areas of high density, unit works great.

Iphone does not like being attached to devices not sold by Apple, a few statements come up on the screen after connection; just ignore them or press cancel. I have been able to totally replace satellite radio with Internet radio. I'm sure AT&T is not happy with that; more use of the Iphone frequency. Pandora Radio works great and you do get the functionality of Pandora by signing in to your personal account and the service continues to "learn" your preferences. The like/dislike and skip functions are all available.

One aspect that I have found helpful in improving reception is that my audio system does "learn" stations; in that if reception is poor over a few minutes it will self adjust settings to improve strength. Usually within a minute or two if I have poor reception it improves very well. For those in a metro area just be ready for pops and crackles that will occur. You will not get CD or strong FM quality reception; outside metro areas reception is great.

I gave the unit 5 stars because the previous reviews seem to focus on quality, stability, and ease of functionality. The Griffin unit does not disappoint; pay the extra dollars. Have learned that a unit that "moves around" would be a major reception problem. The unit needs to be stable to maintain a dependable FM reception. This unit simply will not move, nor will the Iphone. Also it great holder for using the GPS features of the Iphone Apps. The flexibility of positioning the unit makes it very user friendly for the driver and passenger. Can easily change positions.

Just a final note, please remove this or any device like it from visible site when the car is parked. It looks very nice and expensive; a definite attraction for the opportunist car break-in types. It's really not worth a smashed window so someone can grab what looks like a really kewl electronic device. Makes for a very attractive smash and grab opportunity. This unit is easily removed and fits very nicely in a small place like a console or glove box. Please "remove and place the unit" outside of view when not in use; it really is easy and convenient.

Good luck and this unit only takes a few minutes to setup once you find a frequency. Instructions are very clear and easy to follow.

It worked great - fantastic - beyond expectation - until it didn't.

The charger plug-in eventually just loses its 'snugness' and with every bump loses power - which means you have to hit play - nearly continuously on anything other than the smoothest of roads.

Honestly - just pay the extra to figure out a way to get a direct connection.

I love this charger/transmitter! I don't have messy wires running around or some ugly bulky thing in my car. Its very unobtrusive and sleek looking even when it isn't being used. It holds your iPhone 3G securely. I've been using this for over a year with my iPhone 3G until I accidentally took it swimming with me. I bought an iPHone 4 as a replacement and found that it would not fit any of the 3 cradles that come with this. I found that it worked perfect if I removed the cradle all together, but was woried that without the support of the cradle that it would eventually damage my iPhone case. Well, I took a thin board and wrapped it in fine sandpaper and sanded the curve in the cradle to a sharp corner to match the iPhone 4 and voila! Perfect! It charges my iPhone 4 fast too!

When travelling, I take this with me for my car rental. I also take a short 12" stereo cable with me in case the rental has an AUX port. The charger has a stereo out port at the base and, using the AUX port will always sound better than FM transmitter.

For those that haven't used an FM transmitter before, don't expect perfect CD quality sound. At the best, you can achieve FM stereo quality. With this charger, I hear some static when going under high power lines. I don't think any other FM transmitter would be any better.

When we travel for the holidays, we typically rent a car for the long trip. On our last trip, we had a new Ford Focus with the SYNC system. Being able to listen to our new iPod Touch on a long trip really spoiled us. A few weeks ago, we had to take another road trip and really missed having our entire music libraries at our fingertips. We stopped and bought a Belkin Tunebase FM transmitter/charger (see: TuneBase Direct with Hands-free) that advertised that it would work with the iPhone/iPod Touch and could even be used with a case on the device. We were sorely disappointed to find that the arm of that device was not strong enough to hold up the iPod with a case, and even sagged when the iPod was attached without a case. While I wasn't expecting much on the sound quality front, even on clear channels there was a significant amount of static, and we had to crank the volume way up to even be able to hear the music, regardless of what mode we had it in. (I should note here that we have a compact pickup, and the distance from the transmitter to the antenna is maybe 2.5 ft with a clear line of sight.) Finally, Belkin's "ClearScan" was frequently unable to find an open frequency, even when we were driving in areas with very little interference - we frequently needed to manually select and set the station.

After returning the Belkin unit two days later, we exchanged it for a Griffin RoadTrip, which seemed like it had a sturdier base - and we haven't looked back since. The Griffin RoadTrip offers these advantages:

* First, the arm is very strong and holds the iPod firmly in place.

* It comes with a variety of adapters that hold the base of the device in place, and the one for the iPod Touch works well.

* SmartScan seems to consistently find (and save) open frequencies.

* The display is very easy to read.

* It is very easy to fit your iPod into the adapter. There's no miniphone plug to worry about getting into the headphone jack, and no clip on top. You just set your device in the cradle and go.

* For an FM transmitter, the sound quality (and volume) are excellent. (If you're expecting top-of-the-line audio system quality, you're looking at the wrong kind of devices.)

* Unlike some other reviewers, I've found that the base on this device holds much more snugly into the aux power jack than other chargers. It's very steady while driving, even over some bumps.

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That said, there are a few drawbacks to this model:

* Even though the base swivels, because it only uses the connector on the bottom, it's difficult to use this with an iPod Touch/iPhone in landscape view. While this is a minor bug, it takes away from the ability to quickly flip through your album view, which is nice while you're driving.

* The support arm is relatively short, giving you slightly less room to maneuver your iPod to that perfect spot. (I think this is a tradeoff for support strength, and one I will gladly take.)

* It won't fit your iPhone/iPod Touch unless you take your pricey device out of any protective case you may keep it in.

* The controls, while not complicated, don't seem as intuitive as the ones on some competing devices. But about 30 seconds with the user guide sorts that right out.

I purchased this item about 20 months ago, and have been using it nearly daily ever since. I like the concept. I like that my iPhone is charged while I'm driving, so I almost never have to charge it otherwise. I like that I can listen to my music via the FM radio or Aux cable.

The execution is extremely poor. The autoscan feature simply doesn't work - it fails to find obviously empty channels. After a short while the entire unit failed, which was due to a broken solder connection from the socket ground contacts to the internal PCB. I re-soldered this myself.

The last straw is that now that I upgraded to an iPhone 4, I've found Griffin has stopped supporting this product, in particular, with a cradle adapter.

I will think twice before purchasing another Griffin product.

I read the reviews before buying. I saw that they were mixed. And as for sound quality and ease of use, this thing is basically a mediocre FM-transmitter and gives the level of service you'd expect if you've used these before. The form factor is convenient, and the controls are easy enough to figure out. But that's where the positive aspects end.

CONS:
1. Constantly flashes: "iPhone does not support this device" message onscreen. How constantly? Good question. I measured it. It's every 5 minutes. LAME.
2. Occasionally tells me I'll get interference if I use this bugger, and tells me to put my phone in Airplane Mode. That's just stupid. The broadcaster is MADE FOR iPHONES. Airplane mode. Pshaw.
3. The SERIOUS stuff: After 3-4 months of use, the dock connector seems to have come slightly loose from the plastic base. Not loose enough to feel obnoxiously crappy, but loose enough to prevent playback. Read that again: AFTER 3-4 MONTHS, THIS TRANSMITTER NO LONGER WORKS. This is a construction quality issue, so don't think yours will be different. Just don't buy this dumb thing.

Sorry, but I can't be emphatic enough. Avoid this thing, PERIOD. It's a 3-month purchase, and worth nowhere near what it costs to buy.