Product Reviews

These two new products from Griffin Technology both use radio waves to make using your iPod more fun or convenient, but they both do very different things.

First up is the BlueTrip, and we had high hopes for this. The concept is certainly beguiling: just slot the slimline transmitter into the top of the iPod - a version is in development that uses the Dock connector to be compatible with the fifth-generation, video-capable iPod - hook up the receiver to your hi-fi, and start streaming music wirelessly to your stereo. In effect, using the BlueWave is like turning your iPod into a turbo-powered remote control; simply navigate through your music collection using the iPod's familiar, user-friendly interface, and have it play on your hi-fi. It could work great at parties, too, as you pass the iPod around the group to pick tracks to play.

So it sounds great in theory, but how does it measure up in practice? The simple answer is that it depends on how particular you are about the fidelity of your music, and on how much you've invested in your stereo.

Assuming you have a stereo with phono inputs, it's easy to get up and running. Once everything is physically connected up, you need to pair the transmitter and receiver; it's theoretically possible to link in other Bluetooth devices that use the A2DP audio profile, but we didn't have any luck with this in our testing.

Against our expectations, we couldn't determine any audio artefacts specifically caused by recompression of music necessitated by Bluetooth's relatively low bandwidth. What we did hear, however, was a distracting layer of background noise. Unless you're playing back music through a very poor set of speakers, you'll discern a quiet, mid-pitch burbling and chirping sound, even when no music is playing. It's not a show-stopper if you're forgiving, but audiophiles are sure to get frustrated very quickly.

For many, the convenience of the system will outweigh this and the fact that even in a small Victorian flat

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the sound quality soon began to drop when the iPod wasn't in the same room as the receiver, but there's no doubt that it's a significant investment for relatively little return, performance-wise. Most people would be better off running a standard 3.5mm-to-phono cable from their iPod dock to the stereo and buying an infra-red or RF remote control. True, you won't get the ability to browse your collection remotely - just control playback - but for many this will be acceptable.

With the iFM, rather than use radio to transmit your own music, the unit receives standard FM radio transmissions, allowing you to use your iPod for listening to all the available analogue, terrestrial stations. Apple has so far refused to include any kind of radio receiver in its iPods, so an external dongle such as this one is your only option.

It's a smart and neat little device. A split cable exits the base of the case; one part terminates in a Dock connector to allow you to hook it up to Click Wheel iPods, and the other in a standard 3.5mm jack into which you plug your headphones.

The slim, silver switch on the left side of the device toggles it between acting as a radio receiver and, usefully, a remote control for the stored music on your iPod. At the other side, two rocker switches adjust volume and either skip backwards and forwards through tracks when you're listening to the iPod, or scan up and down the FM frequency band when looking for stations. You can save six presets to keep track of your favourites.

The main, round button on the front of the device acts as a play/pause control, and like the same button on an iPod, can switch the iPod on and off.

The reception of the radio is good, but as the cable for your headphones acts as the antenna, it will vary depending on the type of headphones you use; expensive, shielded cables are likely to yield a less reliable signal.

As with the AirClick, this version won't work properly with the 3G iPods - though, oddly, it does adjust volume - but a slightly cheaper edition exists that uses the 3G iPod's remote control port.

This is a fairly priced, useful and well-built device. These days, we'd have much preferred to see DAB rather than FM - it offers better reception, a wider choice of national stations, and scrolling information about the current show - but portable DAB radios are still unwieldy and expensive compared to FM models, so this is a reasonable compromise.

The BlueTrip fails to deliver on its promise, but the iFM's secondary function as a remote control makes it better than we expected.