iPhone Car Accessories - Part 1

by Collin Hilder  |  April 29, 2009

The first thing one should do before buying car accessories for his iPhone is to understand exactly what pieces he needs in order to obtain the results desired. Due to some software restrictions for the time being, there isn't a single product to perform all the desired actions. So, in order to use correctly and legally the iPhone inside a car, there are required at least 3 products: mount, charger, headset.

The first important car accessory is the car mount. Such a product offers the iPhone some stability inside the vehicle and allows the driver to have easy access to the phone, by placing it on the windshield or on the dashboard. When buying such a product it is important to pay attention to the way the mount is attached to the windshield or dash board. For example, if the mount is provided with a suction cup, a vent mount or a simple clip, or if it has a more elaborate mounting plate which will be attached with screws. The latter option it seem to be the most expensive and the most secure. Moreover, bare in mind that the mount must fit the iPhone perfectly and it must allow easy access to the main ports.

The mounts available on the market can have different prices depending on the fabric they are made of and on the type of attachment provided. Also, all the mounts are compatible both with the iPod and iPhone. On Apple Store I found some solid mounts, from different brands –  Griffin, Kensington - at a medium price of $30. More Griffin mounts I found on the Griffintechnology.com. The most interesting one there is the “Road Trip with SmartScan”. At a price of $100 this car accessory performs, in fact, several functions – it charges the iPhone while playing music, is a mount and a FM transmitter and plays the music from the iPhone to the car's stereo.

After the iPhone is secured in its mount, it's time to think about the car charger. The second most important accessory, the charger, can be purchased together with or without a FM transmitter. If the charger is needed to supply the iPhone with power, the FM transmitter has the function to transmit the music played on the iPhone through the radio waves, so that the music will be heard through the speakers of the car.

A simple charger has a price of more or less $20. Such a charger is the “Griffin PowerJolt” which can be also found on Apple Store and is both compatible with the iPod and iPhone. An example of a charger with FM transmitter is the “Belkin TuneCast Auto with Clear Scan” which can be used as a charger and can transmit the music from the iPhone to the car's stereo, by finding the most suitable FM frequency, avoiding manual searching. This product has a price of $70.

As one can see, from the first part, buying car accessories is not an easy task. It requires time and patience to search for the optimal products at the best prices. Even more, in some cases, the model of the car is important in acquiring the best suitable accessories, since not all car models support Apple technology, or maybe they can directly play the music stored on the iPhone if they are suited with an USB port. So, it's important not to leave out any important detail which can affect the attention while driving.

Next articles in this series:

1. iPhone Accessories: Headphones, Headsets, Earphones
2. iPhone Accessories: lots and lots of Cases
3. iPhone Car Accessories - Part 1
4. iPhone Car Accessories - Part 2
5. The Ultimate iPhone Accessories

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