Hello, my name is Patrick and I just want to share my experience with iPod to hopefully save some of you trouble.

(estimated prices)
ipod- 400 dollars
belkin fm transmitter- 50 dollars
Belkin Charger- 50 dollars
Second ipod- 400 dollars (warrenty 30 bucks)
Replacement for belkin fm transmitter- 50 dollars
2nd belkin charger- 50 dollars
Itrip- 50 dollars
3rd ipod- 230 dollars ( got a student deal )
Mazda rx8 direct input ipod setup- 125 dollars
Installation for ipod set up- 130 dollars!

Here's my ridiculous story.
I buy an ipod, its great im happy but I want it in my car. I buy the belkin FM transmitter, well battery's run out fast so i bought a charger. Oh great my ipod broke and I didn't get a warranty great. I buy another ipod, but the fm transmitter breaks, so i buy another one. Finally works a little bit when the charger breaks. At this point I bought the iTrip, it worked great I finally found my solution it all worked!

Well, then my iPod got stolen ( the warranty I bought, pointless ), so at this point i'm fed up and I go quite some time with out an iPod. Well after a warm summer with blank cd's all over the 8's interior I decide I'm going to buy another iPod. They had a deal on the video ones if your a student and you buy a lap top. So I do that, only to find that the iTrip doesn't work with this generation ipod. So great, I gotta buy another damn thing to hook it up. But everything breaks, and is just ****, so after 4 months of never using my iPod, I finally get the Mazda iPod hookup. I decide to install it my self, when I realize it looks pretty complicated and Mazda could do it for pretty cheep. Well once it's done ( and they slap me with a new oxygen sensor, it ends up costing 130 dollars to install the damn thing )

That's the story, either don't buy an ipod, or if you do buy the direct input ipod thing and install it your self. The belkin products are no good, the iTrip is like 60 bucks now, and the road trip breaks too ( my friend has had a similar story )

Well that's that, thanks for reading.

 

and the really crappy part is that you still have to screw with ITunes to get your music on there.

 

hahahahaha yeah exactly, its ridiculous! you cant just pick an artist from the menu you gotta make play lists. It's a bummer

 

I have the monster cable one and it works really well, especially plugged in, inside the console its all hidden then Sorry you had so much trouble

 

Yeah, my friend had the monster cable and it did work very well.. I just didn't want to spend the money, but then out of frustration I spent way more than the monster cable would have cost.

thanks though :-)
I blame apple. even though I'm a mac guy... ( is this where it turns in to an apple bash thread? )

 

this is no longer true. I use winamp to put music on to my ipod and it works like a charm.

There's actually plenty of programs out there that can sync up to ipod's now there's no reason to use iTunes other than to rip MP3's.

If you choose to not use iTunes, it's best to turn off the AutoSync feature. This means that itunes won't automatically move music to your iPod when it's connected.

My system works like this:
iTunes - used for organization and mp3 rip.
Winamp - used for PC playback, organization, playlists, ipod xfer, etc.....

 

Yeah, I really never saw the greatness of the Ipod for the price. Personal preference but who needs 80gig of music. When my 50 or so songs are played out I make new playlists.

 

I think I'll stick to burning 130 MP3s onto CDRWs and playing them with the Mazda MP3 CD player.

 

What is this and where do you get it?

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ight=audiolink + IPOD = 7900 songs in my car at my fingers.

Sorry for your troubles.

 

nice I was actually going to get that one ( i guess I should have ) but I got the Mazda one because I was worried about my warranty. However I was unaware that the Mazda one didn't let you select your song before playing. What the hell is this?

 

My friend raves about his ipod but it's not for everyone. I exercise a lot and no way I'm using something $400 to go running or workout with. Sometimes I run in the rain and found a cheap water resistant mp3 player. I did like the headphones of th ipod so I bought a similiar Phillips pair that are just as good. In the car I keep it simpe as possible. I love the Siruis wheel controls and write down songs I like then burn CD's off limewire. For $6.50 a month I get all the songs I can handle. This month though all I listen to is the NFL network, it's one of the best football shows on the market imo.

 

there is a data cable that you can use on your factory radio & you can use your factory steering wheel controls to change songs & playlist

 

You're not talking about the $99 Monster RF Tuner are you? Im not sure why, but the reception in my 8 was HORRIBLE with that thing. I bought a cheapie RF Tuner (ie $70 ) at Best Buy for my Civic. Sound was mediocre. I traded with my roommate for his Monster Tuner + Cash, which was crap in his Accord, but worked wonders in my Civic. A month later im sitting in my brand new 8, and the Monster Tuner is just as bad as my original cable was. I have an AudioLink cable now, and wouldnt dream of using anything else.

AudioLink/ direct MP3 hook ups all the way!!

 

The Ipod is the most expensive Gigabyte/dollar ratio. But I find it to be as easy or easier than others MP3 players, plays videos (keep that in mind when considering 80G model), and is dead sexy looking. But the TRUE reason I bought an Ipod..... the Audiolink direct connect. But think about it.... how many extra/addon/aftermarket parts are out for the Ipod when compared to ANY other MP3 player. If a company is going to make a product to connect to an MP3 player, it's going to be the Ipod. It's the most popular and fuels its own fire. I'll spend the extra 100 bucks. Who cares.