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iPhone as in-car iPod replacement?

Friday July 6, 2007 6:14 pm PDT by Arnold Kim
The only place I really have time to listen to my iPod is in the car. I live in Houston, and driving is a pretty huge part of life: I live about 12 miles from work and about 20 from the University of Houston, where I attend classes. The mass transit in this city leaves much to be desired, too.

Im in the car for about an hour a day, about 2 hours if I get let off work during rush hour! To entertain myself in the car, I listen to my iPod. I have a Sony car stereo, the cheapest one that had line-in in the front and free installation. I have my 4G iPod plugged into the front while the iPod sits in the little depression under the cupholders. I love this system I have set up and I havent listened to the radio or a CD for a good year and a half.

So, lets take out the iPod and replace it with the iPhone! Its the best iPod ever made, right?The cable I use normally wont fit into the iPhone because of its funky little recessed port, so I had to go buy one. I got the Belkin Retractable 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable for iPod/iPhone from the Apple Store in First Colony Mall for $20. The cable works just fine, but $20!? Geez. This cable had better learn how to make sandwiches



One thing I love about the retractable cable is that I can roll it up and just have it stick off the front of my stereo. I'm too lazy to unplug it; that's just how I operate.

I plug in the iPhone to my stereo, set some Paul McCartney playing and head off to work. But what do I do when the album finishes? I usually just hit the enter button on my 4G iPod a few times to get back to the beginning of the album. I dont have to take my eyes off the road. Yeah, its the same album again, but at least its not silent in the car.

When the album ends on the iPhone, there are no buttons to feel to start the album again. I have to pick up the phone, unlock it, and look at the screen and find the button to click on. If there were an actual button to feel for, Id be much more comfortable with the whole situation. When the album ends I have to drive until I reach a stoplight to start it up again. Not cool, especially when Im on the highway! It gets lonely if I dont have Ben Folds, Felix Mendelssohn, or The Beastie Boys to keep me company.

The iPhone in the car does not yet cut it for me. If it had a remote that I could use without having to look at it, itd be a much better, less apt to die-in-a-car-crash experience. Thatd be pretty sweet. I dont like dying on my morning or afternoon commute its bad enough driving a tiny Hyundai Accent in a sea of giant SUVs and Pickup Trucks.
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katie ta achoo
Posted: 64 months ago


The only place I really have time to listen to my iPod is in the car. I live in Houston, and driving is a pretty huge part of life: I live about 12 miles from work and about 20 from the University of Houston, where I attend classes. The mass transit in this city leaves much to be desired, too.

I’m in the car for about an hour a day, about 2 hours if I get let off work during rush hour! To entertain myself in the car, I listen to my iPod. I have a Sony car stereo, the cheapest one that had line-in in the front and free installation. I have my 4G iPod plugged into the front while the iPod sits in the little depression under the cupholders. I love this system I have set up and I haven’t listened to the radio or a CD for a good year and a half.

So, let’s take out the iPod and replace it with the iPhone! It’s the best iPod ever made, right?

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hgraphics
Posted: 64 months ago
Katie,

I live in Houston, too.

You need to get one of those car stereos that connect to the iPod dock connector.
Those let you control the iPod from the stereo system and they also charge the iPod.
I know the Alpine ones work really well and even some of the cheaper models can do it now.
Now whether they work with the iPhone I don't know yet.

Good luck !!
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MobyIck
Posted: 64 months ago
Just create a bigger playlist. You could just add two or three albums or even the same one twice...

Katie,

I live in Houston, too.

You need to get one of those car stereos that connect to the iPod dock connector.
Those let you control the iPod from the stereo system and they also charge the iPod.
I know the Alpine ones work really well and even some of the cheaper models can do it now.
Now whether they work with the iPhone I don't know yet.

Good luck !!

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jwsmiths
Posted: 64 months ago



The only place I really have time to listen to my iPod is in the car. I live in Houston, and driving is a pretty huge part of life: I live about 12 miles from work and about 20 from the University of Houston, where I attend classes. The mass transit in this city leaves much to be desired, too.

I’m in the car for about an hour a day, about 2 hours if I get let off work during rush hour! To entertain myself in the car, I listen to my iPod. I have a Sony car stereo, the cheapest one that had line-in in the front and free installation. I have my 4G iPod plugged into the front while the iPod sits in the little depression under the cupholders. I love this system I have set up and I haven’t listened to the radio or a CD for a good year and a half.

So, let’s take out the iPod and replace it with the iPhone! It’s the best iPod ever made, right?

Read Full Article


If you don't mind repeating the album just turn on the "Repeat" mode on the iPhone. Tap on the album work, then near the top right on the loop. When you unplug the headhone adapter you'll be prompted to turn off the iPod (in case you forgot anyways) because of the music coming out of the speaker.
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Ampidire
Posted: 64 months ago
My car, an '06 Scion tC has an iPod enabled headunit, so I have a 30-pin dock connector, and all control of the iPod is done on the headunit itself and on top of that I have steering wheel controls for volume up/down and track forward/back.

I can navigate all my playlists on the headunit with a 1-line display (not as advanced as other iPod HU's but fits my needs just fine) and enable random and repeat-1. It's also a digital connection so the sound quality is consistent and doesn't vary based on the volume of the headphone jack and the headunit volume.

