Car head units for 2g iPod Touch and iPhone 3G

I’m loving my 2nd gen / 2g iPod Touch, to such an extent that I really want to have it in my car. My existing head unit will take an AUX in, but that’s really not good enough for my tastes. So I started doing some research in to which head units would work because, and here’s the kicker, the majority of “made for iPod” head units – i.e., iPod compatible – won’t work with the 2g iPod Touch and the iPhone 3g (mainly due to Apple changing the connectors for these devices.) There was supposed to be a complete list of compatible units here but that link has been down for ages.

So, unfortunately, unless it specifically says “works with iPhone 3G” you must assume that the head unit will NOT work the iPod Touch or the iPhone 3G – note that original iPhones and 1G iPod Touch WILL work with “made for iPod” head units – it is specifically the 2g iPod Touch and iPhone 3G that will not work.

So here is a work-in-progress list of head units that will work with the iPhone 3G and the 2G iPod Touch. If you know of more, please leave a note in the comments and I will update the list. Also, if you have any experience with any of these units, please let me know!

Cheers!

2g iPod Touch and iPhone 3g compatible car stereo / head units

Alpine iDA-X303
Alpine iDA-X305

A demonstration. Mingers.

A demonstration (as if it was needed), of how juvenile I am.

There was something funny about the contestants of last night’s University Challenge, but I just can’t figure out what. Perhaps you can?

Stupid adverts. Poo at Paul’s.

I’m actually lost for words. People shouldn’t be allowed to make adverts. Glade, you should be ashamed of yourself.

It’s oddly captivating though.

Job. Not hero.

So the story is that of the Airbus crashing into the Hudson river. Captain C.B. Sully Sullenberger and the crew did a great job in ditching the plane in to the Hudson river, after it struck a flock of birds. All 150 people onboard survived, with about 80 of them needing medical attention for minor injuries. So yeah – it’s a remarkable story, and no doubt, it’s a freak accident which fortunately ended OK, thanks to the skill and training of the pilot and the crew of the plane, not to mention the good design of planes so that when they land in water, they should float. All round pats on the back, lads, well done (or in US speaky “great job”), everyone get down the pub for a booze up.

But I have some problems:

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Guernsey needs sewage treatment

The debate has raged on long and hard for years, but the simple fact of the matter is: currently, Guernsey, a well-developed financial centre of excellence, pumps raw sewage in to the sea – a sea the 2nd biggest market in Guernsey – tourism – relies on. There are many different water users round here – not just boating – where Guernsey is obviously a popular destination – but surfers, kayakers, swimmers, windsurfers, kitesurfers, not to mention casual beach users.

From the latest Surfers Against Sewage newsletter:

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Warning: secondhand mobile phones

I have a mobile phone. But I don’t use it so much. So part of the reason for returning my iPhone, I must admit, was that the thought of a £36 a month contract over 18 months suddenly worked out to make bad financial sense. I’ve been on pay as you go for a long while now, and actually, it suits me very well, especially as, for some unknown reason, Cable & Wireless now give their PAYG subscribers free texts. Bizarre, but I’m not complaining.

But that didn’t solve the problem of my existing phone being shagged. I moreorless knew what phone I wanted – the Nokia 6500 Slide – pretty much the N95’s little brother – but at nearly £200 new from the shop, it was more than I wanted to pay. Obvious solution? eBay!

My mistake was that I naively assumed that phones were phones were phones and that a locked (to a network) phone could easily be unlocked. Emphasis on the “naive” and the “assume” though, because when I received the Nokia 6500 Slide I won from eBay, that was tied to 3, unlocking it was not a straightforward task. Unlock codes? No. (Try unlocking it with a cheap code you bought off a dodgy website locks it up even tighter? Check. Don’t whatever you do, think that an unlock code, such as one you might buy from MrUnlock will work. On the Nokia 6500 Slide (and Classic), it won’t. It won’t, it won’t, it won’t, no way no how. Seriously.)

Now, after some research, it seems that certain high end mobile phones are incredibly hard to unlock.
It also seems that phones that are tied to 3 (Hutchison Telecom) are incredibly hard to unlock.
So, combine high end Nokia phone and the 3 network – and you got yourself some issues.

So the only solution? Have it professionally unlocked with a DM3. Does anyone in Guernsey have one of those gizmos? Hahaha. Only solution? Send it away for the princely sum of thirty squids.

Will update when (if?) I get the phone back. Fingers crossed.

On a similar note, whilst trying to figure this all out, I found some very useful software over at B-Phreaks. If you just want to check the status of your phone, or remove certain lock restrictions, then they have the software and service to help. But don’t expect any decent support from them – when the .ask to .rpl service failed for an “unknown reason”, I heard diddly squat from them. Fortunately it was only 2 euro, but one does wonder if it always fails, and they just coin in the 2 euros.

My advice (other than the usual buyer beware pish associated with buying from eBay) – if you’re buying a mobile phone that is not yet unlocked – do some research and make damn sure you can unlock it before you buy.

We are the mushrooms.

So remember I mentioned the CI Cup? Well, we won. That’s right. Oh yes.

Writeups: here and here.

And yet more coverage in the Guernsey Press, where I somehow found my ugly mug (albeit in fortunately low-resolution) on both the front and back pages.

Awesome.

P.S. Fcking get in there!