Griffin GA15005 Roadtrip Handsfree for iPod, iPhone, Smartphones, Blackberry

Recently my phone went through the washing machine but miraculously it all works fine, except for one important thing, the microphone!!

I had a 3-in-1 FM Transmitter Car Charger and Cradle from iWorld, which has served me well, except that I've probably replaced 10 15amp fuses in my car as it seems that this device just keeps blowing them! Probably because it didn't quite get a snug fit in the 12v point in my car. Quite annoying. It's served me well over the last couple of years, but the FM transmitter wasn't great and when using it to phone people, the signal wasn't great between it and my car stereo and because it used my phones microphone, people on the other end of the call often said that i was "distant" and they couldn't hear me very well with all the background noise.

So, as now my microphone is completely kaput, and i had a little spare cash, I thought I'd see what was available to replace my old 3-in-1 with a nice shiny new version and i stumbled across the Griffin GA15005 Roadtrip. It arrived yesterday and i was eager to test it on my way home. I was not disappointed.

I plugged it in paired the Bluetooth feature with my phone. This was simple and done in under a minute. There's a cool blue pulsing light to show it's paired with your phone. I then wanted some music so pressed the smart scan button and it automatically searched for the best, clearest frequency. I stored that in my presents and fired up the music player and off i went. The music clarity was perfect, no noise, no annoying phone sounds you get on FM or speakers when a signal is being found/used. I was very impressed. I started to loose the signal quality as i was driving home because the frequency was being used by a radio station so i pressed smart scan again and saved the new preset, which has been perfect since. You can save up to three and switch between them very easily if you need to. SO getting a clear station for your area might take a couple of attempts but it is no bother to fix.

I then fired up the phone features and made a call home to my wife. Obviously i wasn't sure if this would work for me because like i said earlier my phones microphone doesn't work, but the Griffin dealt with it no problem due to the built in speaker on it! I asked my wife if she could hear me clearly and she said it was great, I was coming through loud and clear and her voice on my car speakers was also clear. Another tick for the little Griffin Roadtrip.

The build quality is good. The buttons are very tactile and you know when you've pressed them. The menu button makes switching between presets, music and phone options a breeze and the way the dock works means that if you have a case on your phone that shouldn't be a problem. There's a screw on the back that adjusts the position of the holder to accommodate any case going. Another nice little feature. It rotates as well so if you want landscape mode, no problem! It also comes with a small sleeve that you put over the plug end that gives a really snug fit in to the 12v charger if you need it. Another nice feature that was unexpected.

So all in all, even though I've had this product for less than a day and only used it twice it's had exceeded my expectations. It's a great product and it's features make it safe to use as a hands free device.

Money well spent. I thoroughly recommend this.

I could only find this one Amazon review when trying to choose an FM transmitter to connect my iPhone to in order to play tunes through my car so I thought I'd add another. This product does exactly what it says it will do. Within 5 minutes I plugged it into my car, paired using bluetooth, picked up an unused frequency and was playing my music from my phone through my car stereo. It is very simple to use.

I made a couple of calls from my phone to check the mic and clarity, and it worked a treat. When playing your music, there is a low hiss as is common with most FM radio stations, but there isnt enough interference to put you off. It is just below CD quality.

The only bug bear I have is when receiving an incoming call, the product states that it fades out the music that you are playing at the time and your ringtone fades in. This is almost true. I found that the music stops, short pause, then your ringtone fades in. Same again when you end your call, there is a brief silence before the music then fades back in. Not a major sticking point, but not as seemless as I would have hoped.

My iPhone 3GS connects into the cradle with minimum effort and fits snuggly. There is a control on the back of the cradle that allows you to adjust the depth of the cradle so that other handset sizes can be adjusted to give it a flush seat in the cradle.

Overall, a fantastic product, the build quality is very good, very sturdy and it works, you can play tunes, make calls and charge your phone whilst on the move.

So... I wanted a handsfree kit for my car. Simple you might say?! No!
I searched and searched and i couldnt find a cheap handsfree kit until i found this one.

So i read the reviews which seemed okay so I bought one.

It arrived within 2 days, not bad to start off with.

I put it straight in the car and tested it out driving around the streets phoning everyone and their aunt!

This product is very very good, it does exactly as it says, easy quick tuning for your iphone music, and the handsfree side is brilliant, except for one thing. When you drive on a motorway the kit tries to drown out the background noise of the car but takes your voice with it and i find myself shouting and it just so people can hear me, when your going about 40-45mph its fine but above that its a little frustrating,

I have a ford focus and the cigarette lighter is set back a bit but the griffin manages to fit snuggley into my cig light holder without hassle, and sits next to my gear knob.

If i could pick one thing to make this product better I would say it could do with an external Mic so you could fit it on your sun visor or summit. Just for those motorway journeys.

For anyone that wants a handsfree kit and to listen to some of those little classics we've all got hidden away in our music collections then i recommend you buy one of these. Its brill.

Have fun, I am :o)