There have been a few news reports lately regarding a bad batch of iPods which have been "exploding". News reports suggest that an 11 year old girl from liverpool had heard hissing noises from her iPod before it popped and she could smell burning. Apple had thrown out reports of a bad batch and suggested it was an "isolated incident". News quickly got around and before long, quite a number of people were "claiming" that their iPods had gone faulty on forums and around the internet. Apple released a statement saying that these were simple lies and that only a very limited number of Apple iPods had been replaced with these faults, less than 10 infact.

As this has became big news, a few people have jumped on the bandwaggon. All isn’t bad though, some fun and games has arrived from this media hype. A game was developed called "iPop – Make iPods Safe". Its a nice quick game to cure some boredom. Check it out here.

View iPod Car Kits here

We were contacted by a customer at the start of this month who was desperate to get his iPod working in his car. He had already been given false information by 4 companies and he saw his only logical route to be through his dealer (who you would expect knew his car and its options inside out & back to front). £1400 and two weeks (without his car) later, the only thing that he had extra to before his vehicle went over to his dealer was an even bigger headache!

The dealer had sold him a kit for nearly triple the price that we charge (we charge £140, the dealer charged £400) and then charged a whopping £1000 for installation which took an entire two weeks! When this was complete it turned out that the iPod car kit didnt even work! He took it back and had it tested, they agreed to swap it over. Still no joy! In the end, 3 kits were tested and none worked. Our customer managed to get his £400 back for the iPod Car Kit but they wouldnt pay up for the installation costs. This has obviously left sour grapes in the mouth of the customer who was understandably very annoyed. This is where iPod Car Kit Direct come in, proving that we are a long way ahead of the game when it comes to getting an In Car iPod.

We had a call around 9:15am asking if we could offer any advice. We obviously knew the vehicle very well having successfully integrated around 5000 iPod Car Kits into thus far. We knew exactly what the issue was and suggested we could sell the Dension Gateway 100 kit at £140 and install it for £50. Our installers went over to our customers place of work two days later and installed the kit within 1 hour. Fully tested and fully working.

Needless to say that our customer was extremely pleased that he could now play his iPod in his car. He is also pursuing the lost £1000 with trading standards and is very close to a happy ending.

This story goes to show that there really is no replacement for expereince. We dont like blowing our own trumpets but we have twice the experience than any of our competitors and have ben the only company to have been dealing with iPod Car Kits since the very first iPod Car Kit was designed.

Dension has been working hard in recent months to increase the compatibility and functionality of the BMW kits in the Dension Range. The new kits are part of the Dension gateway range and offer increased performance over the older and now obsolete Ice>link Plus in many ways. Due to the complexity of the BMW vehicles and production and installation options when purchased from new, Dension have had to design numerous variations of the BMW kits. The kits produced mainly differ in the different types of connection looms, as many head units (Stereos) have different physical compatibility. In addition to this, the software (Firmware) installed on the stereo also differs from unit to unit adding to the complexity of the Dension Gateway range.

Dension has produced two types of kit depending on which vehicle and stereo you have installed. Firstly an option of the Dension Gateway 100 or Gateway 300 for vehicles with normal wiring looms. Usually found in vehicles pre 2004/5. The Gateway 100 and 300 share the same vehicle and stereo compatibility so if one of the kits is compatible so too is the other. These kits offer a digital connection to the stereo through the CD Changer port, and provide full control of the iPod and track selection through the stereo and or steering wheel controls. The 100 & 300 also offer track display on select stereos and charge all iPods including the new 5V charging iPods and iPhone 3g and 3gs. The Dension Gateway 300 also provides an additional USB input for a mass storage device to be connected, enabling you to store 10,000’s additional tracks or if you forget you iPod you have a back up already connected and ready to use.

The Second option is the Gateway 500, Dension’s Flagship in the range. The Gateway 500 is a fibre optic kit that extends the performance of the BMW’s factory equipment tremendously. By connecting into the fibre optic system the gateway 500 provides a fully integrated iPod connection controllable through the iDrive system. The Gateway 500 also allows you to retain your factory CD Changer & is provided with a USB input (as with the 300). However it’s the optional Extra’s that open up a new world of in car entertainment for BMW. Dension has expanded developed further upgrades for the 500, increasing performance and usability of the system as a whole. The BTA1500 bluetooth adapter connects into the system to provide a hands free Bluetooth system allowing your phone to connect through the vehicle, and more importantly Dension have created a multi-source media selection device caller the AVR. The Dension AVR designed recently enables you to make full use of all the devices connected through the Gateway 500 system. Controlling multiple devices and choosing which device plays where in the vehicle, you have the iPod playing in the front while the kids are watching their favourite DVD in the Back.

Dension has shown us the future of In Car Entertainment, and has a few products in the pipe line which will open more doors of opportunity for the Digital Media Age.

Dension products are available from the number one Online iPod Car Kit Store

Paralight are a small Aston Martin specialist company based in the Costwolds. They have been working on Aston Martin vehicle for many years and have now perfected the art of iPod integration.

Until Paralight decided to take hold of the Dension Gateway 500 MOST Fibre Optic system, iPod integration into Aston Martins was pretty much impossible. The Aston Martins use the same MOST fibre optic system as Volvo, Audi, BMW and Mercedes but with slightly different software. It has taken the techies at Paralight a few years to perfect the edited/updated software on the Paralight Gateway 500 but now its complete and working perfectly.

Paralight are so confident in this product that they are happy to guarantee the product FOR LIFE, including installation costs. They would personally fly out and uninstall the device and install a new device, leaving you with the absolute minimum of hassle.

This kit has all the features of any premium kit you would expect; full control from steering controls and from the stereo, ID3 tagging (track and album titles) information on the display, charging of all iPods including the new iPhone 3G and newer iPods.

Paralight are now working on a bluetooth interface (using Parrot hardware) which will integrate phone functions and hands free calling into your vehicle too.

It will work perfectly with all V8 Vantage’s from 05 onwards and DB9′s (all years) which were produced & built at Gaydon. If you need an iPod and Phone solution for your Aston Martin then this is certainly the kit for you!

View the Aston Martin iPod Car Kit here