Forums | MacLife

specv4life · 2009-06-25 4:53 pm

I don't have it yet, but in 7-14 days +2 days for shipping I should have a new black 16GB 3GS since Apple finally got their smurf together and made the GPS serviceable (something that I said was a requirement before I would upgrade from my 5 year old Nokia N-Gage QD, badass phone for its time BTW). What I'm looking for now is a good car mount to take advantage of this.

The car mount needs to have the following features:

#1 sturdy foundation (suction cup, cupholder mount, etc), I don't want this thing swinging around during acceleration, braking, or turning, it should be strong enough that I could autocross with it attached without issue.

#2 very simple, preferably 1 handed insertion of the iPhone into the mount. I want to put it in the top or clamp it from the sides with a single motion and I'm done. Its not worth it to me if I have to sit and adjust some stupid clamps on the side for 2 minutes just to get it in place.

#3 I will also need an FM transmitter/charger combo as I don't have an AUX in on my car and I don't want to spend $100 on another CD player just to get a simple input jack. If this could be incorporated into the mount, great, if not, I want a standalone mount-only and then a simple charger+transmitter in 1 single device that can charge while it plays music and still accept calls (I've heard of some going into airplane mode, F-that). The best solution would be sliding the iPhone into the top of the mount and in one motion connecting it to the plug for charging/FM transmission, but I would also be OK with sliding in the phone and then plugging in a seperate FM/Charger cable.

#4 I need to be able to answer the phone, not necessarily through the car speakers, but at least the phone has to be able to ring and to be answered by either picking it up or switching on the phone's loud speaker (please tell me the iPhone has that).

I have seen some that come close to what I'm looking for, but most seem to miss the mark. The all-in-ones tend to be supported by the DC jack and could easily twist like crazy if it wasn't a super tight fit. Right now, I'm looking at this (see below), but I would like to be confirmed if the 3G is functionally identical to the 3GS when it comes to charger plugs, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/CM014-KST-2-CC005 … amp;sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Transmitter-Car-C … mp;sr=8-26

I have been waiting for the iphone to become the all-in-one device I've been seeking out FOREVER and I need a good mount situation for this to happen.

Oh, and if this helps any, this is what my dash situation is like so you can see what kind of fit I'm looking at:

and no comments on the picture quality, those are stock photos from a car review site tongue

Last edited by specv4life (2009-06-25 9:33 pm)

gd · 2009-06-25 6:28 pm

If you don't find the perfect one create it. Assuming you know how to work with the wiring, compatibility, and tool work.

sturner · 2009-06-25 6:29 pm

Check out the accessories on the Apple site. You don't have to buy from apple, but you will see some of the nice things they have for the iPhone. You can then purchase from the manufacturer, or a 3rd party store.

WhirlinGraphics · 2009-06-26 4:41 am

Having dealt with FM transmitters the past several years do yourself a favor. Go get a quote on what it would cost to install an AUX input on your stock stereo. If it is less than $80 I would go that route in a heartbeat!

sturner · 2009-06-26 9:01 am

Indeed, the wired solution is best! It gives you garuanteed fidelity, connection and none of the problems of finding a clear point between radio stations. In major metroplexes it's nearly impossible to find the separation between stations that they say is required for clear reception of your device.

specv4life · 2009-06-26 9:36 am

WhirlinGraphics wrote:
Having dealt with FM transmitters the past several years do yourself a favor. Go get a quote on what it would cost to install an AUX input on your stock stereo. If it is less than $80 I would go that route in a heartbeat!

well can you even do that? If there's a point I can wire to in parallel, I could do it myself, I did video game console repair for 9 months and have modded just about everything I own (either in terms of software or hardware). I'd rather do it myself than some hack that just wants to get it done as soon as he can and get his pay for it and not care if he does a crap job of it. Still, the FM would be fine for now, and it wouldn't hurt to have an FM transmitter if I ever had to, say, go on a trip in someone else's car and their car didn't have an audio input jack. Where I live now is only a moderately sized city, it wouldn't be hard to find an unused station.

