Customer Reviews

Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter for iPod nano 2G

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is actually my third iTrip that I have purchased (each for different iPods). I have always been very impressed with the two previous iTrips that I've used. The biggest surprise for this time was that I had expected the iTrip Nano to be a small, tube shaped devise that attached to the bottom of my Nano. To my surprise (and in contrast to the photos shown) the iTrip Nano actually is about the same size as my 2G Nano iPod and slides in up behind the device. At first I was a bit annoyed with the much larger than expected size, but after reading some reviews on the smaller FM transmitters, I changed my mind on the iTrip Nano,. Despite it's larger than expected size (which means I have to take my iPod out of its case every time I want to use the iTrip), the FM tuning strength is excellent. Ultimately, it is the sound quality that is the most important factor, not the overall size.

It look beauriful and fashionable on the ipod. But it takes time to get it to work correctly. The way you adjust the channels is a little bit confusing and not really intuitionistic. But people with normal IQ can figure it out at last. It's also a problem to figure out where to put it. In my car, it works the best on top of the control panel and below it. I put it in the box in front of the transmission stick. If you listen carefully, there's till a little bit of noise, but it's not disturbing. You can barely hear it when the music is playing. At last, it worth it.

I must not have read the discription very well I have a 3G nano (I think) it's the long sliver one.
and the FM transmiter won't fit.
seems the phone plug and the part that plugs into the bottom of the nano are to close together for my nano.
It looks like a good item.
I just miss read the item discription.

The way the iPod fits into it is nice and neat. Not real obvious how to use it but once you figure it out it's fine (until you don't use it for awhile and have to figure it out all over again.) Unfortunately I mostly get static from it. I only wanted to use this for audiobooks and not music so I wasn't looking for great sound quality - acceptable would have been acceptable. I don't know if the airwaves are too busy where I live (didn't think so) or it's just a lame device. I have to fiddle around with positioning it in different places to get intelligible sound at all.

I have a cheap tape adapter that has a little hiss but really works a whole lot better than this and I think that's a better option if you have a tape deck. I only got this because one of our cars doesn't.

The Griffin iTrip for the 2nd Gen Ipod has a very attractive design and if not the most sleek design compared to any other FM transmitters in the market. But that is where all the pro's end for this item. Its also the main reason I purchased as well, mainly for the looks.

This transmitter is powered by the ipod's battery power and I feel that its not enough for the transmitter to send out a strong signal. I live in NYC and this gets overpowered very very easily. Also every time I grab or move it slightly in my car it loses reception and emits lots of static noise.

The sound quality is very poor as well, you can still hear lots of static in the background and sounds worse the my AM stations in my state.

The quick fix to all the static and low transmitter power is by connecting a usb car charger to the iTrip. This gives enough power for the iTrip to emit strong signals and charge your ipod as well. But this kind of ruined the entire point of having such a sleek FM transmitter that was easy to carry around.

I was pulled in by the price and some of the other reviews. I've had two other FM transmitters for my iPod nano so far and this one was easily the best purchase of the three.

My first one was one of the cupholder units that you dock the iPod in and it will charge while connected. This one was good for longer trips because it charged the battery while playing the music. The transmitter strength was very poor and every time someone passed me in another vehicle using an FM transmitter device I would be forced to listen to their music until we separated far enough for my transmitter to take over again. I hated that. The other problem was that it was a pain in the neck to carry with you and move to other vehicles. You had to have a place close enough to plug it in and it is meant to be placed in a cupholder, so guess what that's one less drink you can carry in the cupholders (if the vehicle is even cool enough to have cupholders in the first place). The last thing is that it was a gift so I don't know exactly how much it cost, but I do know it wasn't cheap. Not a good choice for the performance and price in my opinion.

I then purchased a Belkin unit that ran on two AAA batteries and plugged in to the headphone 2.5mm jack. It had decent portability as it wasn't very big. The problem was it basically was as poor a performer as the other transmitter I had (actually maybe even worse) and it ate AAA batteries like a bid dog. I did get it cheap though, so the price I paid wasn't bad. Buying a cheap turd still isn't a good feeling though.

Finally, I purchased the iTrip. This thing is awesome. It is basically the same shape as my iPod nano (second gen) and in my opinion adds only minimal size when attached. I am loving this thing. I don't have to charge it separately. I don't have to buy batteries for it. It came with a sweet little velvet type material bag for storage and transporting. I leave the iPod attached and slide it in the bag when not in use and it stays clean and doesn't get scratched up if I put it in my pocket. Oh Yeah, it fits in my pocket with the transmitter attached. The iPod battery powers the transmitter, so yes it does decrease battery life per charge. So what, though it is worth the trade off to me. It could potentially even be almost 35 to 40 percent less, but still worth it to me. The big reason is because it has a mini-usb port that I can plug it in to a cigarette lighter or just a usb cable and charge the iPod (using the term charge loosely it charges very slowly when connected to the transmitter so I don't recommend charging your iPod this way). Even though charging is poor with the transmitter attached the awesome twist to me is that I can use the same travel charging cord to charge my cell phone or keep the iPod rockin while rollin down the road. The other awesome thing is that I haven't been drowned out by someone elses transmitter signal yet. I'm not saying this thing is the strongest FM transmitter out there, but it is the strongest one I have used. It actually even seems to transmit cleaner when I have the charging cord attached (this may be because it is grounded to the vehicle, but not sure).

The bottom line is that for the price I paid for this thing (less than $20 shipped) it is the best iPod FM transmitter I have seen yet. I love this thing. I highly recommend buying one if you are considering it. I usually don't even take time to fill out these reviews, but I love this thing that much. If a slacker/couch potato like me is willing to put forth some effort you better listen up and take a piece of that advice. I hate giving up something for nothing, but I guess I'll have to convince myself that this was worth it.

Happy listening!

i bought this and thought it would work great where ever, but there are only certain spots in the car were it works. luckily i got velcro strips and put it on my dash. its clear there but at times in different areas can be a little fuzzy. good for the price though, but if you are looking for one with no fuzzy noise stick with an audio cable

its an ok ok product
better that the off street products that i tried earlier
what i really like is that it fits very well with the old ipod nano
performance could be better as the signal varies when even kept inside the car
there is a hiss sometimes and interference

I tried a number of FM transmitters and this is the best one for this generation Nano. Easy to operate, great sound quality and nice size package.

While working, reduces the battery lenght a lot. Fine if you don't live in a crowded radio frequency area.