Belkin adds iPhone 3G compatibility to latest TuneCast Auto

Surely you feel like buying an all new TuneCast Auto just months after picking up the original, right? Trust us, we can hear the groans from here. For the scads of iPhone 3G owners who are downright perturbed by the inability to charge the thing with some older accessories, you'll be none too pleased when handing over $79.99 for this. But unless you flex your DIY muscle and come up with some other solution (please share, will you?), buying an iPhone 3G-friendly alternative looks to be the only solution. This FM transmitter boasts ClearScan technology in order to hunt down and lock into the best FM frequency (good luck with that), but as we've already pointed out, the biggest boon is the iPhone 3G charging ability. Hey Apple, Belkin says "thanks." Whatever that means.

[Via I4U News]

[grull27 @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:28PM]

Yay! My iPhone 3G works miracles everyday!

[Muhammed @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:57PM]

yes, like the ability to make phone calls for example.
and the ability to organize all your contacts in only one revolutionary device.
ah yes, I was going to forget, and the ability to scroll through your contacts.

[who? @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:32PM]

I really can't tell if either of you is being sarcastic... Oh, well.

[iPhoner @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:25PM]

My iPhone can turn water into wine but sometimes the power button sticks.

http://www.iphone-hacks.com

[deyanimay @ Aug 2nd 2008 10:17PM]

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/wallpaper/apple/ipod-wallpaper.png

[ItGuy @ Aug 3rd 2008 9:05AM]

Only 1 of my iPod accessories didn't work with the 3G - an old iGo B-series tip. Replaced with the A-series tip and all was fine. If companies followed Apple's guidelines since 2005 and charged over USB this would not be an issue.

I skipped the overpriced Belkin and got the overpriced DLO FM transmitter and it works fine.

[SINNN @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:29PM]

1st and i-sheep approved! weeeeee! ki
led 2 birds with 1 stone.

[brandon @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:55PM]

....Not!!!
Fail................

[james McGrory @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:31PM]

And shes holding 1st gen iphone...
i guess belkin couldn't even get their hands on one

[geekout2 @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:23PM]

Actually, If you look closely, you'll see that it's the white, 16gb version

[Andrew Harrison @ Aug 2nd 2008 8:58PM]

@geekout2

actually, if you look closely, you'll notice it's an original iPhone. The rubber backing right down the bottom gives it away.

[Abuzar Baloach @ Aug 2nd 2008 9:16PM]

ACTUALLY, if you look closely you can see the back is Aluminium and partly plastic.

[geekout2 @ Aug 2nd 2008 9:32PM]

FAIL on my part...my bad. Should have looked at the high res photo first before FAILING!!!

[who? @ Aug 2nd 2008 11:20PM]

@Andrew Harrison

Point of clarification, the bottom of the first generation iPhone is not rubber, but hard, smooth, plastic. (Rubber is 'grippy' and provides more friction)

[phrogg @ Aug 3rd 2008 1:07AM]

And if you're one to notice obscure details, there's no App Store either.

[Ignatius @ Aug 3rd 2008 9:16PM]

Actually, if you shoot yourself, you don't need to continue posting in this thread trying to figure out what iPhone it is.

The more you know!

[who? @ Aug 4th 2008 2:15AM]

@Ignatius

Please do.

[Richard @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:31PM]

How dare they remove the prestigious BMW logo from the wheel..

[Muhammed @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:58PM]

lmfao!

[austin @ Aug 2nd 2008 7:14PM]

i dont understand where they plugged it into. i own an 07 328i convertible and the ac outlet is inside the center console...

[Scott Neary @ Aug 4th 2008 8:15AM]

the roundel

[Richard @ Aug 2nd 2008 7:44PM]

I think that's a new 1 series convertible. Can't tell if it's the 128i or 135i, but the console size and design hint at the 1 series. Can't be sure.

[austin @ Aug 2nd 2008 10:31PM]

richard - i have a 328i and i look at it everyday. i also am a huge BMW enthusiast. its a 3 series. im 100% sure.

