[Review] iPhone/iPod Scosche passPORT Charging Adapter
I posted the other day about wanting to order the Scosche passPORT Charging Adapter to enable charging of my new iPhone 3GS with my 2008 Scion xD Pioneer audio system. This is a common issue with newer iPods and iPhones with accessories (such as car stereos) from 2008 or before due to changes in Apple’s hardware.
I received the adapter yesterday and have used the device twice since. There’s not much to it really. Just plug it in and it either works, or it doesn’t. In my case it works great! My iPhone now charges while plugged into my car’s audio system and still interfaces with the stereo as it should.
A few notes to be aware of:
The iPhone still displays a message (that can be ignored) saying the “accessory is not compatible” because it still detects the “older accessory” (aka the Pioneer sound system) through the adapter.
I also found that if I disconnected my iPhone (leaving the adapter plugged-in) while still playing music, my car’s stereo would still think the iPhone was plugged-in and would become locked into the “iPod” screen. The easy fix for this was to either turn-off the stereo before disconnecting the iPhone, or disconnect the adapter also.
Conclusion:
At $24.99 (or up to $30) it’s a bit steep for such a simple device, but it’s far better than the alternative of not being able to play music while charging with some other car iPod/iPhone charging device. The Scosche passPORT should easily pay for itself with the amount of use it will get.
Product Link: Scosche passPORT Charging Adapter for iPod touch 2G, iPod nano 4G, iPhone 3G (and iPhone 3GS)
Johnson City, TN 4th of July Fireworks Display 2009. Shot on my iPhone 3GS. Click for full size.
The local fireworks display was quite nice last night. These are stills from a video I shot on my iPhone 3GS.
Motorola RAZR Phone vs Fireworks
Watch now on YouTube. My old RAZR finally meets it’s end. I shot the whole video on my iPhone 3GS, edited in iMovie. (Has some mild NSFW expletive language)
Friends Panorama Mid City Grill
Why I don’t have my new iPhone 3G S yet
FedEx… Their ridiculously early delivery times in my area (2:55 PM according to the tracking) when nobody who has a full time job would be home. Ok that’s not so bad, I was willing to go pick-up my iPhone at the depot. If only it were there during business hours! I drove the 35 minutes to the depot outside of town to find that the driver would not be back until 10 minutes before their 7:30 PM closing time… No use in my waiting around for an hour and half.
Now I’ve got to figure-out how to fit picking-up my iPhone tomorrow, (between 9:30 AM and 3:00 PM) into our weekend camping plans that include reserving spots early in the morning… The camping site is also maybe an hour and a half away from the FedEx depot. I don’t plan to wait until Monday for them to screw-up again like they did today…
AT&T already sold out of launch day iPhone 3G S pre-orders
Glad I pre-ordered mine when I did! [via appleinsider.com]
AT&T owns my soul for the next 2-years. Hope this means I get my iPhone on the 19th.
AT&T iPhone 3GS launch details. I’ve got work on the 19th, so if I did go in on at 7am I’d need to be out by 8am.
How quickly are pre-orders usually handled?
The new iPhone 3GS - Looks the same but is faster, more battery life, has a better camera, and now shoots video.
