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I think my car (2006 Mustang) was probably one of the last models ever not to feature some form of auxiliary input on the radio/cd player. (Four years after the iPod explosion and Ford still weren’t offering an easy in-car solution – hard to imagine why they’re having financial problems..).

For listening to iPods the only option I have are the “FM” tuner devices that broadcast a local FM signal for your radio, and for an iPhone only the types of these devices that are shielded to avoid interference.

With the closure of LA’s Indie 103, and my rapidly growing podcast backlog, I decided to pick up the Griffin RoadTrip FM for iPhone so I’d be able to listen to something other than the junky commercial stations that decorate the LA airwaves. My only requirements were for something that supported the iPhone and had a cradle/charge stand, which were both covered by the Roadtrip.

The retail price of this device in stores like BestBuy is $99, but Amazon have it for $60 – which is a good thing because for $100 I’d have returned it. At $60 I like it enough to keep it though.

The build quality of the device is good. The rubber arm is flexible and the perfect length for my car with it’s mid-level power socket. It comes with a selection of cradle attachments for different iPods, none of which seem designed for the curved body of the 3G iPhone but several of which work anyway. When attached my iPhone fits just right – snuggly enough that it’s not going to fall out but easy to disconnect with one hand.

The radio signal is ok – it’s strong enough to overcome weak FM signals but stronger ones will require you to switch channel. There’s a secret “Euro” mode that opens up some frequencies supposedly unused in the US, but I still received interference and the sounds of Mexican music in the background.

The RoadTrip allows you to “save” three FM channels so if you begin to receive interference on one you can easily switch to another. You program these presets yourself by finding and “saving” unused channels, you can then add the same presets to your FM radio, or (as I do) switch between three such as 102.5,102.7,102.9 by using up/down.

And that brings me to the biggest issue with this device – ironically one that’s marketed as a big selling point: The “SmartScan” functionality is badly designed and works extremely poorly.

The SmartScan feature is designed for when you find interference on one of your presets. It purports to scan and find channels that are unused in your current area. There are three big problems with its implementation;

  • Much of the time one or more of these channels are infact used.
  • These channels are spread throughout the radio spectrum, so if the first is unused it’s difficult and dangerous to switch to the next while driving.
  • The “SmartScan” completely wipes out your presets and replaces them with it’s faulty picks.

I’m not really sure what the intent of SmartScan is. If I have presets that generally work for me, but one day find interference, what I want is a “find me a channel I can use now” option. Something that I can press as many times as it takes to find one that works. I don’t want all of my carefully selected presets, that I may have programmed into my FM radio, wiped.

With the SmartScan problems (which IMO render the feature useless) $99 is excessive for this product and as mentioned I’d have returned it. At $60 I’m happy with it and it definitely makes my daily commute a little more enjoyable.