OK, so you’ve seen all the blogs, virals, youtube videos and thousands of adverts advertising what NEW and IMPROVED features various app’s may offer…. It seems that using an iPod as a sprit level and other fairly useless functions is a growing trend, and soon no doubt builders the world over will down tools and purchase a multi-functional iPod which is capable of Sawing, Hammering and Screwing, drilling and any other task builder’s may have to do daily.

Dont Get me Wrong, I think some of the iPod and iPhone features and app’s are absortultly genius and provide an excellent service, made much more convenient and user friendly than ever before. However in general these app’s are few and far between.

Some of you may be wondering at this stage what the "Thing" is that everybody seemed to have forgotten. Its simple, Why aren’t we using the iPod for the task in which it was invented??? Playing Music …. I have seen several adverts recently regarding Apple and the iPhone 3gs and iPod Touch, and at no point in the advertisment did apple mention what the iPod was best used for (an MP3 player BTW). It seems to be all about the extras you get with package nowdays!

So The One thing that everybody should try using an iPod for is to store and play your favourite music

I’m obviously Kidding, the iPod is obviously an inspriational invention so here are some other things you can do with it that you might not of thought of?

Here are some uses for an iPod or iPhone include;

1) App’s can transform your iPhone from a simple phone and mp3 playing device to navigation device, resource finder, account manager or so much more depending on which app you use. Look long and hard, some of the best apps are still to be popularised.

2) Google Maps, Every contact with a physical address (regestered in google) in your contact book can be found on google maps, even better these contacts are automatically found when browsing for directions say to a resturant stored as a contact. Simply search for the contact and you have directions to the location from where your standing. Genius !!

3) Mobile internet, where ever you are you have full access to the internet, emails and all that the internet brings.

4) Videos and TV programmes, The newer iPods are capable of storing more information than ever before. Take advantage of this and load your favourite videos and TV programs to watch at your convenience.

5) The iPod can be transfromed into a truely mobile MP3 Player with the use of an iPod car kit. Plug in to your Car Stereo and you have full access to all of your tracks while you drive

Most of us drive, and all of us from time to time have to travel long journeys. The problem with long journeys is boredom. Whether your travelling as a family, couple or on business the longer you travel the more boredom you’ll experience, and that’s almost a certainty. Travelling with kids in the car can be especially tedious, especially if they’re at the age when they argue and fight.

Combating boredom can make the journey much more enjoyable and go much faster, listed below are several methods of combating boredom when travelling, especially on long journeys.

1. Playing games. There are loads of games that can be played when travelling and the more creative the better. Simple games like the roadside alphabet game are simple, easy to play and keep kids (or adults) involved and entertained for hours. The key to playing games is to get organised, find the games you want to play in advance, swap and change the games regularly to keep them fresh. Print them off and keep in the glove box for future journeys. There are loads of travel games to browse through here

2. Mobile Computers. We live In a generation of mobile entertainment, computers systems are truly mobile whether it be via laptops or PC’s built into vehicles. Computing can be done easily and efficiently while on the move. The invention of systems like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS are also designed exactly for this demand from modern lifestyles. A simple in car adapter for these systems will keep the battery topped up for as long as you like. Car power adapters can be found here

3. Video screens. Video screens can be installed into the vehicle entertainment systems that provide DVD playback. A particularly useful device if your passengers love films. Bring along you favourite DVD’s and you have hours of fun at the touch of a button. The only problem that will occur is the choice of DVD!

4. iPod Car Kits. It seems that everybody has an iPod these days. Why not connect it to your stereo and have full control of it while your driving. Playing all of your favourite music and albums will certainly make the time pass quicker than listening to the radio. Ipod car kits for your vehicle can he found here

5. POI – Points of interest. Many Sat Navs come with a long list of local POI’s. Take advantage of this feature and look for local POI’s as your driving by. Building this into your journey can add a little bit of time, but you may find something interesting that you never knew was there. There might be something around the corner you have wanted to do for ages but never got round to doing? If your going to be driving for 10 hours you might as well make it 11 and pack the journey full of excitement.

6. One for the adults. Practical jokes, truth or dare or something more kinky??? it doesn’t matter providing you don’t drive dangerously or put other drivers at risk. Simple jokes can provide hours of entertainment on the road and make a long journey feel like a quick one. What you do is up to you, but the more thought you put into it the funnier it will be!

7. Track you movement. Not that it will make your journey any quicker but maybe more interesting, you can purchase tracking devices that connect with google earth which map your movements. Build up your online map and see where you’ve been before, which route you take most, and plan trips to destinations you haven’t been before.

8. Take a Camera. Take pictures of the places you’ve travelled past, tie in with POI’s and build up your photo album of interesting place you’ve been to or travelled past. It makes for interesting viewing after several months.

