iPod Car Kits started out back in 1999 with Dension, they were the original manufacturer of the very first iPod Car Kit. Back then, the kids were very basic. The very first kit started out with just an audio feed (similar to an Aux input from the iPod to the stereo) but before long Dension wanted to improve the kit and next came along a feature which is still regarded as one of the most important; Charging the iPod while connected. Apple have made hard work of keeping this feature as of late when they changed the charging from 12v to 5v but Dension have bounced back with an update in hardware inside their units.

In 2003 Dension realised that there was a big market for iPod kits and wanted to improve on the kit even more. Along came two more important changes. The first was the introduction of a cradle, cleverly designed in a "one size fits all" base where you simply add an insert/sleeve which makes it fit your iPod. The second introduction was the ability to be able to control the iPod from the car stereo. In its first stages, this was set up based around playlist control. You would map your playlists on the 1-5 buttons on your car stereo and when you wanted to change playlists you could then simply press button 3 for example. Within 6 months, this advanced and you could also skip tracks forwards and backwards aswell as rewinding and fast-forwarding.

In 2006 Dension pushed the "control" feature further and introduced another two features. The first this time being a mode which allows you to change the control back to the iPod so it doesnt lock out the iPod when connected. This was great for people who couldnt get along with the playlist mode. The second improvement was one of the most important thus far, Artist, Album, Podcast, Track control; Now instead of only being able to control the iPod using playlists, you could now change the mode and search by artists, or albums, or anyway you wanted!

Dension moved forwards quickly with more products coming rapidly. 2007 saw the debut of the very first iPod kit to have an optional "add-on" to allow bluetooth connections through the iPod kit and your car stereo and steering controls. This meant that using your phone in your car was now seemelss. Next came the AV Extender, a clever device which allowed you to play the iPods videos onto your cars screen (or an external screen if needed). This sold out 3 times in its first 2 months.

Dension are now still the market leaders and constantly producing new products. Their line up now includes the Dension Gateway 100, Gateway 300, Gateway 500 MOST, Gateway 500 D2B, AVR, BTA1500 and much more!

In todays environment where gadgets are considered so important, the easiest question to ask is can you live without an iPod kit, NOT if you can live with one!

iPod kits started out in 1999, Dension were the first to produce one and are still the market leaders. Back then, the kits were very basic – only allowing a simple audio connection. Dension developed them further, adding features as they went along. Before long, the kits charged all iPods on the market and then moved onto starting to look at being able to control the iPods from the radio.

Control of the iPod from the radio or steering controls was a tough one, Dension found that the easiest way of doing this was to let you use playlists and select them using the radio preset buttons (1-5). This evolved further, bit by bit, until we have what we consider to be a fully functioning kit now with the iPod being able to be FULLY controlled from the stereo. Gone are the days of playlists controls (although if you really want to browse your iPods playlists from the car you still can). The days of iPods being controlled via artists, albums, podcasts and pretty much every way possible, are now here.

Here are the reasons why you shouldn’t be without an iPod kit:

·         Have your entire music collection at your fingertips while driving.

·         No need to keep messing about flicking through CD’s while your eyes should be on the road!

·         Entertain passengers with their choice of music without bringing a bag full of CD’s.

·         Keep yourself relaxed on your long journeys listening to the music that you want to listen to.

·         Make use of “add-ons” like Bluetooth adapters so you can connect your phone to your car stereo and make and received hands free calls, Video Output adapters which will allow videos on the iPod to be played through the car stereo and cradles and new cables to allow for a personalised installation.

The Dension Gateway 100 is the little brother of the Dension Gateway 300.

In today’s customer case study update we will be telling you how easy it is to integrate an iPod into an Audi Vehicle. iPod Integration doesnt get easier than this.

John Cafferty purchased from us a while ago but it was a perfect example of how simple it is. No contact was made prior to the sale, John simply ordered from the website. He opted for the Dension Gateway 100 for Audi because he wanted an iPod cradle mounted on his dash.

John filled out a questionnaire after his purchase so we know what he was happy with. He was delighted with the amount of detail that the website went into which allowed him to make his decision on which iPod Car Kit he wanted to purchase. The order arrived at 1:30pm and was delivered at 10am the morning after. John had booked an installation with our recommended installers the day after it was delivered.