[Johan S @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:33PM]

downright perturbed?

I wouldn't want to mess with them then. Much.

[Dave @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:36PM]

Sweet! Another 3rd Party accessory to do something that just about any phone can do when your car has Bluetooth!

[Hawkman @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:22PM]

Feeding the troll, I know, but this one charges the battery, instead of running it down... A2DP would be nice, though.

Also: Belkin brought out a device in _January_ that uses the power pins from the deprecated firewire connection? That's either terrible planning, or genius-level business.

[Dave @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:23PM]

Fuck it, I'm done with this site. This is NOT news. I put up with the iPhone ass-kissing Engadget has done for a while, but this is the last straw. With the exception of the tethering program and maybe, maybe the AT&T exclusivity, every other piece of 3G iPhone "news" that has been put out in the last week was just horseshit filler.

Having an article about a guy from id Software talking about how powerful he thinks the iPhone is is NOT NEWS.

Having an article about the first third party charger to come out for the 3G iPhone IS NOT NEWS.

I'm going to Gizmodo, and never coming back, because until you guys stop performing fellatio on Apple products by giving continuous free advertising with these "news" articles I can't stand reading the shit you call news on this site anymore.

If you want to show some real news, how about you show how Time Warner Cable is trying to trick new and existing customers to switch over to the data capping they have going on in Texas by offering a bundled discount for triple play (the capping is in the small print):

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Time-Warner-Cable-Using-Fine-Print-To-Foist-Caps-On-Customers-96259?nocomment=1

Maybe you should put stories like this that are actually important, instead of being a corporate tool, which is what this site has become.

[grull27 @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:45PM]

You're going to Gizmodo to avoid iPhone posts?! Good luck!

[derX @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:49PM]

Dave, I'm not saying I disagree with what you have said nor am I disagreeing with your right to say it (BTW, especially for a long tirade, I truly appreciate your grammatical correctness as well as you properly used CAPS....it made me happy...it brought a tear to me eye). I am just a little curious as to why you thought you needed to publicly post that you were leaving the site for good--it just seems a little (understatement) attention whorish (sorry about the use of that somewhat disparaging term....it was the first thing that came to mind) to me.

....yeah, when I wrote that last line, it just clicked to me that he probably won't reply to this....

[d @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:55PM]

@ Angry Dave
Then stop commenting and start leaving. We'll miss you!

[Cody Peterson @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:36PM]

Direct Aux Input FTW

[Smileypanda @ Aug 3rd 2008 5:00PM]

Yeah I wish. I have an '04 Toyota, and guess what, they added one on the '05.

[D. A. @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:46PM]

I've tried this "Clear Scan" technology with my classic iPod, and it really does not work for more that I tried to have good conditions/locations inside the car to make it work. I used over a car trip from Chicago to Orlando without success (and a lot of irritation). Lots of static, bad quality sound, etc. I had to return it as soon as I was back. All these FM adapters are junk. Don't waste your money. You will be better off replacing the radio with something with a real ipod adapter (check the Sony XPLOD models for example).

[ed @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:47PM]

My old one works for charging and FM transmitting.. I don't see the problem?

I got this one a few months ago: http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/5267100/Belkin-iPod-iPhone-Tunecast-Auto/Product.html

[Jesse David Hollington @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:49PM]

Yes, that one will work just fine with the iPhone 3G, other than the *theoretical* possibility that you might get some interference from the 2100MHz 3G radio that the older device isn't specifically designed to shield against.

The extra frequency shielding is the only reason Apple is requiring accessories to be re-certified for the iPhone 3G, and with some *speakers* this is an issue, but it's rarely an issue in practical experience with car kits, since the iPhone doesn't normally sit near enough to the speakers or head unit to cause interference.

For example, I've been using the non-iPhone-certified Griffin iTrip Auto with both my original iPhone and iPhone 3G for some time now in a variety of different cars and have had NO interference problems.

