When I finally broke down and bought an iPod last fall, I bundled an iTrip with it sepcifically for road trips. Last week, I drove up to Ottawa in a rental car and had the first opportunity to really give my iTrip a decent trial.
The one thing I had really been concerned about was the lack of open frequencies around Toronto. In order to tune in the iTrip you need a completely open signal (all static) and around the city there are almost no bands that don't have at least bleed-over from a radio station. However, I luckily discovered that 87.9 was free and got a clean signal all the way out of the city. If you live in New York, Chicago, or another very large city, I'd be surprised if you could tune it in at all. Maybe one exists already, but it'd be great if there were a regional map of open frequencies so iTrippers can easily tune in without searching the airwaves.
Overall, I was very pleased with the performance of the iTrip. The audio quality isn't perfect, but it's very listenable. The battery draw is also extremely low, so you get tons of playtime. I wrote a more complete review over at the silverorange stuff site.
Comments
Tony - February 13, 2005 2:39 PM
Check out the free iTrip Sation Finder software that Griffin has. Not sure if it works in Canada, but I know it lists free stations in US cities. Very handy.
Paula - February 16, 2005 8:37 PM
Congrats on your new ipod, itrip combo. I love mine, and I live in Chicago. I have had only one little section of road where I get some interference, after I pass that spot, it goes back to the clear sound. I never switch my itrip off of 87.9. I use it in my house on 87.9 too. Haven't had any problems.