Still though, no one has answered this question yet: are 3G compatible accessories 100% compatible with the 3GS? Some accessories apparently will work on the original but not the 3G, etc. why is that? I believe one of them was a charger that would charge the original but not the 3G. Since I don't even have mine yet and never really looked into the scene, I have no idea what would cause that problem.

specv4life · 2009-06-26 9:39 pm

how about this:

www.proclipusa.com

WhirlinGraphics · 2009-06-28 5:02 am

specv4life wrote:
WhirlinGraphics wrote:
Having dealt with FM transmitters the past several years do yourself a favor. Go get a quote on what it would cost to install an AUX input on your stock stereo. If it is less than $80 I would go that route in a heartbeat!
well can you even do that? If there's a point I can wire to in parallel, I could do it myself, I did video game console repair for 9 months and have modded just about everything I own (either in terms of software or hardware). I'd rather do it myself than some hack that just wants to get it done as soon as he can and get his pay for it and not care if he does a crap job of it. Still, the FM would be fine for now, and it wouldn't hurt to have an FM transmitter if I ever had to, say, go on a trip in someone else's car and their car didn't have an audio input jack. Where I live now is only a moderately sized city, it wouldn't be hard to find an unused station.

Still though, no one has answered this question yet: are 3G compatible accessories 100% compatible with the 3GS? Some accessories apparently will work on the original but not the 3G, etc. why is that? I believe one of them was a charger that would charge the original but not the 3G. Since I don't even have mine yet and never really looked into the scene, I have no idea what would cause that problem.

I'm under the impression that most modern car audio head units have provisions for an AUX input? For some reason the capabilities are there on the back of the unit but many companies didn't route an input to the face. My car is a 1994 (therefore not modern) and my work van only has a basic AM/FM radio. I have two similar but not the same FM transmitters from Belkin that were not cheap ($60-80). They are a hassle to deal with, have not held up well, and have poor sound quality (especially for podcasts). Yet I think these were some of the best on the market at the time I bought them (3 years ago). Maybe the new ones are much better though I doubt it. I agree it is nice to have the option of using them in certain situations. In that case maybe do both since you will be saving money on doing the AUX input yourself? You'll end up using the transmitter for emergencies only.

pottymouth · 2009-06-28 1:14 pm

Don't waste a dime on an FM transmitter.

If your car has provision for a CD changer or Satellite radio (most modern factory units do), you can change it to an Aux or iPod specific input and if you've got the simple skills to get behind your stereo, you can add an adapter yourself. They come with model specific wiring harnesses that are so easy you don't even need to know how to work a pair of wire snips or a roll of electrical tape.

Try some of these sites:
http://www.crutchfield.com/
http://www.installer.com/
http://www.autosoundcentral.com/

Yes, a 3GS will work just fine with any 3G accessory but be aware that they changed some of the pins on the iPod dock cable a while back so some of the accessories that worked just fine with 5th generation era iPods will play but not charge an iPhone or iPod touch. Check the specs.

specv4life · 2009-06-28 9:37 pm

god, does anyone know of an FM transmitter that actually has Apple's blessing? it seems all of them on Amazon, dealextreme.com, etc. give you error messages and usually won't charge the iPhone.

specv4life · 2009-07-13 4:03 pm

ok, so I went ahead and just got the generic Griffin iTrip (universal one) and a $2 USB iPhone cable off of dealextreme.com and a cheap-o generic car mount. I'm happy with the iTrip and the USB cable, but the mount is pretty flaky. The fittings are so loose in the name of quick production that I have to bend the neck so that it always pushes the mount against the dash to keep it from shaking. I'm also a bit worried about the life of the suction cup. Has anyone had good success with those spring loaded air vent clips? It came with some and it seems like it would work well, but I've heard of people breaking their A/C vents before, but maybe they were just retards. Aside from the $100 custom proclipusa.com mounts, it seems like everything out there uses a suction cup, a DC plug, or a cupholder attachment and none of them are really solid options. Does anyone have a mount they would recommend that works with an iPhone with a case?

Forums | MacLife

#1 2009-06-25 4:53 pm

good car mount for iphone?

#2 2009-06-25 6:28 pm

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#3 2009-06-25 6:29 pm

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#4 2009-06-26 4:41 am

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#5 2009-06-26 9:01 am

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#6 2009-06-26 9:36 am

Re: good car mount for iphone?

WhirlinGraphics wrote:

#7 2009-06-26 9:39 pm

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#8 2009-06-28 5:02 am

Re: good car mount for iphone?

specv4life wrote:

WhirlinGraphics wrote:

#9 2009-06-28 1:14 pm

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#10 2009-06-28 9:37 pm

Re: good car mount for iphone?

#11 2009-07-13 4:03 pm

Re: good car mount for iphone?

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