( 49 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 5 2009
I searched high and low for this thing. If you have an aux input for your car stereo, and you don't need bells and whistles, you'll love this adapter/charger. It works with iphone 3G and all previous models too. I can't imagine why it would not work with a 3Gs, but it might just depend on how apple feels on any given day. The play/pause/fwd/rev buttons work really well, and although they're not a necessity, they do make listening to music a little easier when you have no buttons for your iphone in the first place. Don't buy an ipod head unit if you think it will be fewer wires, etc. Seriously, they're more trouble than they're worth, especially if you end up getting an iphone/ipod that will later require you to replace the head unit in your car just to listen to music.
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Posted: Jun 14 2009
I bought this to connect to the audio-in for my car stereo. The connector isn't solid and reliable. We have its Belkin equivalent in our other car, and that works just fine (same ipods). So I just ordered another Belkin instead.
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Posted: Jun 5 2009
I bought this to use with my 1st gen iPhone and Pioneer stereo with AUX input, with one of my goals being to get better audio than my 1st gen iPod Shuffle produces. I looked and looked for accessories built for the iPhone, but none of the options looked particularly good. The Autopilot offered just what I wanted: SIMPLE control interface, line-out audio from the Dock connector, AUX output. As of this review I've only used it for a day but it's been a good experience so far. As you may know this device is NOT certified for iPhone use and thus produces the compatibility error message. But here's the good part... you can completely ignore it. It's not necessary to dismiss the message at all. Just press play and it will resume from where you left off (and if you want to open up the iPod app to pick a playlist, etc., the action of unlocking the phone dismisses the error message too). I'd previously tried the iPhone with just an AUX cable attached to the headphone port and not only was the sound no better than my old iPod Shuffle, but there was the horrible "GSM buzz" that you typically get with cell phones. No so with the Autopilot -- there's zero interference, even with it sitting in the pocket directly below the stereo unit. Sound quality is definitely improved. Before, music always sounded flat/dull compared to played from a MP3 CD or the radio, now it's on par. The leap is not enormous for me because I'l merely using the factory car speakers and they're at their limits. I think if you've invested in good aftermarket speakers, the different would be more noticeable. The actual unit fits snugly into my cars 12V plug and the buttons are easy to press. Red ring pulses while the iPhone is charging. The cables are flexible enough that they don't get in the way as much as I anticipated and with a little effort can be tucked mostly out of the way. This isn't the fanciest solution. You end up with a few wires strung about the console (depending on where your 12V plug is located). But it's affordable, practical, and WORKS. As much as I'd like one of the steering wheel remote solutions, the products out there today all seem much too flimsy. For now, the Griffin Autopilot will handle my car audio needs.
