First Look: Monster iCarPlay FM
July 31, 2009 by Beatweek · Leave a Comment
New in iProng Labs: a first look at the new iCarPlay 800 and 1000 FM transmitters for iPhone and iPod from Monster, priced at $79 and $99, respectively…
by Bill Palmer
Monster’s latest FM transmitter solutions for connecting your iPhone or iPod to your car’s stereo system come in two models with different prices and vastly different looking interfaces, but the functionality of the 800 ($79) and the 1000 ($99) is largely similar on paper. In addition to charging your iPhone or iPod and and offering three programmable FM presets, both products scan the FM spectrum to automatically find the emptiest frequency while promising to block out any cellphone signal interference (a relief to iPhone users).
Aside from the styling, the primary difference out of the box appears to be that the 1000 sports a USB that allows you to charge a second USB-based device while in your car, which could be handy for those users who also need to keep GPS and bluetooth devices, etc., charged up while on the road. Monster also claims that the USB port on the 1000 can be connected to your computer and used to broadcast your computer’s audio to an FM stereo in your house.
FM car transmitter products require significant road testing to determine signal quality, so our full hands-on review will be posted in one to two weeks.
Learn more about the iCarPlay FM 800 and iCarPlay FM 1000 at MonsterCable.com
Review: Monster iCarCharger 1000
July 27, 2009 by Beatweek · 11 Comments
Featureless iPhone and iPod car chargers are a dime a dozen, and even those users with a line-in/aux-in port on their car stereo who are looking for a car charger with a built in line-out cable have plenty of options to choose from. But Monster’s new iCarCharger 1000 stands out from the pack with two distinct additional features.
The less immediately apparent (but probably more widely useful) of the two is that the line-out cable, which deceptively appears to be very short in the photo above, is actually wrapped around a spool inside the head of the charger. Slide the head open, unravel precisely how much cable you need for your car setup, lock it into place, and you won’t have one inch more cable running from your charger to your stereo than necessary. In a word, it’s a brilliant concept – and it works as advertised.
The second feature is flashier but may or may not be of practical value to you. The front of the charger includes basic playback features that allow you to play or pause the music and jump to not only the next or previous song, but also the next or previous playlist. This can come in super handy if your car setup is such that your iPhone or iPod isn’t easily available to you while driving (or if you find trying to operate it via the screen while driving to be a distraction).
The problem, though, is that far too many cars have their charging port in a position too far away from the driver for the buttons to be easily reached. In my own car I could barely reach it with my fingertips, and I’ve owned other cars in which the buttons would have been completely unreachable. The fact that the head of the charger can be rotated upward or downward can help, but the usability of the buttons is a crapshoot based on your particular car layout. So while the whole product is brilliant, the fact that too few users will actually be able to comfortably reach the buttons prevents me from being able to give the iCarCharger 1000 five stars, depending on your car it might be a perfect product for you.
Learn more at MonsterCable.com
review by Bill Palmer
