Apple recently introduced two new iPod Touch models, the 32GB version and the 64GB version. Apples main marketing push for these iPods was built around the bases that the iPods are "50% faster than previous models". As usual, most forum users were scepticle. As we all know, word spreads quicker than ever before with the internet becoming more important to our life’s – this makes it easier for rumours to spread. It only takes one respected forum user to dislike or not fully believe an idea and you have mutiny! Once this has happened, other forum users take his opinion as gospel and it spreads like wild-fire.

This push from Apple had just this problem. However, we have had a few test models and have compared them to older iPod Touch models (1st and 2nd Generation). We found the following results;

• Boot speed was cut from around 25-35 seconds to around 15 seconds.
• Opening web pages was cut from 30 seconds to around 20 seconds.
• Loading games was also cut in almost half. Games included Rolando 2, Tap Tap, Spore and more.

I think thats pretty conclusive evidence that Apple are on the right track here!

These new kits also appear to work perfectly with the Dice and Dension iPod Car Kits and In Car iPod kits on first quick tests (although tests will continue to confirm)

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 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.

For the last few months here at iPod Car Kit Direct, we have been racking our brains to find even more added value for our loyal customers. What could we offer to make your visit better?

There were plenty of ideas flying around the iPod Car Kit Direct offices but one of the ones that seemed the most useful was to start reviewing products such as the Apple iPods, iPod Cases, iPod Car Kits, iPod Applications, iPod Games, iPod tips and tricks and more! This is hopefully a feature that we will be bringing more of over the next year or so.

So here is the first review and what a place to start our review crusade on the new Apple iPod Touch 2nd Generation (We have tested the 8GB version but all 3 models are the same other than the obvious storage size). The Apple iPod Touch 2G looks set to parade itself along high street shops in the knowledge that it is simply the best portable media device available. This is made possible by some very simple alterations at Apple HQ…

We received our sample unit and unpacked. The first thing that was noted was the pure quality of the packaging, now we know that packaging doesn’t really effect the product BUT it does help to create a sense of excitement and tension as you just cant wait to get the thing open! It was neatly packed by Apple in its own little postage packaging box made specifically for the Apple iPod Touch 2G, a nice added bonus! There it was, inside, all shiny and full of confidence, I couldn’t wait to turn it on and get it going!

Once open we noticed the subtle design change to the back of the iPod. It has a new wrap around chrome back which isnt flat like the last iPod Touch, it warps itself around the front of the iPod so its visable when your navigating. Turning it on was a dream come true, this is what its all about…

The iPod functions in the same way as the older iPod Touch with a few very subtle design changes in the graphic layout, very pleasing on the eye. It sounds just as good, looks better and has the added bonus of the following features:

Accelerometer Graphics and Gaming: With its groundbreaking technologies, iPod touch puts an amazing gaming experience in the palm of your hand. These groundbreaking technologies built into iPod touch 2G — such as the Multi-Touch display, accelerometer and 3D graphics — immerse you in the action.

Musical Genius: The new Genius feature turns iPod touch into a highly intelligent, personal DJ. With a few taps, it creates a playlist by finding songs in your library that go great together. This is done using song tempo, song genres, song beats and more! Such an intelligent feature!

Applications: Taking advantage of its hugely powerful gaming pedigree, you can now play games and use applications easier than ever!

In conclusion, BOY are we impressed with this kit! We just really dont want to send it back to Apple! Gutted!

10/10 – The best Portable Media solution just got better! We didnt even think it was possible!

Dension are producing a new accessory for the gateway 500 enabling users to control the functions of the Gateway 500 in a much more user friendly way. The AVR unit will allow videos to be watched on original screen or on a display installed in the rear of the vehicle (IVE1000 still required to play AV).

Densions main reason for developing the new AVR accessory is that it allows multi source operations, meaning that the user can play multiple choices, so maybe you would like to listen to your favourite music on your iPod while driving & keep the Kids quite by watching their favourite Video in the back. This is set to be a revolutionary break through for Dension as multi source has never been done to this extent in car audio.

The AVR may be some time away as Dension are first trying to complete the production of various projects like the BTA2000 Bluetooth Adapter, the CD Retention kits for BMW & some secret projects we can’t tell yet!! (Prepare to be amazed because you are going to want some of these). However more information on all new products will be available soon at www.iPodcarkitdirect.co.uk

OK guys, GREAT news for those of you who have a new Apple iPod (Whether it be an iPod Touch, and iPhone, an iPod Classic 80gb or 160gb or the new iPod Nano 3rd Generation)and wanted to integrate it into your Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Renault and all other car brands – your options were limited if you were trying to get these working in your car, before now.

As you may or may not be aware, the new Apple iPod’s don’t have the same software/firmware on them as the old iPods. This made it very hard for the team at Dension and Dice Electronics to crack the software and allow integration into vehicles.

Dension (being the iPod car kit manufacturer market leaders that they are), have raced to the finish line with perfection, now making ALL Dension Gateway 100, Dension Gateway 300 and all Dension Gateway 500 products work with all the new iPods. DICE are a little behind but we are sure they will catch up.

Dension even have new inserts/sleeves coming soon that will allow all the new iPod’s to be integrated into your Dension Active Cradle. The best iPod Car Kits just got ALOT better!!!

A Washington, DC area father gave his daughter a gift of an Apple iPod Classic 80gb this Christmas, surely thinking she would be thrilled. Sadly, when his daughter opened the Apple iPod box she didn’t find everyone’s favorite MP3 player waiting for her. Instead she found a note which read, ‘Reclaim your mind from the media shackles. Read a book and resurrect yourself. To claim your capitalistic garbage go to your nearest Apple Store,’ and a few books about leading a more enlightened life.

The father returned the Apple iPod to WalMart, where he purchased it, for a full refund. WalMart explains that this had happened to another person,and that Apple is responsible for it (though it seems much more likely that someone bought a few Apple iPods, replaced the devices with these letters, and returned them).

Strange one there! He wont be wanting an Apple iPod car kit connection form us then!