Friends, it is not that difficult to find, even in this 21st century, some people still don’t understand the usefulness of iPod car accessories. This blog is aimed at those people who doubt the importance of these iPod car accessories. No, I am not aiming at any specific brand. Of course, I am not being paid by anyone to write about it, so I won’t. I am just speaking on behalf of iPod car accessories in general and if you ask me, they rock. Why? Here’s why.

After the enactment of California statute that makes using cell phones while driving illegal, it has become real hard to driving and use mobile phone until you are using something that synergizes both into a coordinated unhampered form of activity. Am I speaking Hebrew? Okay, I meant until you get something that simply makes using a phone a part of driving a car possible, you couldn’t use your phone while you are driving. Here’s where the iPod car accessories are so important. Without some iPhone car accessories, it was just impossible to use a phone while driving. And that made it mandatory to get an iPod car kit.

But if seen from a clearer perspective, it is very important as well. With the rise of car technology, survey stats corroborate that the percentage of road accidents have never been higher. If you dig deep into the cause, you will find out that most of them have been due to the negligence of the driver, and mind you, most of these cases of negligence are because of one simple mobile phone. You know it better than me. So, I strongly believe that this specific law ratified is for betterment. I really don’t want to see someone crash into roadside stall just because he was trying to make a call to his angry wife, to appease her. Now, the analogy may be silly but the situation and the consequence is even sillier if you think about it. De facto, iPod car accessories can be handy in such cases.

Now, having ranted on the ‘must have’ part of the story, I really want to ask you something. What do you prefer – reach to your phone every time you want to change the song or perhaps, watch a video, or just do some simple clicks on the steering wheel and you are done? Of course, even a seven year old will choose the latter option. That is it. IPhone car accessories might have been made a compulsory thing for every driver there is, but you should see the positive side attached to it. You get the free handsfree iPhone car kit, that syncs with your phone memory, updates itself on the newest downloads and helps you play the songs in your phone by connecting it with your car radio. Some high-end technology playing there but whatever it is, it is one heck of a thing that changes yours driving experience and lets you ride into the heaven.

We all probably get a little frustrated while driving on occasions, maybe because its been a long day, or possibly the start of one? One way to reduce the frustration of driving on today’s congested roads is listening to your favourite music.

There are many ways of listening to music in your vehicle whether it be via CD’s, USB stick or radio. However in my opinion the best way of listening to your favourite music is via your iPod. The reasons are obvious, you have all of your favourite tracks loaded and ready, its easy to carry around, Finding music is simple and the quality is second to none.

To Help Remove the stress and boredom of driving I’d recommend listening to the following 20 Classic Driving Tracks, Guaranteed to improve your mood.

1. Stereophonics – Dakota

2. Ocean Colour Scene – Riverboat Song

3. The Killers – Mr Brightside

4. Queens of the Stone age – No One Knows

5. Guns & Roses – Sweet Child Of Mine

6. AC DC – Back In Black

7. Queen – Dont Stop Me Now

8. Blink 182 – Whats My Name Again

9. Coldplay – Yellow

10. Greenday – American Idiot

11. Linkin Park – Points of Authority

12. Kings Of Leon – On Call

13. Newton Faulkner – Dream Catch Me

14. King Of Leon – Sex On Fire

15. Oasis – Wonderwall

16. The View- Same Jeans

17. Jay-Z – 99 Problems

18. Eminem – Lose Yourself

19. Vampire Weekend – A punk

20. Jay-Z – Young Forever

Have a listen to the tracks above, they may not be your thing however all of them will pick your mood up. If you dont like them just cycle through the next tracks on your iPod via simple interface on the Dension Gateway Lite or Dice Silverline.

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.

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

Electronic Arts are planning a huge attack on its eagerly anticipated Spore game soon, with the PC game complemented by several handheld versions, including DS, mobile and iPhone/iPod Touch.

News of these games makes for exciting times for all iPod fans as Apple plan to push Sony and Nintendo all the way for handheld gaming devices.

Spore is a very well designed game that takes reality to a new level. It became available in the US on iTunes only a few days ago.

However, by this morning the game had been removed from iTunes, and there’s no sign of it on the UK store either.

Judging by comments on the MacRumors story and forums that first reported the game’s availability, there may have been some technical gremlins in the game, with several users saying it hung at the title screen.

However, alot of people got it to work, and it seems the game will follow the pattern of the mobile and iPhone versions, with you guiding your Spore around primordial ooze eating smaller things and avoiding bigger things – while upgrading your Spore with new parts every so often.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Apple iPod game reappears this week, or if its release will be held back until the other versions of the game go on sale early next month.

iPod Car Kit Direct get asked lots about the best way to control your iPod from your OEM car stereo. In short, there is no simple answer! It all depends on your vehicle and the capabilities of the stereo inside. For very limited stereos like the ones seen in Renault vehicles (purely for example purposes) the best way would be to either set the interface to iPod control so you can do as you please from a cradle mounted on your dash, OR to set up playlists of your favourite music and save them as CD1 through to CD5 for quick access from the steering controls and radio.

