Home > Consumer Reviews > Ultimate iPhone 3G & 3Gs Fm Transmitter with LCD Display with preset memory

I am very pleased with this Satechi FM transmitter. It works great in my car; my only issue is that it's hard finding free stations to play on, which isn't an issue with the product, but an issue with where I live. :) This product also charges your iPhone, so after you're done listening to your tunes or podcasts, you can turn it off and be powered up, ready to go!

I owned another company's version of this product that I used once and put away. You'll see excellent reviews concerning the sound quality of this unit and reviews that say it's a piece of junk. I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. The limitation is the FM transmitter technology. You're basically trying to find an FM station in your area that is perfectly clear with nothing else bleeding over onto it. I'm also going to guess the FCC has limited how much power these units can put out (or maybe they limit the power so they don't kill your battery). In any event, you'll find that the unit will sound pretty good some of the time and other times you'll hear static bleeding through. The better the quality of your car stereo, the more disappointed you'll be in the sound you get from an FM transmitter. At BEST it's going to sound as good as your FM radio, not as good as your CD player.

On to the Satechi. It's small and it fit my iPod 3GS nicely. It's easy to tune and you can set up to four preset stations on it. I've seen some at 2-3 times the cost that claim they scan for the clearest station. Not sure it's worth the money to get that feature. One thing I really like about the Satechi is it comes with a cable that allows you to plug your iPod into your car charger (passing through the Satechi). Since I didn't have a car charger, this feature alone was worth the cost of the Satechi.

All-in-all, it's a pretty good device. If you're highly critical of the sound of your music, you'll have to lower your expectations or get a direct connection put into your car (hundreds of dollars). But, if you can live with fairly decent sound quality, this device, especially at the price, is the way to go.

I ordered this through Amazon and received this in the mail yesterday. Here is what I've found so far:

Easy to install - take it out of the box, plug in the charger to a 12V plug, connect the USB-mini USB adapter from the charger to the transmitter, and connect the transmitter to the iPhone, then find a freq to your liking.

Size - small, as you can see in the product view. This device is half the size of my old transmitter.

Build quality - pretty solid, although the connection to the iPhone could be a little tighter.

Sound quality - ok, but then again, this is an FM transmitter; none of them are exceptional.

Value - good value, not great. Not sure why this item doesn't have free shipping.

Summary - it works as described.

Works great with the iPhone 3G S, no incompatible error messages when I plug it in the phone. It works fast and simple. Easy to change and set frequencies. Sound quality has been very impressive and the charging cord is a nice bonus. Love the fact it automatically pauses the song for an incoming call and picks up right where it left off. Looks great, matches the iPhone perfectly and works without cords. Draws very little battery power from the phone. A great value for anyone without an iPod friendly vehicle.

I am very satisfied with this product. It was shipped quickly and directly from vendor. Customer service followed up to check my satisfaction. The unit operates simply. It seems solid and well made. First trip out we tried in friends car with my iPhone. Simple to setup, included cable to charge both iPod/iPhone and xmtr. Reception on radio was rock solid 98% of the time. Occasional short interference (3-5) seconds) about five times in 2.5 hrs of driving. After the fact, we notice the channel we were tuned to had some background noise. This might have caused the interference. The manual said to try different stations to reduce any interferences. I am very happy with the product. It does just what it says it will do.