Griffin AutoPilot for iPod

I have owned other Griffins before and had good luck.
This one, not so much.. It may a terrible screeching noice with or without the engine running.
Tested with an Iphone 3g and 4g phones. Didnt even have to have the phone plugged in for it to be making the noise..
I did not return it for replacement.. Todays day and age, I shouldnt have to!

This worked out nicely. It charges the iPhone quickly, and I feel like the parts are well made as well.

My new Prius has an AUX feature in the radio to play my iPod or iPhone 4, so I thought I'd test Griffin Technology's new AutoPilot out. It's a well crafted device that charges, controls, and plays your iPod or iPhone at the same time. It plugs into your 12v power socket or cigarette lighter. Easy.

It comes with the plug part and a separate audio plug/line in that goes into your iPod or iPhone. Once I had the plug inserted, it glowed red, meaning, my iPhone needed charging, it goes green when it's done; I liked that. On top are arrows, showing me that I had the option to click to change tracks. My only issue is that on my Prius, the plugs are hidden from view. But when i plugged it into my wife's car, with it's plug in in the dash, it worked great. I vote for a longer access point for us that have cars with hidden power plugs...

The sound was clear, and no matter what interference I found around me, it didn't bother at all my iPhone. And I arrived with my iPhone fully charged. That's so helpful. The device has a year warranty, and Griffin has a helpful tech support department ready for you phone calls. None of this use some silly chart to figure it out yourself. It's not designed for an iPad, that requires a 2.1 amp power supply. Griffin makes another device for that. I have read on Griffin's support area that if I use one of Apple's bumper cases it's not made to accommodate this charger, so maybe a modification will happen in the future.

I just upgraded to the iPhone 4 and my old TuneFlex did not have a cradle adapter to fit so I was forced to find another solution. Overall I like the AutoPilot better than the TuneFlex because the sound quality is much better. The AutoPilot has a switch for High/Low volume output verses the volume wheel on my old TuneFlex. I think the switch eliminates a lot of the hiss found in the TuneFlex. It's a superior design for sound quality. There is however some hissing in the new unit. I know there are more expensive options out there that will give better sound quality but my feeling is that I'm using this in a noisy car where there is engine noise, wind noise etc and all those "normal" noises associated with driving drown out the small amount of hissing that you hear in this system. The AutoPilot works very well with the new iPhone 4. All the built-in control buttons work as they should. Overall I'm a happy camper.

The unit I bought has worked perfectly since late March.
Cigarette lighter accessories can be a pain simply because it is not a very robust connection, being so it is a potential weak link.
Mine has lost connection once and since then I've been aware of the issue and make sure the plug is inserted completely from time to time.
I suspect at some point it will wear out but for the convenience and safety this connector offers I feel it is worth it. I don't like to take my eyes off the road so it was never fun driving with the iPod unless I had a nice playlist or album selected.
This allows charging, play/pause, FF/Skip Forward, Rew/Skip Back, and Lo/Hi audio output.
I've tried FM transmitters and was disappointed, perhaps it's my locations but it was awful as stations would elbow in as I commuted.
The sound is great and since it uses the Line Out you don't have to mess with the volume control.
The Line Out cable can be wrapped around the unit for cable management.
No complaints yet, it gets a lot of use.
One note: I forget and leave my volume cranked when I shut off the car, when I plug in my iPod the next day there is a loud thump-crackle as the unit powers up, get in the good habit of turning down your stereo when you get out to prevent this.