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AL Tech AnyDrive Car MP3 FM Transmitter |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Wednesday, 13 June 2007 |
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Page 1 of 2
Thanks to Merconnet for the product sample.
MP3 players are quite common these days and so are flash drives. Unfortunately most car stereos still rely on FM radio and audio CDs for music. Sure you can get a changer and some newer models recognize MP3 data disks allowing for much higher capacity storage, but the underlying concept is aging. The majority of computer enthusiasts who also happen to have music collections have, by now, digitized their collections and stored them on hard drives and drive or flash-based players.
But if you want to take your music on the road, chances are you'll be stuck with CDs. And that's where the AnyDrive car MP3 player FM transmitter comes into play. Basically it's a USB-driven radio that lets you tune your car stereo to a specified station to listen to music stored on a USB device. It's pretty robust in its abilities (you can also have it transmit audio to a home audio system or PC speakers via FM or direct connection), but those require more accessories.
The kit includes the transmitter, a car cigarette lighter adapter, a pair of adhesive velcro strips for mounting, a sticker with dip switch designations, and a quick guide. Unfortunately, the biggest drawback of the kit is the lack of an AC adapter. This automatically limits its use to car-only, meaning the PC and home audio options can't be utilized. I couldn't find the option to purchase an adapter separately either, assuming there is one to begin with.
The unit itself is pretty small; it's roughly equivalent in all dimensions to a filled wallet. The front includes a USB insertion port, a data transfer status LED, volume controls, previous/next, and pause/play buttons. This is a very basic device and thus it lacks an LCD screen, which is a shame since you have no way of telling what song is playing unless you know them all by name. It also makes playing songs in any sort of preferred order impossible (aside from arranging them in a particular way on the USB device), but it's not completely random because there's no shuffle button either. And no repeat button. While a screen may add noticeably to the cost of the product, a couple extra buttons for added user control shouldn't cost much.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 15 June 2007 )
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