Griffin iTrip Auto SmartScan review

Shiny? Yes. Readable? Not a chance.

If you can overlook the iTrip Auto's nearly invisible display, Griffin has added one major product enhancement, called SmartScan. The SmartScan feature allows the iTrip Auto to quickly scan all the locally available FM radio stations to find what it considers the three best options for broadcasting. During our unscientific testing around San Francisco and Oakland, we found that the iTrip Auto's SmartScan feature consistently produced at least one clear broadcasting frequency, proving itself a useful alternative to hunting and pecking manually through stations.

We found the overall sound quality about what we would expect from an iPod FM transmitter. Although there are no sound enhancement features to speak of, the iTrip Auto does enable you to switch between stereo and mono modes.

With such a flawed interface, it doesn't matter how many features Griffin packs into the iTrip Auto. The reflective mirrored display is a total deal breaker, especially considering that you can pick up last year's model (minus the SmartScan) for about half the price.