Griffin Technology 4030-ROAD RoadTrip FM Transmitter & Auto Charger and Cradle for iPod

Worth buying. We have used for quite a while now. Price def makes it worth it!

I have owned two Griffin RoadTrips. My experience with the first one was amazing. It worked great, there was barely any static or noise, the sound came through clearly, and it was reliable. It played and charged my 4th generation classic iPod, and played--without charging--my 3rd generation iPod touch. Had my experience ended here, I would have given this product five stars, no question. However, a few weeks ago, my RoadTrip went missing. I was hesitant to spring for a new one, but when I saw the low price, I decided to go for it.

The new unit (exactly the same as the first, but white instead of dark gray) has been somewhat of a disappointment. The clarity is still good, although not great, but certainly better than most of the smaller units I've tried out in friends' cars.

The problem is that it has an extremely fickle connection to the iPod. Often, the unit will simply turn itself off (as it is designed to do when not being used) during the middle of a song, as if it does not recognize that the iPod is attached and playing. Other times the iPod will not recognize the connection to the RoadTrip, and it takes quite a bit of repositioning and subtle little movements to get a connection. This is tolerable when sitting in the driveway before leaving, but it becomes a nuisance, even a danger, if it happens on the road. Several times, I've had to just unplug the RoadTrip and listen to the radio because it's too dangerous to keep fidgeting with it while driving. Since the same iPod worked flawlessly with an identical RoadTrip unit just a few weeks ago, I have to conclude that the problem is with the new RoadTrip.

Aside from this rather significant issue, I have no complaints about the product. When it works, it works well. The sound is good, the design is simple and intuitive, and the backlit tuner display is a big convenience at night. But the bad connection and poor reliability brought my rating down two stars.

I got this Roadtrip system with a pretty decent price, however, this again is a lesson learned that do NOT trust something with a price out of market range. If it's too good to be true, it's not true. First impression on it is it's definitely not a new one. With a crappy box and stained product, i think it must be a refurbished product which did NOT note or mark anywhere in the description. Instead, it marked "new". Haven't got a chance to test drive it yet, i hope it won't let me down again with its quality.

I bought this to use while on a long trip. It was a bit difficult to get it set up (mainly due to where the cigarette lighter resides in a rented chevy impala) but it worked perfectly. Of course it doesn't sound as good as an expensive speaker system but at this price it does the job perfectly well. Even if you only use it once it's worth buying.

I did not buy this from Amazon. I needed both arms because of the way the interior of my car was set up. After being used for about a month or so one of the plastic screws holding an arm in place worked loose. I tightened it. Vibration from the car caused it to need tightening every few days. Finally, I lost the screw when I didn't tighten it soon enough and could not obtain a replacement.

It was my first FM transmitter and I paid considerably more than the current Amazon price. In fact, the current Amazon price is a lot closer to the actual worth though still overpriced in my opinion. Look for a better manufactured item.