Griffin iTrip: A Necessary Evil

Author's Rating:

Pros: No batteries required, easy to use, works with most iPods

Cons: 87.9 hidden, needs entire bottom of iPod, gets overpowered easily

The Bottom Line: 
All FM transmitters have their flaws, but the iTrip does enough things right to make listening over the FM radio as pleasant as possible.

Author's Review
I have a commute that some would (correctly) describe as borderline insane. With no traffic, it takes me approximately 45 minutes to get to work; of course, a realistic commute adds at least 15-30 minutes of traffic in each direction, and on a particularly bad day, I can be in the car for upwards of two hours at a time. I can tell you, though, that it would be much, much worse if I had to listen to the radio; instead, I have my iPod, and between my music and podcasts, while I can’t say that the time flies by, it’s certainly much more pleasant than it could be. Unfortunately, since I don’t have a line in jack on my car stereo or a cassette deck, I’m forced to rely on a less optimal FM transmitter solution. I decided on the Griffin iTrip, and while it, like most FM transmitters, has its fair share of issues, I’ve found myself generally satisfied with its performance.

The Griffin iTrip is a small device the same width and thickness as the 5G iPod that attaches via the dock connector on the bottom of the iPod. (This iteration of the iTrip will actually work with any iPod with a dock connector, but is designed for the 5G iPod. My wife uses this iTrip with her iPod Nano, but it is more difficult to disconnect.) Once connected, the iTrip turns on once a song begins to play and is powered by the iPod itself, so no batteries or other power source is necessary. Once you find an empty station on your radio, you just use the toggle switch on the side of the iTrip to choose the corresponding frequency, press in the switch to lock in your selection, and the iPod begins to transmit over the radio. Switching the frequency that the iTrip transmits over is extremely easy.

Finding the right frequency, however, can be considerably more difficult. The iTrip allows selection of frequencies between 88.1 and 107.9 out of the box. Of course, how many frequencies actually work well depends on where you live and how many radio stations are transmitting in your area. The best stations are those that are between two empty frequencies so that there is no “bleed over” from adjacent stations. If you live in a dense radio market like New York City or Boston, however, these types of stations are few and far between, and it can take some trial and error to find the best station.

One thing that was originally extremely disappointing was that 87.9 was not a station I could select on my iTrip, as it is completely unused and the station with, by far, the best clarity with these types of transmitters. However, there is a way to put the iTrip into “international mode” which makes 87.9 accessible and makes the iTrip much more useful. Before discovering international mode, the iTrip was nearly useless near Boston because there are very few empty stations. I’m not sure if they restrict 87.9 because of FCC regulations or if there is another reason behind that decision (because earlier iterations of the iTrip did support 87.9), but I was ready to return the iTrip and try a different transmitter before I discovered the secret of international mode.

The iTrip does have some downsides, of course, beyond those inherent in any FM transmitter. Because the iTrip runs off the iPod’s power, it does decrease the iPod’s battery life. Even so, I’ve found that I can usually squeeze about six hours out of a charge with the iTrip attached, which is more than sufficient for everything but long-distance driving.

The bigger downside of the iTrip is that it requires access to the entire bottom panel of the iPod in order to connect properly. There are two major issues that this introduces. One is that standard iPod chargers will not work with the iTrip attached because the iTrip is occupying the dock connector. The iTrip does come with a mini-USB port for charging, so if you can find a mini-USB car charger, that will work. More significantly, the bottom access requirement drastically limits your options in terms of cases that you can use with the iTrip attached. Even a thin layer of silicone in between the iTrip and the bottom of the iPod will keep the iTrip from connecting.

One other minor issue is that the iTrip overrides the iPod’s volume control and equalizer settings. Normally, this isn’t a big deal; you can just use your car stereo’s volume control. However, there are certain tracks, usually podcasts, which can be difficult to hear over the background noise at the iTrip’s default volume, even with the stereo volume turned all the way up, and it would be nice if there was a way to boost the iPod’s volume a bit. This is only an issue rarely, but when it rears its ugly head, it can be quite frustrating.

Finally, the power on the iTrip is not as high as other FM transmitters. This is probably because the other FM transmitters (specifically those found on satellite radio receivers) don’t comply to FCC regulations, but this means that these transmitters can overpower the little iPod when they’re within range, which can be maddening. For instance, almost every morning, at some point during the commute, Howard Stern will force himself on my car stereo, since many of the Sirius receivers also transmit on 87.9. This is less of an issue with the iTrip than with those other receivers, since the FCC is cracking down on the overpowered transmitters going forward, but interference from other cars can be an issue, especially if where you are driving is densely populated.

I’m the first one to admit that an FM transmitter is more or less one of the worst ways to listen to your iPod in the car. Unfortunately, for those of us without a line-in jack in the car, an FM transmitter can be a more reasonable option than replacing the car stereo, and if that’s the case, the iTrip is an excellent choice. When it works, it works well, and when it doesn’t, it can be extremely frustrating, but that’s the case with any FM transmitter. The simplicity of the interface and the fact that no batteries are required make the iTrip a more attractive option than the other transmitters that I researched. Just don’t forget to expand your world view and set the iTrip to international mode before you fire up your traveling music.