***Griffin Technology|http://www.griffintechnology.com/*** is going to be ***releasing some new products|http://www.ipodlounge.com/ipodnews_comments.php?id=6045_0_7_0_M*** at ***MWSF|http://www.macworldexpo.com/live/20/events/20SFO05A*** this week. People seem to be most interested in the AirClick, the new wireless remote for the iPod. There’s also a USB dongle which will allow you to use the AirClick remote to control your Mac. While I think it’s a pretty cool idea, those general concepts have been done before. Admittedly, the new twist is that it’s RF control, rather than IR, so you don’t need line-of-sight to aim the remote. But the general concept of remote control for your iPod and/or Mac is nothing new.
No, the new product that most interests me is the SmartDeck. This spiffy device looks just like a regular car casette adapter, but instead of simply routing the sound from the iPod to the car stereo, it also allows the iPod to interface with the casette deck’s mechanical controls. In other words, when you hit the pause button on your car’s casette deck, it stops the casette from rotating, and sends a signal down the wire to your iPod telling it to pause. When you hit fast forward, your iPod will fast forward. So on and so forth. This is extremely cool for people like me and Becky who have older cars with casette decks and no interface with which to hook up more advanced control solutions. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but my hope is that it will be priced affordably. As nice as the iPod’s controls are, they just aren’t made to be easily handled while driving. It would be much easier to stop, skip, and play on the iPod by using the casette deck controls.
Griffin, if you’re reading this, I would be more than willing to write a review of this new product… just send me one to test out (and keep). Thanks.
Smart Deck would be cool if I had a single audio system that still used a tape player.
The USB Dongle for AirClick is something I’ve been hoping for for ages. I use AirTunes and so much and watch so many DVDs on my Mac that I would kill for a remote for it. The only thing I could conceive of being better was if Apple, or somebody, unveiled an .11g remote that would just control my system over my network.
The only three cassette decks in my life are the one in the boom box that Becky brought into our marriage, the one in Becky’s car, and the one that came in my car, which I didn’t so much choose but was rather given by my grandfather. The only one I use with any frequency at all is the one in my car, which is only used to hook up the iPod. I suppose when I’m finally forced to replace the ’94 Camry, and I have a choice in cars, I’ll probably buy one without a casette deck… as long as it has some way of hooking up the iPod besides an FM transmitter.
Also, Sailing Clicker (http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/) has been around for a while… that lets you use a bluetooth phone or PDA to control just about anything on your Mac.
That would require a Bluetooth phone or PDA, neither of which I have, and both of which cost far more than 40 bucks.