John sent us a letter a few days after that to let u know how happy he was with the service & that his iPod kit was working excellently. The installers arrived at his work place and installed the kit within 30 minutes. John was delighted that he had saved nearly £700 when comparing the kit to Audi’s own kit.

iPod Car Kit

Audi iPod Kit

Another happy customer! If you want your case study adding to our blog then please let us know.

We want to tell you about our customers more and more so we will be updating our blog at least weekly with one of our customers experiences. He had a choice of Dension or Dice In Car iPod kits.

Calvin Divilak from North London runs his own eCommerse website selling bathroom accessories. He contacted our sales team via our ticketing system requesting some advice on what kit would suit his needs best. His choice was between the BMW Dension Gateway and the BMW Dice Silverline iPod Car Kits.

Calvin wasn’t that confident with auto electrics but with the right guidance was sure he could do it. Before his purchase we sent him a direct link to the installation instructions of both kits. It seemed that Calvin thought he would struggle to remove the stereo in his car so he opted for the Dice Silverline kit for BMW as it simply plugs into the pre-wired lead in the boot. From here he would just have to route the 5m wire which comes with the kit through to where he wanted his iPod to live.

Calvin ordered at 2:30pm on Thursday and left a voicemail on our sales phone line at 7:30am on Friday to say that he received the item. We received another call at 9am to let us know he had installed it and to discuss the best way of operating the kit. Within 10 minutes he had the hang of it and was another happy customer.

Its time to tell you about another of our customers. Andy Crawford from Leeds contacted us around a month ago and was more than happy to share his story.

Andy purchased a new (09) VW Golf from his local VW dealership, he was told be the salesman that an iPod integration kit was included in the price of the vehicle. Andy was delighted as he was also looking at a Renault Megane which didn’t have the option for iPod Integration, hearing this news tipped the decision towards the VW. Andy drives alot for his job and can average 200 miles a day in some weeks. He ordered and eagerly waited for his new car to arrive.

3 weeks later he got the call to collect his car and swiftly popped down to the VW Dealer. He was delighted with the car in every aspect but within a few hours (after playing with all the gadgets and getting used to it) he got around to testing the iPod kit. To Andy’s disbelief the only visible iPod connection was just a 3.5mm jack in the glove box. He scoured the vehicle manual and couldn’t find any information so he called the dealer and was told that the 3.5mm jack was the iPod Integration kit that he was promised. Andy pointed out that 3.5mm jacks cannot integrate an iPod with a stereo, it can only provide a simple audio signal. He was after hoping that his iPod would stay charged and have the ability to be controlled from the car stereo.

After a 30 minute conversation the VW Dealer finally decided to offer an integrated iPod solution to Andy for free of charge. The car was booked in and the iPod kit was installed. It turns out that the kit they were installing was a very poor, very old version of a Dension In Car iPod kit (infact, one of the very first versions produced nearly 8 years ago). It wouldn’t charge his iPod, it would only map 5 playlists on the stereo (he couldn’t control it via albums, artists, tracks or any other means), he couldn’t revert the controls back to the iPod, the kit didn’t send track information (ID3 tagging) to the stereo. All in all, Andy wasn’t happy!

We received a call at 3:30pm on a Friday from Andy, our first contact with him. He asked what could be done and if any of the features he wanted were possible. We confirmed that ALL the features were possible & infact very simple. He could even install the kit himself easily. Andy ordered & we received a call on Monday morning from Andy. Andy received the kit on Saturday at 8am, had it installed by 9am and all the features he was after worked just as he had hoped.

Andy was just another happy customer of iPodCarKitDirect. If you want iPod integration or an In Car iPod then give us a call, see what see can do for you!

Dension iPod car kits are a great option for those who want to be able to listen to their entire music library on-the-go. Dension has a variety of car kits available, ranging from a simple auxiliary cable, to an active dock which charges your iPod while it plays. Another popular model is the Dension ice>Link one, which works with virtually every vehicle, and plays your iPod via seven user-selectable FM frequencies. (Of course, with this model, getting great sound quality isn’t difficult to obtain, as its hard-wired connection into the radio aerial, and blocks out additional frequencies. The most popular and user-friendly models appear to be the Dension Gateway 100 and 300.

