Dension’s latest dive into the integration market has brought about a product that’s designed to partially integrate music and handsfree features into all vehicles. The Dension iphone Car Dock offers basic handsfree functions played through the cars audio system as well as music from the iPhone.

The Idea was brought about from the development of the Gateway five and Gateway Blue, which offer a more integrated solution than the car dock. However it was clear that a universal product which fits into all cars (Aerial adapters may be required) would be much more beneficial to the majority of the market. The Kit still offers the great music quality of previous Dension products but now includes handsfree for incoming and out going calls.

The iPhone Car Dock connects to the stereo via the aerial connection (like the Ice Link One) offering the same music integration, however the Car dock also provides additional handsfree functionality using the same connection through the car speakers. Offering excellent quality audio for during the conversation for both parties. The external microphone picks up your voice and makes your voice much clearer on the other end of the line.

The device is controlled via the iphone interface or the specific app found on itunes, which actually makes the functions easier to use. Simple touch buttons allow you to navigate to your music or through your phone book to make a call. When a call comes in the device automatically mutes the music ready for the conversation (played through the cars speakers).

One of the big benefit of the iPhone Car Dock is the removable cradle which can be mounted semi-permanently to the dash or to the windscreen via the suction mount. This system allows the cradle to be easily moved, rotated & positioned into the most comfortable place that suits your driving position & kept vertically or positioned horizontally when requried, if for example your have a map app open.

Overall the quality of the product is very good. Its build is sturdy but usable and the quality of the handsfree functions are second to only the very best kits on the market. Music integration is a big plus, but this is what we come to expect from Dension products. From out tests we’re very happy with the product and would score it 4.5/5 unlike the tomtom kit which has some poorer reviews from customers.

But honestly, I just hated the installation process.
I was never good at mathematics, and God, I was a technophobe. I just hate those hi-tech stuffs that have wires coming out from every side of them. I just get so confused on where the red wire is going or the black wire connects. And I am pretty sure I have many friends, readers here who think the same. They are good with affiliate marketing business, they like being the financial analyst but figuring the wires and chips are never their cup of tea.

Here, let me tell you something. My brother helped me a lot when it came to installing the Dension iPod Car kit, but most helpful was that short simple manual guide that we got from the supplier. It was real quality. It told you in step-by-step process, how to dissemble it and then assemble it, all in an simple way a newbie can understand.

Well then again, I just love my Dension iPod car kit now. It is sleek and fashionable, and I just boast about it to my friends. It just suits my personality. Style meets style! But apart from that, how can I deny the legal rules that I have to abide by, in US or most countries. You cannot use a mobile phone while driving. No, let me rephrase that. You can use a phone. But you cannot with a phone with your ‘hands’. No, you are not supposed to use them with your legs. Okay that was a bad joke.

But it sure is dangerous. But after getting that cool Dension iPod Car kit, I not only added some character to my style (that’s what I think anyway!), it just made it so easy for me to receive phone calls while driving via the BTA1500 bluetooth module. It has some cool features. I just have to cycle through the options using the vehicle controls and it will load all of my contacts for me.

Recently, I saw there has been some updated products. Perhaps, I will get myself the newest Dension iPod car kit very soon…lol.

iPod car accessories are useful for long journeys, car accessories for the iPod and iphone can range from protective cases, to protect against scratches and more serious damage, Through to fully integrated iPhone car kits which provide a digital connection combined with iPod and music control through the stereo / steering wheel adapters and charging facilities.

Music and applications can be downloaded instantly, negating the need to travel to a store to purchase CD singles or albums. Which except for a few people, was seen as a hindrance. No longer do we need to carry stacks of disc’s and filter through them to find an album for what ever mood were in. Put simply the iPod has revolutionised the music industry and carried it into the future, making music more accessible in our daily routines.

Many other companies have joined the music revolution in a bid to further improve the way we control and listen to our favourite albums. It has become big business, with more and more companies offering improved quality and functions for home audio and visual systems as well as car and mobile audio. One of the market leaders in the car audio field, Dension, have been developing new systems which allow full control of the iPod through the stereo and entertainment system in the vehicle.

For many the iPod symbolises mobile music, and more recently mobile entertainment with the release of the iPod touch and iPhone, and the continuing developments Apple are making in the Video and TV area. Dension have adopted this ethos of entertainment on the move and produced iPod car kits that surpass any other kit on the market in terms of quality and integration.

iPod integration is key for quality and ease of use of the kits, if they don’t match Apples exacting standards for the iPod there is no point in developing them. With this in mind Dension set about improving previous versions of iPod kits they already produced. (Which they were already market leaders) and come up with a kit that ensures great quality audio and simple easy controls. The Gateway Lite was born.

The Gateway Lite is the next step up from the Gateway 100 / Gateway 300 ipod car adapters, The lite offers a much improved navigation system which was not available on the 100 / 300 unless text compatibility was available on your vehicle. By making the system easier the Gateway Lite is much more effective when making a track selection, reducing the browsing time and frustration this may have caused.

