Hands-on with iLuv's i703 FM transmitter: Loud and clear, sir

By Nate Lanxon on 30 May 2007, 11:00am

Now that they're legal, FM transmitters are taking over the airwaves. They're what all the cool kids want sitting with them in their cars. It was the iTrip that originally took first place in the race to produce a gadget that beamed your iPod's music collection into your car stereo -- or any other radio -- but now there are loads. The latest of which is a trendy looking square guy called the i703, from iLuv.

We didn't have a car in our office, so our tests were done at a desk. As with all transmitters, if the receiving device is more than a couple of inches away then you get a little hiss, but this is more than acceptable. iLuv's transmitter worked well up to several metres away from our receiver (the lovely Samsung YP-T9 equipped with Shure SE530 headphones). The i703 is designed to look like a seamless addition to an iPod nano, but we thought we'd be controversial and use a video iPod. (Yeah, okay, we just didn't have a nano to hand.)

Sound quality drops a little when more than a couple of metres from the receiver, but still maintains good stereo performance. You'll have no problem pumping your music to your car's radio. Voice recordings (such as the Crave Podcast, and why not?) sound delightful even a few metres away from a receiver.

So listen up loyal Cravers, for just under £20 iLuv's i703 FM transmitter is a great buy, and best of all it's out now. It'll make a great present for Daddy on, er, Daddy's Day, or an even greater present for yourself any day of the year. -Nate Lanxon