Griffin iTrip Auto SmartScan user reviews

3.5 stars

"Would I get it again?" on December 25, 2007 by bamff

Pros: The unit is very easy to use.

Cons: The display is hard to read, there's a "hiss" from the radio.

Summary: The unit is very easy to use. This is the first time I have ever used anything like this for my car. I’ve always been a cassette tape or CD kind of guy. I started my car in the morning to warm it up at the same time I started opening the box and hooking up the iTrip Auto SmartScan. I did a scan for stations, tuned in my radio and was up and running before my little 2001 Toyota Corolla was warm.

On a bright day the display can be VERY difficult to read and in my unprofessional opinion, a safety hazard for the driver. If you have a passenger, I would recommend they change the stations on the Trip Auto SmartScan. On an overcast day, or evenings it’s not difficult to read at all.

There is a “hiss” that comes from the radio but I would compare that to (for the old school people) the hiss from a cassette tape. As you turn up the volume the hiss becomes more pronounced. If it’s a quiet/soft song, you may hear the hiss at higher volumes but if it’s a louder song, the hiss will be drowned out by the music and road noise.

I have seen user posts on other pages complaining about a weak signal from the Trip Auto SmartScan. I brought this up with Griffin and they said that the issue is usually related to people with large cars and the antenna in the rear of the car. I’m sure the FCC only allows them to put out so much power. In my case, as I mentioned before, I have 2001 Corolla and the antenna is in the front of the car, just to the left of the drivers head. I don’t have significant issues with getting a decent signal to my radio. I did notice that lowering my antenna helped me get a more consistent signal from the iTrip. Lowering the antenna reduced the amount of cross talk signals and other weak signals. This greatly increased the signal consistency. Again, the car antenna is right outside the drivers window, next to my head, and I can reach it with no problems (rare, I know).

Would I get it again?
Given that nothing changes, technology, my car, my radio, etc. Yes I would get ti again.

Warranty note:
At my time of purchase, December 18th, 2007, Griffin was offering a 1 year warranty on the unit AND I think it was a 30 day money back gaurantee. Please verify when you contact them but if I’m correct, you have nothing to lose for 30 days.

Pricing note:
I went to… hmmm not sure if I can give the name, but it’s the Ap_ _e store and they were $10 more than the manufacturer. At the time, Griffin was offering me $0 freight and $0 tax on the iTrip!

4.0 stars

"Hope to receive" on December 15, 2007 by r.sel

Pros: Works with IPOD Touch AND IPHONE

Cons: Hard to read

Summary: I know it is hard to read, but not many products work with the iphone. The idea is to have a phone and ipod together. When I travel I want to hear my iphone music. This is the only unit I know of that works with the iphone in a car capacity. So I live with the screen issue, coil up the cord, and use a 3m velcro unit to hold it to the dash.

3.5 stars

"Better than expected" on July 27, 2009 by shivenator115

Pros: Little to no static, Simple to operate

Cons: Glare on screen in daylight

Summary: I didn't expect much from this product when I got it, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although the smartscan isn't very helpful at all, if you play around with it for a little while you'll find a good radio station with no static. The bad side to this is you might have to keep changing the radio station because from my experience, when i'm a long distance from home the station tends to have a lot more static.
I read a lot of complaints about the display and how it is hard to read because of the glare, but really it is not that big of a deal. Once you find a good radio station, you dont have to fiddle with the device much so the display isn't a problem.
Other than the smartscan feature being a complete failure, this is a good and relatively cheap product, it does the and pretty well at that.

Updated on Jul 27, 2009

I recommend this model of the fm transmitters if you have an ipod that is too new for the old model, but if you have an old ipod (pretty much all ipods up to the ipod touch 2g), then you should definetely buy the older model fm transmitter and sacrifice the pretty much useless smartscan feature.

3.0 stars

"At least smartscan can find a frequency in NYC" on January 20, 2009 by jensays

Pros: Although the sound quality isn't superb, it's good enough. And in NYC, where there are a lot of FM stations, I was glad to let the smartscan find some open ones, since I'd tried rather unsuccessfully on my own with a Belkin.

Cons: Like review says, hard to read transmitter, but if you don't plan on changing frequencies often, it's a non issue.

Summary: I'd tried out a Belkin with very little success. The smartscan enabled me to find a clear frequency (107.7 in NYC) almost immediately. While the sound isn't perfect, it's certainly good enough for typical car listening (plus I listen to lots of audiobooks as well as music, so I don't have to be so particular about bass levels, etc). I'm just glad to be able to have tons of stuff to listen to wherever I am with relative ease. I'm driving a KIA Sportage, so there's enough room to move the cables out of my way and put the Ipod in a cupholder.