Tunecast Auto with Clearscan

As the first product for the iPhone I’ve tested, I wasn’t too disappointed. The Tunecast® Auto is typical for cord-based FM Transmitters, and it comes equipped with Clearscan which is supposed to find an especially fuzzy channel.

I can’t talk this product up, though. It’s been working on and off, and I’ll admit that it works almost perfectly when I’m alone in the car (Mike might vouch that it’s t3h suxx0rs). If you plan on listening to your device in the car with this, I’d turn the volume up just about as high as your hopes. FM Transmitters are notorious for transmitting a shoddy radio signal, even though the device isn’t more than 3 feet from the buttons and knobs. There is a handy thing called the ‘Pro’ settings, however, that allows you to pretty much adjust the pre-amp coming from the transmitter, and that slightly boosted my appreciation of it.

My hypothesis is that you need to make sure that the device is in direct ‘line of fire’ with the antenna. Since I’m a jack of all trades, master of none, I’ve really got no clue where my antenna is, but I’m willing to bet that it’s located in the rear windshield, furthest from my actual ‘inside mixup’.

Clearscan was a travesty in all my testing, to say it bluntly. I was really excited to just see it work flawlessly, but it seems like I’m in too much of a ‘radio station ridden’ area for my Tunecast® to adequately shimmy me into a solid white noise. I would advise figuring out a certain radio area for yourself, and simply sticking around that general frequency.

In regard to integration with other iPhone products, I tested it with bluetooth headsets, and even with headphones in. iPhone quickly switches to the phone function, and the radio remains unaffected. The results are a clear call in a silent environment, and for that this product pulls through.

I know that there are other products available, and if you plan on getting a transmitter, I would definitely advise going for a Roadtrip, or something to that equivalent. For $80, I expected a lot more from this product, and I enjoy it when it decides to work. All in all, this product is pretty middle-of-the-road. I'm going to have to give it a 3 out of five, citizens.

Pros:
•Clearscan automatically finds the ‘g-spot’
•There are two programmable memory buttons
•It also charges your next-gen iPhone
•‘Pro’ settings allow you to adjust the pre-amp from the transmitter

Cons:
•Clearscan has close to naught effect if any station is remotely active nearby
•I had to triple-check to see if it was actually transmitting a frequency

If you'd like to check its compatibility with your iPod or iPhone, the site is here. The product is $79.99, as previously stated, and can be ordered online or purchased in many stores nationwide.