Disqus
Image via: DSL Developments
Sounds simple right? Well perhaps not so much as you might think….
We recently bought a used car (from a dealer), which the previous owner had taken the time to buy an iPod dock for. Great, we thought, same connector for the iPhone, whack it in there! It was then I remembered that the electronics for the iPhones power connector have been “fiddled with”, and that “made for iPod” accessories (including chargers etc) don’t work with it!
In fact, “made for iPhone” accessories are a much rarer breed, and finding something that was going to play nice with the existing brackets was looking challenging. I eventually happened across the website of DSL Developments – a company that appears to have the widest range of Brodit adapters that I have ever seen! After some browsing, I thought I could see what I needed, but rang them to confirm – a very helpful chap called David answered the phone, and after 10 mins, I had found the solution!
(I should note at this point that the dealer had not been able to figure out what parts were needed to sort out a charging solution for the iPhone in the car – simply by sending David a picture of what was in the car, he could tell me that not only was there a Brodit Universal mount, but an FM transmitter, to allow the iPod to be heard on the car stereo head unit!!!)
A few more phone calls and emails, and the dealer of the used car I bought was able to source and fit the right parts to get the iPhone charging within days. But what are the morals of this story? Well, for starters:
(1) Car dealers are good at selling cars, but as good at sorting our in-car ICE/phone connection solutions
(2) Google is great (used it to find DSL Developments)
(3) Helpful people do exist (thanks David!)
(4) DSL Developments is really good at in-car phone accessories!
There are probably more learnings, but for now I’d suggest that if you are looking to get an integrated car kit, you could do worse than check out DSL Developments site here:
DSL Developments - Brodit UK
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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