iPod/iPhone control in the stereo deck is a much safer way to control how you listen to music in the car. When I get in, I place the phone in my center console, connect the USB cable and off I go. Unless my phone rings, I don’t have to touch the device at all. When the phone does ring, it fades out the music/podcast/whatever and pauses the playback while you are on the call. This has the added benefit of allowing me to actually hear my phone ring while listening to loud music.

Sound quality is excellent with the stock speakers in my car, and the difference in dynamic range over the stock head unit was astounding. I’m not a huge audiophile, but I tend to be a stickler for audio quality. I was pleasently surprised at how good it sounded, and very happy that I didn’t need to spend any additional dollars to upgrade my speakers.

The JVC KD-R600 also has the ability to change the color of the display, including 30 pre-set colors, and the ability to change the color using the jog dial to one of 30,000 options. I haven’t played with the custom colors yet, I’ve set mine to the dark blue to match the interior dash of my car.

I have noticed a couple of minor issues, and they are mostly iPhone related, but its worth mentioning. I notice that my iPhone seems to crash and reboot about once every week or two, I notice it mainly in the car as thats where I use it the most, but I have noticed my phone rebooting while I was watching TV, so I’m not going to blame my JVC KD-R600 just yet. Podcast playback suffers from an annoying quirk, it doesn’t seem to list the episodes in the order in which they should be played back, so if I happen to fall behind, then I have to try and figure out which episode to play manually. I’ve noticed this while using the iPhone via the Aux connector as well, so its not a JVC issue, its just tedious via the jog dial control. Podcasts with chapters tend to to start the chapter over again if you pause, disconnect, and then re-connect and hit play later, this appears to be related to how the JVC detects the chapters, so this issue falls under the KD-R600.

For about $160 Canadian, I’d recommend the JVC KD-R600 to any iPhone or iPod users out there as a great way to charge and use your iPod/iPhone safely while driving.Useful Gear, JVC KD-R600 mini review

Two posts ago, I was talking about the virtues of my new Rogers HTC Dream phone, and while it was good, and I was enamoured with the 3G speeds after using an EDGE BlackBerry. After about a month of usage, I found my self avoiding using it. I tried to love Google’s Android OS, and despite its charm and open stature, I found it lacking.

It was slow, the keyboard was awkward, and everything aside from Calendars, Mail, and Contacts required manual synchronizing. The lack of a notepad application by default was also very annoying.

Enter my new 16GB iPhone 3GS. Its fast, light, intuitive, and now eliminates my iPod touch, which makes it one less device to stuff into my pocket. I was also shocked at just how fast I am with its keyboard. I’d estimate that I am about twice as fast on my iPhone as I was on my blackberry, and about three times as fast as my HTC. Thats a pretty big statement, the HTC and blackberry both have physical keyboards, which means that tactile feedback isn’t everything for touch typists such as myself.

I’m glad I made the switch to iPhone, my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. Now this may not be forever, since I was late to upgrade, I’ll have access to the HTC Dream for a while, and in the future, I may go back. But for now, I love my iPhone.

Griffin iTrip LCD Review

Overall Rating: A-

Price: 49.00 – 64.00 Canadian

Great little portable device. Cables do not have to be carried around if you want to connect to multiple stereo’s. Griffin greatly improves the iTrip LCD over its predessors. The addition of the station selection knob makes finding a clear station a no hassle affair. The first iTrip lacked the lcd and selector knob that the iTri LCD model has. Instead it used a special playlist of mp3′s that sent tones to change the station. This was likely a source of confusion for users, andthus a reason for the high ammount of unfavorable reviews.

When it comes to matching the style of the ipod no one can touch Griffin, who has pay’s a close eye to detail.

For a connection to a home stereo I still prefer to use a dock over fm transmission. That being said, this is an excellent alternative if you cannot hardwire your iPod to your car/home. If you are planning to purchase this product, please be aware that you will have to invest some time in finding a good clear station. One station does not allways work on all radio’s, and can change while you drive depending on your location. I have been able to find a handful of reliable station for use while driving, and two or three that work really well with my radio’s in the house.If I had only one small nit-pick issue with this device, it would be to have more power. I do realize that the limiting factor is what it can draw from the iPod. So overall its a great buy, and hence, an A-