If you can think of any more add them at the bottom.

The Apple iPod has done its bit to shape society over the past ten years, Not only is it a desirable gift or accessory. Its changed the way we listen to and purchase music. The most noticeable improvement the iPod / iPhone deliverers over its predecessors, is the ease and simplicity of use and instant satisfaction it delivers.

Music and applications can be downloaded instantly, negating the need to travel to a store to purchase CD singles or albums. Which except for a few people, was seen as a hindrance. No longer do we need to carry stacks of disc’s and filter through them to find an album for what ever mood were in. Put simply the iPod has revolutionised the music industry and carried it into the future, making music more accessible in our daily routines.

Many other companies have joined the music revolution in a bid to further improve the way we control and listen to our favourite albums. It has become big business, with more and more companies offering improved quality and functions for home audio and visual systems as well as car and mobile audio. One of the market leaders in the car audio field, Dension, have been developing new systems which allow full control of the iPod through the stereo and entertainment system in the vehicle.

For many the iPod symbolises mobile music, and more recently mobile entertainment with the release of the iPod touch and iPhone, and the continuing developments Apple are making in the Video and TV area. Dension have adopted this ethos of entertainment on the move and produced iPod car kits that surpass any other kit on the market in terms of quality and integration.

iPod integration is key for quality and ease of use of the kits, if they don’t match Apples exacting standards for the iPod there is no point in developing them. With this in mind Dension set about improving previous versions of iPod kits they already produced. (Which they were already market leaders) and come up with a kit that ensures great quality audio and simple easy controls. The Gateway Lite was born.

The Gateway Lite is the next step up from the Gateway 100 / Gateway 300 ipod car adapters, The lite offers a much improved navigation system which was not available on the 100 / 300 unless text compatibility was available on your vehicle. By making the system easier the Gateway Lite is much more effective when making a track selection, reducing the browsing time and frustration this may have caused.

Combined with USB input the Gateway lite makes your favourite music truly mobile, allowing you to carry you entire music collection in your vehicle, you no longer need the poor quality and probably illegal FM transmitters. Simply choose the Gateway Lite.

Dension are market leaders in iPod car kit integration. Their iPod car adapters provide better quality audio and track navigation and selection over any other kit on the market. Drive, Control, Charge and Play your iPod.

Once you’ve decided to purchase an iPod car kit, inevitably you’ve chosen the Gateway Lite produced by Dension. You only have one further obstacle to hurdle, the installation. There are two options available to you for installing the kit. The first option, Pay a professional engineer to install the kit, either travelling to them or they can travel to you. The second option, is to install the iPod car kit yourself. Which is by far the more cost effective option and probably most convenient too. See below an installation guide to judge whether your capable of the installation, should you choose to go ahead.

The installation of the Gateway lite is fairly simple and pain free. Although this is a generic installation guide, it will suit 99% of vehicles.

Before you begin the installation, please remove the keys from the ignition and check that any radio codes are recorded for future reference.

Step one is to remove your car stereo, this will usually involve radio removal tools which will vary depending on what vehicle you have. Radio removal keys are readily available and the majority of online shops or traditional vehicle based retail outlets stock them. Radio removal tools are extremely convenient and can save you a lot of time and energy. This should take between 1-5 minutes

Step two is to remove the harnesses from the back of the stereo, Most vehicles have a Quadlock connection, this is a fairly large connection block that houses the wires to and from the stereo. If the Harness is a Quadlock connection the Dension harness will usually replicate the original harness exactly. The Dension Lite harness simply fits into the vehicle harness and then back to the stereo, basically a link between the vehicle and the stereo.

If the vehicle doesn’t have a Quadlock connection, the gateway lite harness fits into the CD changer port on the the back of the stereo. Usually located in the top right of the stereo as your looking at the back of it. Most of the time the harness simply connects straight into place, however occasionally the harness may have to be connected into the original harness then re-connected. This stage should take 2 minutes.

Step three is to connect the Gateway Lite PCB (the little black box) to the dension harness, its the most straight forward step of the installation. This will take 30 seconds.

Step Four is to connect the iPod dock and USB extension cable to the PCB, again very straight forward. Once this stage is done its usually a good idea to turn ignition on to check the system works. (Follow the user manual to perform the operations for iPod/USB track selection) Again this will take 1-2 minutes.

Step five, Route the cables through into position within the vehicle, this is usually the most time consuming part of the installation. Depending on the vehicle this can be a complex job and may require the removal of some of the fascia / Dashboard. This part of the installation may take up to 30 minutes depending on difficulty, especially if you want a professionally installed look.

Step Six, replace the stereo into its fittings. Read the operational instructions from Dension and enjoy the use of your iPod and all of your music while your driving.