QuickSeek by Kensington, the User-Friendliest of All
Once in a while, a device comes along that is so amazing, I would feel criminally negligent not to write about it. The Kensington Quickseek FM Transmitter for your iPod is one such device.
Keep in mind, I am a journalist, so I am supposed to be unbiased, but Kensington is making that really hard for me. The Quickseek is the best example of a user-friendly product that I have ever seen. You literally plug the device into your iPod and within 3 seconds, it finds a dead station for you to broadcast music on through your stereo. No joke. Plug the device into your iPod and tune your stereo to the station that appears on your iPod screen. Music;instantly.
The Quickseek also plugs into your lighter/car outlet so that you can charge your iPod at the same time that you are listening to it. They have even included a spacer so that you can custom fit the device onto whichever iPod model you have. I have yet to discover an issue with the Quickseek, I spent 4 hours in the car last weekend on my way to the Sasquatch Music Festival listening to crisp, clear iPod tunes, and when I got back, my battery was full...amazing.
Comments
FRUSTRATING DOESN'T BEGIN TO
FRUSTRATING DOESN'T BEGIN TO COVER IT, once I figure out what station it is broadcasting on it's pretty clear and steady but every time I get in the car it is a 5 minute ADVENTURE to get it to play. When I plug it in it displays a station so I start a song and put the radio on on a station and I get nothing. So I press the center button and it shows a different station - but still not broadcasting on it. GRRRRR, so while it is displaying some station none of the buttons seem to do ANYTHING but if I wait till the ipod screen comes back THEN press the center button it displays some other station (that it's not brodcasting on). So I try the button on the side and it seems to scan for a while only to return to the ipod screen while broadcasting(I assume) on some station that it NEVER DISPLAYED on the screen. My only choice then is to push the center button and it displays a station and the whole thing starts over. At some point through the law of averages it starts to broadcast on a station that it is displaying and I can finally listen!!!! By then my short trip is over and I have to get out and when I get in, start all over. I'm sure there is some procedure to this that escapes me but the manual is a joke. It basically has 4 lines of instructions (that are in english) and that's it. If it were a cake mix it would say 1. Open the box 2. Eat the cake. I'm a computer professional and follow complicated instructions all the time but this is infuriating. Please help if you can give me a set of steps to get this thing playing in under a minute everytime I get in the car. Thanks in advance
I can't get clear station, I
I can't get clear station, I wish you could program below 88. I could get a clearer station in the 87 fm station range.
Hmmm I am not really sure why
Hmmm I am not really sure why that is happening, what model ipod do you have? I have an iPod mini, I dont know if that doesnt happen with mine because it is older? I agree that the Kensington product is pricey. The only thing that I can think of would maybe be locking your iPod to see if that helps at all? Although this means that you cannot switch around. If you have not been getting tech support, I would go to the Kensington site and leave feedback, at least this way if they release another version you might save future users from having this problem.
I'm having the same exact
I'm having the same exact issue as James with the screen going back to the first menu page instead of to the song list showing what song is playing. I'm also having a big problem with the station having to be changed so often. It doesn't seem to stay clear on the same one for long and it's REALLY ANNOYING!!!! And....there is quite a bit of static and hissing noise way too much of the time...I had a transmitter made by Monster. Returned it to the store when I saw it was $35 cheaper online, but after reading the great reviews about the Kensington, decided to go with that and am now regretting it and am seriously considering sending it back....If anyone has ANY suggestions, I'd love to hear them ASAP.
I plugged in my Kensington
I plugged in my Kensington QuickSeek FM Transmitter and it does not work.The plug turned blue so that I know I got power. Where can I find directions.
i agree and disagree with
i agree and disagree with your review. i love the product BUT there is one REALLY BIG design issue that really makes me think about returning it. My experience:
- I plug in the QuickSeek and whala! Music, good and crisp over FM. I am impressed and loving it, then I want to see what song is playing. So I pickup my iPod and look at the display.
- Interesting. It's at the top-level of the iPod menu system. Maybe I hit a button when I picked it up. So I navigate back to my playlist: Menu Root -> Playlists -> [playlist name] -> [select new song]. I am a happy camper everything is back where it shold menu wise and the tunes sound great!
- Poor reception area. I push the handy "seek" button on the right side of the device. Amazing .. it switches to the "tuning" screen and locates a new station which is 85% of the time better than the current one. I am loving this transmitter.
- The "tuning" screen disappears automatically so make sure you are paying attention to what it changes to.
- A few minutes go by, song changes. I think to myself what song is this? I pick up the ipod and look at it. Once AGAIN it returned back to THE TOP LEVEL MENU - AGAIN!
This can't be right, I thought. Other FM transmitters ALWAYS return you back to the "now playing" screen and if you click the "menu" button it will bring you back to your [playlist]. Why doesn't this FM transmitter keep knocking back to the top-level and making me drill back through the menu system? I am annoyed at this point, especially after spending $92 on the product (tax included).
I contacted Kensington technical support and their answer to this was, no joke, "read the manual". I read all 3 PDF versions that they emailed to me and none of them covered this problem. I offered to send them pics and they responded, "it is working properly".
So bottom line for me is that it SOUNDS great but the interface with the iPod is CRAP. What would you do? Return or Keep
i agree, it is a total
i agree, it is a total win-win product. thanks for such an amazing review!