I thought of this topic as I was enjoying the Dead Kennedys during my commute the other morning. Specifically, “Halloween”, which is a great song that is not only vaguely seasonally-appropriate, but also contains the following delightful lyrics:

Why don’t you take your social regulations
And shove ‘em up your ass

You know me, always shoving the social regulations up my ass. So my iPod contains baby photos, well, it also plays PUNK ROCK.

(Also, um, Kelly Clarkson.)

Anyway, I only really use the iPod in the car, so an FM transmitter – the doodad that lets you play your iPod’s music through your radio – is a necessity. I had an older Griffin iTrip that worked fairly well, but my iPod’s battery was always running down. As the battery life dwindled, the frequency would go to hell on the transmitter, so it got super staticy and crappy sounding.

This newer iTrip is both an FM transmitter AND a charger. This is awesome, because I never lose battery life on my iPod anymore. NEVER. You plug one end of the iTrip into the iPod, and the other into your cigarette lighter. Voila.

Another nicety: the volume operates solely via your stereo, so you don’t have to muck around with the iPod’s volume levels to find a good mix. Also, the station selection thingie is on the device itself (a simple +/- button and a Select button), so there’s no need to use the iPod to change stations.

The downside is the one that is, I think, common to all FM transmitters: the sound isn’t perfect. It’s just not CD quality, and depending on the type of car you drive or the area you live in, it can be quiet or hissy or crackly. I get pretty good sound in my Corolla, driving in Seattle. I’ve used the same transmitter in JB’s F-150 driving in Oregon, and it was much worse. I don’t know all the factors that effect the sound, but it warrants mentioning. Also, take note of the compatibility info, it won’t work with a really old iPod or the Shuffle (Griffin says it works with the 3rd and 4th generation iPod, iPod mini, iPod photo, iPod U2, 1st and 2nd generation iPod nano, and the 5th generation video iPod).

Right now the iTrip is on sale on Amazon, marked down from $69.99 to $33.77, which is a really nice deal in my ever-so-humble opinion. I particularly recommend this product if you’ve been using the regular iTrip with no trouble, the charger aspect is totally worth the expense.

Link: Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod
Ballpark price: Normally $69.99; currently (9/25/06) on sale for $33.77