For those of you who have a more advanced stereo seen in the likes of BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc etc, your best option is the option you feel most comfortable with because the iPod is your oyster! You can pretty much do completely as you please! Whether it be search for songs, albums, artists, playlists or just set it to shuffle. This can all be done from the stereo! Of course if you like, control can still be reverted back to the iPod at the flick of a few buttons.

Dension worked hard on mastering these interfaces for years and have cracked it 100%! Most brands who try to walk the path of Dension fail miserably as they simply dont have the experience and resources.

Call or email our staff for any questions that you might have about Dension, Dice, iPods, Integration – pretty much anything! We are more than happy to help.

Theres great news for you guys who simply love Dension iPod Car Kits! We have decided to lower our prices and pushed further away from anyone else selling iPod Car Kits.

The old prices (including a Dension Dock Cable or a Dension Active Cradle) came in at £104.96, with the new price updates, they are now coming to you at £99.93!!!

This is to push Dension as a brand and to allow our customers a better experience when trying to hook up their iPods into their cars. Sure, it means less money for iPod Car Kit Direct but our ultimate goal is to assist our loyal customers!

iPod Car Kit Direct are trying to make your Christmas more enjoyable than you could imagine, we are working hard trying to think of ways to make sure that your budget gets you exactly what you need!

The largest selling item at Christmas time in the last 4 years has been Apple iPods, this is set to continue this year with Apple predicting HUGE sales!

With this in mind, iPod Car Kits are a perfect present!

Last Year iPod Car Kit Direct sold thousands of Dension Gateway kits in December, this year we aim to bring you more choice!

From the first of November onwards, iPod Car Kit Direct have a special offer on every single Dice Electronics iPod Car Kit product that we sell! This special offer includes a 10% discount.

Sign up to the ICKD newsletter for the coupon code and more info!

The Launch of a new range of iPods always brings an air of excitement to all iPod fans. The New nano 4

^th

Gen dubbed “the thinnest iPod ever” has been the worst kept secret with in Apple’s recent history, images of the Nano were posted on and around many internet forums several days before the iPod was supposed to be released.

The new Nano has been totally redesigned from the previous shorter fatter shape of the Nano 3^rd Gen it now stands tall and thin resembling the first & second generation versions. Although styled on the first generation’s of the Nano the 4^th gen has been thoroughly modernised creating a much easier on the eye style. The Case is now curved oval shape, with the glass screen matching the aluminium housing.

The newest feature of the iPod Nano 4^th is the inclusion of the accelerometer, previously seen in the iPhone. This device allows you to shuffle tracks by simply shaking the iPod, the tracks will then automatically randomise. Another cool Nano feature is Cover Flow technology which allows you to browse album covers when the iPod is turned onto its side.

The good news for Dension owners is that the new iPod Nano 4^th gen and revised iPod Touch will work with the Dension Gateway systems if the newer firmware has been installed. Problems were caused earlier in the year when Apple changed the way the iPhone 3G charges to a newer 5V system, that the previous Gateway could not support. The Nano 4^th gen also has the 5v charging system so will work perfectly with the Dension Gateway. However due to the new shape of the Nano the Active cradle inserts may not accept the Nano 100% correctly so for the mean time its best to connect via the Dock Cable that will accept all iPods.

Dension has updated the firmware to allow the Dension gateway units to fully support the iPhone 3G. Previously the units accepted the iPhone and iPhone 3G and allowed the same functions through the gateway system but did not charge the iPod 3G, draining the battery whilst listening to the music, obviously causing an inconvenience to the user that needed sorting.

The problem was originally caused by Apple when they changed the way the iPhone 3G charged to allow better battery life, as there are so many more applications on the 3G than any other iPod’s (except the newest ones, available soon) The new firmware is also expected to support the new iPod Nano 4^th gen and future versions.

The new iPhone 3G has now got an insert to allow the phone to sit correctly into the active cradle, making it much more stable when docked.

Dension firmware can usually be requested from the dension support site and is downloaded onto the iPod then when the ipod is next connected into the gateway system the firmware will update.

The dension iPod car kits are now fully equipped to handle all of the new iPod’s and with the Dension Add-ons (CD Retention kits, Bluetooth adapter and AV Extender) soon to be released Dension have created a unique multimedia system that you are in total control off, giving you access to all of your music, providing a Bluetooth handsfree connection for your phone and an Audio Video connection to allow videos to be played on external screens. All this wasn’t previously possible with factory fitted headunits.