Product Description

Belkin Tunecast Autoinline FM Transmitter with ClearScan technology and large backlit display work with all iPod and iPhone models F8Z343EA iPods iPod Accessories

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1388 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Belkin
• Model: F8Z343
• Released on: 2008-12-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.00" h x 5.00" w x 1.60" l, .36 pounds

Features

• Tunecast Auto ClearScan

Manufacturer's Description
Use your iPod or iPod to listen to your favorite tunes through your car's FM radio with Belkin's TuneCast Auto. The Belkin TuneCast Auto wirelessly transmits audio from your iPod or iPhone to your car stereo, quickly and easily. Avoid the frustration of manually finding a clear FM station;ClearScan technology quickly scans and finds the best FM frequency with one touch of a button.

Customer Reviews

Does what it says on the tin...
Wow. The first iPhone 3G compatible car charger/FM modulator for the car. Since I bought my iPhone 3G back in the summer of 2008 I have been amazed that no-one has exploited this rather obvious gap... until now.

So, I got my TuneCast the other day and it's superb. I have an Audi A4 and an Espace so being able to move it from one car to the other is crucial.

Lets' go over some of the features:
* It plugs in to your car "cigarette lighter" socket and is joined to the connecting cable at 90Degs. This is great cos it keeps the wire out of the way.
* This wire then connects to a control unit which displays the current output frequency and has buttons to adjust, find the clearest gap and store modulation frequencies. It's a bit fiddly, and I'm thinking about popping a bit of velcro to the back because it's wandering around my dashboard dangerously obstructing the handbrake at times.
* Finally a cord from this unit connects to your iPhone or iTouch. Simple plug in, no locking mechanism or encasement, fairly basic. This is where the audio signal is grabbed from and is also where your iPhone/iTouch is charged.

NB. Many iPod/iTouch car units will not charge you iPhone 3G because of changes Apple have made to the power pin configuration on the iPhone. Manufacturers have been aware of the change over for a while, few have made the change because of additional changes to components to adapt to new conficuration.

It's worth mentioning that this product will not act as a handsfree unit, you'll have to use a bluetooth headset or wired equivelent to do that.

The signal is pretty much spot on. There is a little crackling, but then it's coming from my iPhone, being transmitted by air to then be reconstructed and played through my in-car hi-fi. Audiophiles around the world will be reeling... but it does a pretty good job, I'll not complain.

The "Clear" signal test can be a bit erratic though; you would imagine that if your in the same spot it'd pick from maybe 3 specific frequencies. The clear signal thing seems to operate like a random number generator as far as I can tell. In the UK it's not too much of a problem anyway, abroad might be another kettle of fish.

Once you've got your car radio tuned in, it also provides song information through the RDS carrier so it displays on your radio heads-up rather than having to check your iPhone display. Neat little feature that is really dependant on the RDS implementation by the Car Radio (you'll get varied results based on manufacturer and model).

So why did I only give it 4 stars... well for the price I would have quite liked to have my precious item of joy to have been held securely somewhere rather than being left to fling itself around the interior of my car. Perferably an encasement that either attaches to the 12v lighter plug or a suction-cup thing. Also (note to manufacturers) could we have a warning go off for when the engine turns off so that we remember to take our iPhone with us once we've arrived at our destination, like we already have for leaving lights on. I have left my iPhone in my car now on several occasions and I'm becomming reluctant to plug it in when I start off in the morning for the fact I'm a little forgetful.

Overall it fulfils my expectations, but it does little to go that extra mile to Wow me any further. I think we'll see manufacturers producing a wider range of products soon to fill this gap (maybe some with voice control and handsfree calling) but until then this is a pretty good start.

Monkey
I have used this product for some weeks now. I find it provides a great clarity of sound and the volume is much better than other products I have tried. The only problem I have found is that my car radios AF function begins to search for the station before I can press play so every time I plug it in I have to retune it. This is not a massive problem and I still use it every day on my way to work.

Not as good as expected
I bought this to replace an iTrip from the days before they were legal! What are the good points? A clear display shows you the frequency to tune to. This is illuminated at night, so a plus point there. The main feature is a large button which enables the seek mode, where a clear location is found. This seems to work ok.

What are the reasons for the downgrade then? One is specific to this model and one is more general. The specific problem is that the power of the transmitter seems to be weaker than the previous iTrip. As a result the device may drop off station quite easily. If you are the only one in the car, that's a problem when driving. Perhaps it doesn't help that the aerials in both my cars are rear mounted, while the iPod needs to be near at hand.

The more general problem is there are now so many local FM stations, that this type of device works best when you are motoring around the same location all the time. On longer journeys, a re-tune or two will probably be necessary.