iPod FM Tuners / Transmitters

Reviews: Multimedia

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Mark Korff
Kurtis
DLO & Kensington
Sep. 4, 2006

Specifications

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Conclusion

It's difficult to identify a clear winner between these two products because they are pretty similar performance-wise in almost every way. The nanoTune is priced at $70, and the Kensington at $80, so they're priced similarly as well. If you're looking for a FM tuner/transmitter but you don't have a nano, or possibly want to use the same product with different kinds of iPods, the Kensington is your only option here because of the nanoTune's design constraints.

In terms of tuning quality, I'm not comfortable in deciding a clear winner. If you normally have very strong radio signals in your area the Kensington might be slightly better for you, while if you're in the opposite situation with signals not quite as strong, the nanoTune could give slightly better reception across the board.

The radio transmission quality test was almost a total sweep by the Kensington before I discovered the headphone trick. If you'd rather not have to connect your earbuds every time you could get by with the Kensington and still get fairly good reception, while the nanoTune wouldn't even be able to compete. However, I'd give a slight nod to the transmission quality of the nanoTune when the headphones are connected.

As far as additional features are concerned, the Kensington has the added benefit of offering the four preset buttons which can be used for both transmission and tuning presets. The nanoTune on the other hand will require you to manually tune to every station every time. If you have an iPod nano however, the nanoTune acts as a decent protective case and has the ability to go into "desktop mode" as well. These are the biggest differences between the two products and since we don't have a clear winner in the other categories, I'd suggest making a purchase decision based on which of these features is more important to you.

Kensington Duo FM Radio & Transmitter

Pros

Good sound quality when receiving a strong signal
Can transmit with decent quality even without headphones attached
Presets for both transmission and reception
Can be used with different versions of iPods

Cons

Doesn't provide protection for iPod
Screen is hard to read at angles

DLO nanoTune

Pros

Relatively good sound quality even with weaker signals
Excellent transmission when headphones are connected
Good protection and versatility for iPod nano

Cons

Terrible transmission without headphones
No presets
Can only be used with iPod nano
Screen is hard to read at angles

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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