FM transmitters: iTrip vs everyone else in our real-world test

By Nate Lanxon on 02 August 2007, 11:37am

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What do The Smurfs, thrash-metal band Napalm Death and FM transmitters all have in common? You're about to find out.

Like Einstein's original theories of relativity, FM transmitters are often criticised. These ickle add-ons stream your music from your MP3 player to your car's radio, but some folk are sceptical of their usefulness, due to their apparently patchy performance. Is this true? What's the casual bystander to do? Why, ask Crave, of course.

We cornered four FM transmitters -- two from popular brands, two from lesser-known makers -- and forced upon them a vicious real-world test, in testing real-world situations. Using an empty radio frequency, we transmitted music to our car's stereo from an MP3 player while driving through the countryside, through a city and while standing still.

Under close examination today are Belkin's new TuneCast 3, iStuff's iCast, Griffin's iTrip Auto and Doro's RadioStreamer FMT 300. All four conform to UK radio regulations. The iTrip works only with iPods, but the other three sport 3.5mm connections designed to work with iPods, Zunes, Walkmans or even Nokia N95s.

If you're on the lookout for a new FM transmitter or want to see which one sucks beyond the point of belief, clock your viewing spheres on the next few pages of photos, harsh criticism and Smurftastic sadism...