Publisher: Griffin Technology
Product:
iTrip
Platform: iPod
Year:
2003
Price: $35
Rating: 2/5
Product: iTalk
Platform: iPod
Year: 2004
Price: $40
Rating: 4/5
The iPod is a great little device for playing music. I use it as a
backup device (including an emergency starttup volume) and to listen to
music on my car. Such a wonderful little device deserves more
capabilities and for now those capabilities have been done with
add-ons. Two such add-ons are Griffin's iTrip and iTalk.
The iTrip plugs into the audio jack of the iPod and the data port,
though I think the data port connection is only for stability and it
doesn't use it at all. Basically the iTrip broadcasts the iPod output
to FM with a range of less than 10 meters. There are no controls on the
iTrip and no built in support for it in the iPod (unlike the iTalk). To
change FM stations you play special iTrip "songs" that signal the iTrip
to change the FM station.
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In principle
the iTrip is a great way to broadcast iPod audio through
your automobile speakers. The big problem is that you need a clear
station to play on. If there is even a weak radio station signal it
will drown out the iTrip. Which means that in a major metropolitan area
like the San Francisco Bay Area, there are no free stations for the
iTrip so the iTrip is virtually useless to me.
The Griffin iTalk is a voice recorded. It also just plugs into your
iPod. The iPod has built in software support for voice recording, which
means that there is no installation process for the iTalk but it means
that you have to use the built in iPod software.
The iPod records 16-bit mono sound at 8kHz in WAV format. It's about 1
MB a minute which the iPod handles just fine but it does drain the
battery. After a couple of hours my iPod was practically dry, so for
long recording sessions you need to plug it into a Mac or other
Firewire device for power.
I recorded one of my gaming sessions and everything worked smoothly.
There's a timer showing how long you've been recording -- a gauge for
space left on the iPod would be nice. The recorded sound seems as good
as my regular tape recorder and it's a darn sight faster getting it
into my computer than with an analog tape recorder.
In summary, the iTrip is not that useful if you live in a big
metropolitan area. The iTalk is a great voice recorded.
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