[Mario F. @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:52PM]

So i guess i'll help out the visually impared (not you james McGrory). Either Belkin or the borad sitting shotgun aren't apt enough to notice the First, first, first gen iPhone. It also looks as thought they're driving around some form of purgatory, that gray background isn't weird at all Belkin, like seriously a parking lot would do, it might even make me want to buy that......thing. All in all pretty good Belkin, always up to the challenge of creating crap we don't really need and then overpricing it, no Belkin, Thank You. Wait, what, it charges it, TOTALLY WORTH IT, $30 dock my a**!!

[Mario F. @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:54PM]

broad*

[John Doe @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:54PM]

wont the old iphone work with this??

[AJC @ Aug 2nd 2008 8:46PM]

Man I would sure hope so.

[Finnschi @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:30PM]

hmm.. you should still be wearing seatbelts...? :-)

[derX @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:45PM]

Nope. It's called the JesusPhone for a reason. The iPhone 3G adds 3 grams more Jesus into every device.

[diode3diode @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:20PM]

The advertisement seems to signify that they are driving. Shouldn't she be wearing her seat belt? J..phone or not, shouldn't they also promote safety, or is riding a top-down convertible negate that?

[James @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:42PM]

downblouse.engadget.com

[andres @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:44PM]

im there

[Phoenix @ Aug 3rd 2008 9:54AM]

"coming soon"

[Jesse David Hollington @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:45PM]

Actually, for the record, the *original* TuneCast Auto charges the iPhone 3G just fine, and actually works just fine, other than possibly getting the "Accessory is not made to work with iPhone" nag screen.

In fact, so do all of Belkin's current *iPod* charging accessories (again, subject to having to deal with the nag screen). Only Belkin's two-year-old Auto Kit has any problem with the iPhone 3G, because that one *did* use FireWire charging. However, it also hasn't been made or sold by Belkin in about two years.

The iPhone 3G certification requirement is based on simply ensuring that these devices filter out interference from the different frequencies used by the iPhone 3G for the 3G radio (ie, 2100 MHz band).

For more clarification on the reasons why Apple wants to ensure that devices are re-certified for the iPhone 3G, see http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/apple-explains-works-with-iphone-3g-re-certification/

However, since most of the cellular interference has to do with your *speakers* I personally have yet to find any car charging accessories that exhibit any interference problems whether they're iPhone-certified or not. All of Griffin's iTrip Auto and AutoPilot accessories, for example, work just fine both with the iPhone and iPhone 3G as long as you're willing to put up with seeing the accessory warning nag screen every time you connect them.

[letstakeawalk @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:06PM]

Regarding your comment about speakers and cellular interference, I had never noticed such a thing.

I sit in my office, surrounded by some pretty big speakers (Bozak 305's, Marantz Imperial 6Gs, Magnat Series Vs) that pack some pretty big magnets, and have no issues making or receiving calls on a Helio Drift. I will admit, I'm not in a car very often, so I can't speak to that environment.

However, looking up this phenomenon in the internet, it appears that cellular interference can be picked up by some car speakers. I think this would imply that it's the phone interfering with the speakers, and not the speakers interfering with the phone. Perhaps a better phone, one with less EM "leakage", would solve the problem.

[letstakeawalk @ Aug 2nd 2008 10:41PM]

Well, apparently it is a minor defect in the phone that causes the intereference.

http://www.edn.com/article/CA498768.html

My current 3G phone is unaffected since it uses Sprint and Verizon networks, but I have been a Cingular/SunCom/AT&T GSM/TDMA customer in the past (approx.8 years total). I always chose Nokias, and I never had any problem with interference with them, either.

Sorry for you guys...

[Galley @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:58PM]

Needs more downblouse.

[Synthaxx @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:17PM]

I just finished routing the composite cable through my car. Coupled with an iphone car charger it works pretty well. I haven't tried to call anyone yet though, but the ipod function and charging work like a charm.

Now I'm just waiting for a 3g proclip holder (the composite cable one natch).