The iPhone works almost exactly the same as my old iPod did in this situation.

The difference now is that when I hook up the iPhone it gives me the option of choosing airplane mode or not; I choose no because then I can still receive calls on the phone.

When I get a call the music fades out and I swipe across the iPhone and press speaker (which I can do now without looking at it) and it's loud and clear. Nobody has yet complained about me being too loud or too soft or not clear yet so it's doing it's job fine in that department.

When the call ends, the iPhone fades the music back in on the car stereo.

In this regard it's actually BETTER than my old iPod, because I used to have to mute and swim in my pockets for my phone all while jumbling the steering wheel. Now I don't have to do any of that at the cost of having to press an extra button when I hook it up to my car (declining airplane mode).

Also; while all this is going on, remember, it's a 30-pin iPod dock connector; so it's charging the phone too, so battery life is now a complete non-issue for me.

Any iPod enabled head unit, and I mean TRULY iPod enabled, as in as the 30-pin connector should work exactly the same as I have stated above.

This isn't a fault of the phone, but a fault of your pretty much jerry-rigging the whole iPod/Car thing by only using the headphone jack to transmit audio.

I suggest you invest in a headunit with a true iPod cable; it'll work just as stated above and you'll be safer and happier with it too.
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akbram
Posted: 64 months ago
Ok, it is ridiculus that people quibble over the miniscule "problems" with the Iphone. First of all, to the writer of the article: put your Iphone's Ipod on whatever album you want to listen to and choose the repeat symbol that comes up to the left of the time-scroll bar when you tap the screen! You needn't manually start the album over with either the Ipod or the Iphone because of the fabulous invention of a repeat button. You can also choose to repeat either the entire playlist / album or the single song..wow, what a marvel of modern science!

Furthermore, would people please stop writing entire reviews over a single problem that can be EASILY corrected. The Iphone is the best phone/mp3 player ever produced. Of course it is going to have its problems, but these problems are dwarfed by the Iphone experience as a whole. And, for the record, I am not a "Mac Fanboy" who will worship Steve Jobs and Apple; but this product is truly worthy of recognition. Yes, the Iphone may require more user interaction than an Ipod, but, if you use the controls correctly, it should not be more difficult than an Ipod. Neither the Ipod nor the Iphone are made for changing options while driving! Both demand the attention of the driver! Be safe and do not be an idiot!
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PhatBoyG
Posted: 64 months ago
iPhone works great with my Pioneer D3, aside from having to say NO to airplane mode. Have not noticed any TDMA noise from the phone at all. And yes, the flash is SO MUCH QUICKER than the 30GB iPod it replaced. When I used next/previous it is now instant compared to the lag I get with the HD-based unit.

I have not tried to make a call on the phone yet, but I will try that soon enough. If the audio comes out of the car speakers instead of the iPod I will be shocked/amazed/stunned/joyful?
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Ampidire
Posted: 64 months ago

iPhone works great with my Pioneer D3, aside from having to say NO to airplane mode. Have not noticed any TDMA noise from the phone at all. And yes, the flash is SO MUCH QUICKER than the 30GB iPod it replaced. When I used next/previous it is now instant compared to the lag I get with the HD-based unit.

I have not tried to make a call on the phone yet, but I will try that soon enough. If the audio comes out of the car speakers instead of the iPod I will be shocked/amazed/stunned/joyful?


The phone call stuff doesn't transmit to the car, just the speakers and mic on the phone; sorry.

The iPhone has cut my daily devices down to 1 from 3.

Sometimes I skip taking my MacBook with me now, I don't carry my Nano with me, and my RAZR is at home counting down the days until it's VZW contract is over in sept.
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Asbru
Posted: 64 months ago
I have an Alpine CDA-9856 in my Jeep Wrangler and I can say that the iPhone is an almost perfect replacement for the iPod in my situation. I have the 30-pin connector and I am able to control the song selection from the stereo. So, repeating songs and changing playlists is no problem.

I get the same Airplane mode question, but, I don't take calls in the Jeep anyway since I can't hear a darn thing with the top down anyway. So, that is really not an issue either.

The only drawback for me is that, in the past, I would leave the iPod locked in the security box where I have the cable running to. I would only take it out when I needed to add new music or I was going to workout. So, now, if I replace the iPod with the phone... I have to keep taking it in/out everywhere I stop. That is a bit of a hassle. So, for the moment, I think I am leaving the iPod in the car.
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strangelogic
Posted: 64 months ago

Furthermore, would people please stop writing entire reviews over a single problem that can be EASILY corrected. The Iphone is the best phone/mp3 player ever produced.


Katie is blogging for MacRumors about her experiences with the iPhone in her life. Think of it as a Road and Track or Car and Driver long-term experience. I thought it was a reasonable comparison between how she used her iPod, and how the iPhone is working out for her. And it starts a nice thread where others can share their experiences.

I still have not used the iPhone in my main car as a replacement for my iPod - of course I still have not had the Alpine with iPod integration installed in my new car. But I did use it with the earbuds in my jeep last night driving into DC - and it was nice to have the phone/iPod functionality blended in there, I want the mic and the 'remote' on that headset but without the ear-buds.
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