Tape Deck Connector for iPods

Good news!!! I just tested a tape deck connector with my iPhone and it works the best out of any others I've tried so far. The only problem is that my Jeep doesn't have a tape deck. But for those of you out there that do, I would highly recommend trying one out.

As far as FM Transmitters for Ipods are concerned, they usually run about $74+ for a good one. As as stated in previous posts, a lot of them DO NOT work with the new iPhone 3g. You can pick up a cassette hookup for you ipod or iPhone for about $25. You can find one even cheaper but I wouldn't recommend buying the cheapest one you can find. Maybe grab a mid grade hookup and see how you like it.

Here are some popular models that I've found with good feedback from users:

Belkin - $19.99
Monster iCarPlay - $24.95

I hope this was helpful for those of you looking for the cheapest, best ways to listen to your iPods in your cars.

Nike Plus for iPod Nano

I had heard a little bit about the Nike Plus plugin on for the iPod Nano and decided to go ahead and buy one. First you need Nike shoes that have the +, meaning a hole under the inserts in the shoes. Then you have to buy the package for about $30 which includes a little plastic ball and a small plugin for the Nano. Once you have the ball in your shoe and the plugin on your iPod Nano, you are ready to go. A new field on your iPod main screen will appear called, "Nike Plus."

You have a few options with Nike Plus. You can build your own workout, set a "Power Song" to play, and select a man or women's voice among other options. The Nike Plus will keep track of how far you run, pace, and keep track of your record times. I even used it on the tread mill to compare how accurate it is and it really was dead on. I was pretty impressed.

I generally run mile before my workout and occassionally go for 3 mile runs outside. At first the Nike Plus was a lot of fun to use but after a week or two, I kind of lost the desire to even use it on my 1 mile warm-ups. I would definitley recommed this product to anyone who runs 10+ miles per week. Otherwise you probably don't run enough to really need it. Plus if you don't already have shoes that use it, you'll have to buy a pair which can run anywhere between $70-$150. I'm pretty sure you could just put the plastic ball under your laces of other shoes but I'm not sure it would still work the same.

iPhone 3G GPS

One great feature of the new iPhone 3G is GPS. It didn't take me too long to figure it out. The feature is used through the Maps application. You simply identify where you are going by typing in the address, then select, "Get Directions" which it will map out the shortest distance. When you are ready to go, select "Start" and the 3G network will locate you on the map using a pulsing blue dot. As you move, so will the dot. It's definitely pretty cool.

I did notice a couple fixes that would make it better. One would be a voice command to prompt the user to turn or when a turn is coming. Another would be to have the map rotate to that you are always traveling up on the screen. Currently, you have to turn your iPhone after you make a direcitonal change if you want to be moving in the same direction as the blue dot.

The commercial for the Instinct says that it has voice command GPS. At this point I would say that is its biggest competitve advantage over the iPhone 3G. It wouldn't take much for the Instinct's GPS to be more responsive than the iPhone's. I noticed that sometimes I would be passing streets that the iPhone GPS displayed I hadn't yet. I would say the feature is definitely useful, however, if I were planning a long road trip I definitely wouldn't trust it to get me there without a few mistakes along the way.

iPhone Rubber Skin

I recently purchased a rubber skin for my iPhone. I originally wanted one that had something to hold the headphones with as well but I couldn't find any for the 3G iPhone. I would recommend that anyone that has an iPhone get some sort of protective casing since accidental damages caused by the owner are not covered.

I purchased the DLO rubber skin from Best Buy about a week ago and think it works great. I had a clear plastic case for my iPod Nano which is fine, but after having the rubber skin, I recommend rubber. I say this because it is way less likely to fall out of your pocket. Actually, I think it's impossibe for an iPhone or iPod to fall out of your pocket if its cased in a rubber sleeve.

Another important feature/benefit of the DLO skin is that it comes with 4 screen protectors. I originally thought they would make my iPhone screen unresponsive but they are very thin and when applied properly you can't even tell its on. Again, I recommend anyone with an iPhone or iTouch get something similar to this. You really do need to protect your screen as well.

Road Trip for iPod

I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee and the receiver unfortunately does not have a hookup so I use an FM transmitter. Particularly the Road Trip. It costs around $70 and can be purchased at Best Buy, Circuit City, and I'm sure several other electronic stores. It's definitely better than the Harmon Kardon I had before, but could be better. I know that I'll probably never get super high sound quality out of an fm transmitter, but would like to see some improvements in the future. My signal always gets overpowered by satellite radio users. Why can't a product for iPods be as strong as satellite radio signals?

The Road Trip is also slightly compatible with the new 3g iPhone. The support however is not there. It will play music just fine, but cannot really support it so you'll have to either use some sort of rubber band, or don't take fast turns. I still use my iPod Nano in the car since it fits so well, but would like to be able to use my iPhone. There is supposed to be a product made specifially for the iPhone which is the iTrip Auto by Griffin. I haven't had the chance to pick one up but probably will be doing so in the near future.

Sony Earbuds

Sony Earbud headphones are a great product for the money. I picked them up at Circuit City for about $30 which isn't bad at all for good product if you use it frequently. I use them with my iPod Nano, iPhone 3g, and on my Dell laptop. They block out a ton of noise and sound great. I've only compared them to 2 other headphones and those are the stardand headphones that come with the iPods and Apple products and Creative Earbud headphones. So far they are the best of the bunch. One other feature is that they have an extension if you plug into your iPod on your hip, or just use the short cord if you use an iPod arm band.

iPhone 3G 8gig

I recently made the change to the new iPhone 3g 8gig. I previously had the Palm Treo with Sprint. I have to say that I'm extremely impressed with the iPhone. Sprint tried to talk the company I work for into keeping Sprint and getting the new Blackberry. Sprint said that if you use your phone for business you MUST have a Blackberry. I couldn't disagree more. Here are the key features I'd say are necessary for a cell phone for business use.
1. Email
2. Internet
3. Storage

The iPhone 3g dominates all of the categories listed above. You can add just about any email account to your phone and be updated in real time when you receive a new email. The internet is so much faster than Sprint's that it's not even arguable. And I'm a previous customer so I know from experience. And my last point is storage which is no contest. I have the smaller memory iPhone which is quite a bit more storage that any other phone offered by Spring other than the Instinct.

Anyone who cares about the stock market would be better off with the new iPhone as well. The iPhone starts you with an icon for "stocks" but I would recommend the Bloomberg Application which is FREE! If you haven't checked it out you really should. The main page shows you all of the markets in the world along with recent news, plus you can add any stock you want to your own portfolio page.

Now just about anyone who buys an iPhone is interested in music. With 2 options you can hold around 2,000 or 4,000 songs. There are a ton of music applications you can add for free as well. Verizon boasts of their system where you can hold your phone to the radio and you will sent a message of what the song is. The iPhone has a really cool application call Shazam which does the same thing. I absolutely love Pandora radio and listen to it on my laptop all the time. Now you can have it on your iPhone. And thanks to the super fast 3g network, you can listen to Pandora without download interuptions. I'd have to say this is my favorite application I've used so far.

There are tons of available applications for your iPhone that I would encourage any user to check out. Even one that turns your phone into a flashlight in case you find yourself in the dark.

For now thats all on the new Apple iPhone 3g. I'll add more as I learn more about the phone and what else is out there.