The Dension Gateway models (100 and 300) allow users to play music from their iPod (or any USB media player) through their car’s stereo. Users can choose to control their music and options through the Gateway user interface, located on the car’s dashboard, or via their iPod clickwheel. The Gateway also charges the iPod as it plays, and users can see album, artist and track title information on the dashboard screen (Where compatible), instead of having to look at their iPod’s screen while they are driving. Optional accessories include a Dension BTA1500 model (compatible with the gateway 500), which allows the user to make handsfree phone calls and play music stored on a mobile phone, or a Dension AVR, for playing iPod videos and DVDs. Available features vary, depending on the vehicle, but there is a Gateway interface that allows iPod integration available for just about every car.

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

Dension is in the process of releasing CAN kits for several different vehicle manufacturers. The New CAN Kits offer the same functionality and features as the non CAN kits with one exception. The gateway 100 and gateway 300 CAN kits provide text information from the iPod on the cluster screen in the vehicle. This is something that has never been available before.

The Dension Gateway Can System utilises the Cluster screen on the Vehicle to show text and track information sent from the iPod through the gateway system. Vehicles will show the information in different forms depending on the cluster present on the vehicle.

The Cluster screen is located near the speedometer on the dashboard in Audi vehicles and is usually available in 2 forms, Red and White. The Red screen is much more common as it’s the factory standard where as the White screens are usually found as part of an optional upgrade.

The gateway CAN kits are still compatible with non cluster Audi vehicles; however the text display will only work with the Cluster system.

For more information regarding iPod Compatibility, Cluster displays, the CAN system and other iPod car kits for Audi vehicles please visit Audi Gateway 100 CAN

Dension Electronics LTD has been working hard in the last 9 months to update their current range to work with more vehicles and iPods. After successfully moving from 12v to 5v USB, Dension has been looking at broadening their range of vehicle and manufactures covered by their highly successful Gateway 100 and 300 ranges.

The latest addition has been the long awaited Vauxhall kits. Being the most popular vehicle make on UK roads that have not currently got a compatible, high quality, iPod kit available, Dension have been eager to develop a solution. The new Opel kits, although only currently work with the CD30 MP3 head unit, covers most of new and recent Vauxhall vehicles, meaning that most Vauxhall owners have a fully integrated solution. Dension is working hard at expanding compatibility to other stereos in the Vauxhall range.

Another problem faced is the lack of text compatibility for the popular makes and models, mainly Audi, Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Vauxhall. With the recent introduction of CAN to the latest models of vehicles, Dension has been able to find a solution to this problem. If the CAN vehicles are equipped with a central display cluster (located within the instrument panel), the new CAN Gateway kits send the information to the cluster display, so you get a full text display of the Album, Track Artist etc direct from the iPod. If the vehicle does not have the cluster, track information such as “Track 1, Track 2 etc” will be displayed on the stereo.

Renault drivers have been deprived CD Retention in the past, which has caused some upsets as a lot of vehicles were ordered with CD Changers. Dension has now released a CD Retention kit compatible with the Renault Gateway. It will allow all of the current Gateway 100s and 300s to connect into the Tunerlist/Update List and Cabasse stereos without sacrificing the CD Changer.

The last major development from Dension worth noting is the new cradle inserts for the Active Cradle. They are for the new iPhone 3G, Nano 4th Gen, and iTouch 2G. The inserts are due to ship to the United Kingdom in the next few weeks, and will be available to purchase soon after from iPodCarKitDirect.co.uk.

Taking wireless technology to the next level, Dension Audio systems have developed the next step in connectivity for you vehicle to bring it into the 21st century. Using 3G and wireless technology, WiDrive plugs into a USB port inside your car, any USB port is fine, and if your vehicle does not have one the installation of a Gateway 300/500 will provide one.

Once connected, the WiDrive provides a wireless connection for all wireless devices in the vehicle. It allows you to connect to your wireless network at home, when your car is parked outside, meaning you can synchronise your vehicle with any information from your home computer, or wireless applications.

The system will allow you to keep your vehicles storage device up to date, by automatically updating itself when in range of the houses Wifi Network. You can be sat at your Pc one night, updating your music or film collection, and the information can be sent automatically to your vehicles storage device without touching a single button.

Another key feature of the WiDrive is its ability to provide a Wifi access point within the car, when used in conjunction with a 3G dongle. Plugging the 3G dongle into the device, the WiDrive then broadcasts the signal within the vehicle; in the same way your broadband router does at home. This means that one 3g dongle can provide internet for several devices. Laptops, PSPs, PDAs and other wireless applications will be supported.

In all the WiDrive provides a fully mobile solution for all of your electronic needs whilst in your car. Stay tuned for the next update, and when we have had a play with a beta model to put it through its paces.