My iPod was doing a curious thing lately. Every now and then, it’d make a low pitched sound, then skip to the next track. Sometime it would do it in quick succession. I’d try to go back to the previous track, but no dice. Most confusing. I was getting really worried that it was a problem somewhere – iPod screwed, was it a couple of tracks in my library… what was causing it? It was a mystery… until I did what most people never do… read the manual. (Well, more accurately, I fired up ye olde Google.)
And… it’s actually a feature called “Shake to Shuffle” which is OS3.0 is switched on by default.
So if your iPod Touch or iPhone is acting a bit odd, fear not… you can turn it off.
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
Despite its failings as a phone, I really did like bits of the iPhone. The interface is amazing. The apps and app store stuff is brilliant. And whilst I love my Archos, as a Mac & iTunes user, getting music on to it and syncing and all that sort of stuff was just a nightmare I could no longer live with. So the obvious choice was to get an iPod Touch. So I have a 2nd gen 32gb iPod Touch and it really is brilliant. OK, so it’s missing the GPS, but other than that, it has all the benefits of the iPhone, minus the crappy phone bit.
And that, in particular, means apps. Yes, there’s been a hoohar over Apple’s policing of what apps it deems to be acceptable, but that does ultimately mean that the apps available to you are top notch. And one of those is the ITunes Remote*. It’s so simple – it connects to your shared iTunes library over wireless, and turns your iPod Touch or iPhone in to a full featured remote for your iTunes library. Which means, if used in conjunction with say Airport Express to distribute music around your house, you can have a really – erm – awesome home media thing. Your computer with iTunes can be anywhere in your house, you can have speakers wherever you are, and all you need is your Touch to adjust what’s playing. It works brilliantly. And – it’s free!
Thumbs up.
* I don’t know how to link to a iTunes app, but if you access the store, look in the free section and it’ll be there.