Review: Belkin Tunebase FM

We're all familiar with the FM tuner options used to play our iPod music on our car radios. Belkin's Tunebase FM does that just fine, but is designed specifically for the iPhone. Pop your Apple phone in the swivelling cradle and it doubles up as a hands-free device, with a flexible neck to position the screen any way you want.

Does it work?

While it does work, the Tunebase FM suffers from the same problems present in all the other radio transmitters: noise and static. While things have come a long way towards improving reception, the transmitters in these devices can only be so powerful before they start treading on dangerous ground.

ICASA determines who can and cannot use certain frequencies, and transmitters of a certain strength need a licence. And so we're stuck with in-car FM tuners that get interference from local radio stations, every now and then.

To help combat the signal problem, the Tunebase has Clearscan technology. This lets it scan the entire FM band to find the least-cluttered frequency - something that works well, in practice.

Two frequencies can be saved on the Tunebase, selectable using controls on the adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter/power socket. This also has an LCD display to show the selected frequency, which is less useful than it seems because swapping between frequencies will make the car radio tune to the new one automatically. Thanks, RDS technology!

The unit itself is pretty rad, too. There's that flexible arm which can hold its position even during manic driving, and the base on the end can swivel around without much fuss. The latter comes in handy when you've loaded navigation software on your iPhone.

Many different devices can fit into the cradle - it uses a standard iPod dock connector, while the clip can be adjusted for size. An audio cable needs to be connected to get sound through the car radio, and this enables the dock to act as a hands-free device, since the audio connector taps into the microphone circuitry.

Hands-free calls... work. Call audio is pumped through the car speakers, but the microphone will only work well in cases where the phone is closer to shoulder level. This might be a problem, since not many cars come with the power socket in the dashboard. In fact, a lot of them have the socket down on the centre console. Or inside the armrest.

And this is perhaps the biggest downfall of the Tunebase FM. It's an adequate solution for folks who don't have a car radio, or car, with built-in auxiliary connectors, USB ports or Bluetooth. Modern cars have these as standard, or low-cost options, and they offer full iPod integration, right down to browsing your music library using the steering controls.

Where the Tunebase still stands a chance is with its charging dock, and the swivelling arm, placing your iPhone in a convenient position.

Should I buy it?

If you drive something with an auxiliary input (the little audio connector that looks like it takes a headphone plug) then Belkin has the Tunebase Direct. This hard-wired solution has the same flexi arm, dock and charging capabilities of the FM, but offers much better audio quality.

If you're stuck with a normal radio, and don't want to shell out R4 000 for an integrated iPod dock, the FM unit will be a decent solution, especially at the price.