The Griffin RoadTrip - It’s the big gun

I am an Apple man. I am a Mac man. I am an iPod man. I love the entire concept of living with my iPod near me all the time with my earphones in.

So now I can continue to listen to the music of my choice in my car with the Griffin RoadTrip. The RoadTrip is the very big dog that allows you to do so much more than simply listen to your iPod in your car but I’ll get to that soon enough.

What is it?

For those of you who are not aware, the RoadTrip plugs in to your iPod and converts the signal to one that your radio can sync up with and play through your car’s sound system. Easy and effective.

What can it actually do?

There are a variety of available options in the “travel” category of gadgets. There is the iTrip option that is cheaper but does a lot less. All that the lower end iTrips do is allow you to play your music through your car’s sound system. In itself that is pretty nifty if you think about it.

Yet when I was buying mine I unfortunately listened to the salesman who told me all of the added benefits of the RoadTrip. This led me to spend more money. But it was money well spent let me tell you.

The RoadTrip can do the following:

• Charge your iPod while it plays
• Scans and selects up to three radio frequencies that suit your radio and location providing you with the best sound quality (SmartScan)
• Comes adapters for the the following iPods: iPod classic, iPod touch, and iPod nano.

Twisting and turning

This is one of my personal favourite features of the RoadTrip. It’s manouverable. What I mean by that is that you can bend the main pipe part of the gadget in to a variety of shapes. This allows you to mold the RoadTrip to fit your car, your car lighter, your iPod and your personal feel. If you have an iPod Touch (like I do) then you will love this feature. The iPod Touch allows you to view your screen horizontally or vertically, wide screen or not, portrait or landscape. Now you can do the same in your car with RoadTrip. It helps when you are driving and you can simply twist the hinged part of the RoadTrip and flip the screen to be able to scroll through your music library. Tap, tap, play and your golden. It’s that easy.

Sound

Be sure to test out all of the different sound options on your iPod when using the RoadTrip. The RoadTrip is very sensitive to the type of music you are listening to and what settings you have your iPod set to. If you are listening to serious rock but have the settings ready to play house, you will hear the difference. Simply play around until you find a setting that works for you and the music you enjoy most of the time.

The issues

I really can only think of one major issue and I am not sure if it is a problem with my car or my RoadTrip. I have found that the RoadTrip is slightly tough to balance, literally, in the cigarette lighter socket. It gains power from this socket and if it can’t fit properly then it won’t run continually. When it won’t run continually it won’t stay on. When your RoadTrip is plugged in and playing music and it suddenly disconnects it makes a terrible sound. Very off-putting. Not to mention distracting to try and switch the thing back on. Luckily with the Touch it’s relatively simply, touch, slide, slip and it’s on and playing again.

Basic facts and pricing

Features

• Play music from your iPod on your car’s stereo system as it charges.
• Switch quickly between pre-sets.
• New SmartSound™ Plus technology delivers clear sound under real-world conditions.
• New flexible steel neck and interchangeable iPod model-specific cradles position your iPod perfectly.
• The look of a custom installation in your car without the cost or inconvenience.

Technical Specifications

• Antenna: Built-In
• Power: Provided by the 12 Volt cigarette lighter or power outlet (no batteries required)
• Available output RF range: US: 88.1 MHz -107.9 MHz
• Radio Frequncy Increments, US: 0.2 MHz per step
• Input Voltage Range: 12 – 16 Volts DC
• Maximum Current: 2 Amp
• Output Voltage: 5 Volts DC at 1 Amp
• Fuse Type: 2 Amp blade-type automotive fuse

Expect to pay between R750 and R800 depending on where you buy it from.

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(7 votes, average: 1 out of 5)

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Filed Under Accessories, Audio/Visual, Featured Reviews, Griffin, MP3 Players, Other Gadgets