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(More customer reviews)I stream rip an online radio station (Radio Paradise, highly recommended) so I can listen to it in our cars using an older Sansa MP3 player. One of the cars has an MP3 auxiliary jack and that works perfectly. The other car doesn't, and so I've used a small FM transmitter to broadcast the output of the player to the car radio. That set up is bulky and clumsy, so I was intrigued to come across this small device. Sadly, it's not very useful for my purpose.
First off, I received the I-mobile in loose pieces from Amazon. Everything seems to be new, in kind-of sealed packaging, but each piece was loose in the box. There is no documentation. Period. No manual, no cardboard packaging, not even a small slip of how-to. Fortunately, there are other reviews here where folks have discovered how to make it work.
I plugged it into the cigarette lighter and used the provided 3.5mm cable to connect the MP3 player to it, kind of - the jacks on the cable appear to be slightly shorter than normal and don't fit very snuggly into the player.
Found an open FM frequency, set the I-mobile to it, and powered up the MP3 player. It started playing, then started "skipping", something it's never done (not plugged into the other car, nor when using headphones). I tried a better cable and still had the problem. Nothing I did made a difference. I verified the MP3 player still works correctly in the other car and with headphones.
I also heard high-pitched whines and other noise when using the cable, even after trying several other frequencies.
When I stream rip, I put the music on an SD memory card. So I pulled the card out of the MP3 player and stuck it into the I-mobile. Good sound, no whine. However, as noted in other reviews, when you turn the car off the I-mobile will reset to the beginning of the track you were listening to. For individual music pieces, such as an album I tried out, this is OK although I found it annoying. However, for a long piece such as a stream rip, this is useless. If you're on a long drive, and you're two hours into a four hour stream, when you stop for gas the I-mobile restarts at the beginning. There is no way to fast forward through whatever is currently playing so you're stuck listening to the music you just heard.
I didn't try using a USB stick.
The car I tested this in is a station wagon. The I-mobile was plugged in the front lighter. The radio antenna is on one of the back windows. I got good signal and sound with the SD card; you definitely need to crank the volume on the I-mobile to the max, though.
Pros:
- Cheap.
- Good sound with SD card.
- Compact.
- Good range.
Cons:
- Bad sound with MP3 player (whines, noise).
- Interfered with MP3 player operation (skipping music).
- Restarts at beginning of music when turned off then on.
- Can't fast forward within a piece of music.
I would not buy this again.
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I-mobile Sd/mmc/usb/mp3 Wireless in Car Fm Transmitter with Remote (Red)With iMobile, you can enjoy your full digital music in your car, for the cost of less than a full tank of gas. You can also keep every unwanted wire mess away, and just use it as a normal installed car player. Listen to the best sound quality on your stereo. You don't have to worry about remembering to turn off your iPod because this car mp3 player draws the power directly from your vehicle's DC12V output (cigarette lighter). It is turned off when you take out your car key. There will be no more battery recharge problems. It is an individual, innovative device to play your desired songs in your car or boat. Typically, it does not require permanent and complicated installation. It offers an "installation-free" convenience. This product is an innovative wireless device that will let you play any music you download from your computer files. Remember, none of these features requires an iPod or Mp3 to operate. Now, you can play your music files on a newly designed technology without paying a costly price and release your iPod or Mp3 from its solitude of only being heard by headphones. Its connection will give you great sound quality, allowing you to listen to the music on your car player by turning your radio to a specific clear frequency. The sound quality is as good as your original car radio player. It is played and functioned on internal memory. this model is also compatible with SD and MMC card. It is an individual device that serves as a single music player in your car. You can store more than 600 songs on one tiny 4GB flash drive (memory chip) and play non-stop music/songs for as long as 60 hours. Adjustable "arm" to conveniently place into your socket hassle free!
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