Combined with USB input the Gateway lite makes your favourite music truly mobile, allowing you to carry you entire music collection in your vehicle, you no longer need the poor quality and probably illegal FM transmitters. Simply choose the Gateway Lite.

Dension are market leaders in iPod car kit integration. Their iPod car adapters provide better quality audio and track navigation and selection over any other kit on the market. Drive, Control, Charge and Play your iPod with Dension.

Once you’ve decided to purchase an iPod car kit, inevitably you’ve chosen the Gateway Lite produced by Dension. You only have one further obstacle to hurdle, the installation. There are two options available to you for installing the kit. The first option, Pay a professional engineer to install the kit, either travelling to them or they can travel to you. The second option, is to install the iPod car kit yourself. Which is by far the more cost effective option and probably most convenient too. See below an installation guide to judge whether your capable of the installation, should you choose to go ahead.

The installation of the Gateway lite is fairly simple and pain free. Although this is a generic installation guide, it will suit 99% of vehicles.

Before you begin the installation, please remove the keys from the ignition and check that any radio codes are recorded for future reference.

Step one is to remove your car stereo, this will usually involve radio removal tools which will vary depending on what vehicle you have. Radio removal keys are readily available and the majority of online shops or traditional vehicle based retail outlets stock them. Radio removal tools are extremely convenient and can save you a lot of time and energy. This should take between 1-5 minutes

Step two is to remove the harnesses from the back of the stereo, Most vehicles have a Quadlock connection, this is a fairly large connection block that houses the wires to and from the stereo. If the Harness is a Quadlock connection the Dension harness will usually replicate the original harness exactly. The Dension Lite harness simply fits into the vehicle harness and then back to the stereo, basically a link between the vehicle and the stereo.

If the vehicle doesn’t have a Quadlock connection, the gateway lite harness fits into the CD changer port on the the back of the stereo. Usually located in the top right of the stereo as your looking at the back of it. Most of the time the harness simply connects straight into place, however occasionally the harness may have to be connected into the original harness then re-connected. This stage should take 2 minutes.

Step three is to connect the Gateway Lite PCB (the little black box) to the dension harness, its the most straight forward step of the installation. This will take 30 seconds.

Step Four is to connect the iPod dock and USB extension cable to the PCB, again very straight forward. Once this stage is done its usually a good idea to turn ignition on to check the system works. (Follow the user manual to perform the operations for iPod/USB track selection) Again this will take 1-2 minutes.

Step five, Route the cables through into position within the vehicle, this is usually the most time consuming part of the installation. Depending on the vehicle this can be a complex job and may require the removal of some of the fascia / Dashboard. This part of the installation may take up to 30 minutes depending on difficulty, especially if you want a professionally installed look.

Step Six, replace the stereo into its fittings. Read the operational instructions from Dension and enjoy the use of your iPod car kit and all of your music while your driving.

The 100 iPod kit offered track selection from the steering wheel controls / Stereo or the iPod, in which either artist, album or playlist could be selected. However the complexity of the gateway 100 system was not well suited to the majority of vehicles stereos, which cannot provide text support. This meant users would have to remember which combination of functions would enable iPod or stereo mode, and allow selections of tracks depending on browsing type, something that frustrated a lot of users.

The problem isn’t necessarily with the Dension unit, as the system works perfectly with text compatible radios. The problems occur when no text is available, and unfortunately most factory radios are not capable of displaying text rendering the gateway 100 kits difficult to use.

Dension have realised this problem and have improved the browsing system used in the new Gateway Lite. Dension designed the Gateway Lite specifically for none text compatible radios, and by doing so improved the browsing functionality by simplifying the track selection process.

Rather than the complex deep structured system in the Gateway 100, the lite is controlled via the iPod click wheel to browse through the iPod folders. Once the source is selected, tracks can be flicked through using the steering wheel controls for ease of use.

However the improved browsing functionality isn’t the only addition to the gateway lite, Dension have added a USB input into the system as standard. Enabling an additional 8 to 16Gb of music to be browsed through. Browsing through the USB drive is as simple as the iPod, CD button 6 selects the USB and 1-5 select Playlist, albums or artists.

In short Dension have yet again improved upon previous kits. Increasing the usability, simplifying the operations and adding additional source selections, you might think all these benefits come at a cost. You’d be wrong. The gateway lite is actually cheaper that the Gateway 100 and Gateway 300. The only downfall is that it doesn’t provide any text compatibility, however the this will never be available for those vehicles without CAN Bus systems.

Its time to tell you about another of our customers. Andy Crawford from Leeds contacted us around a month ago and was more than happy to share his story.

Andy purchased a new (09) VW Golf from his local VW dealership, he was told be the salesman that an iPod integration kit was included in the price of the vehicle. Andy was delighted as he was also looking at a Renault Megane which didn’t have the option for iPod Integration, hearing this news tipped the decision towards the VW. Andy drives alot for his job and can average 200 miles a day in some weeks. He ordered and eagerly waited for his new car to arrive.

3 weeks later he got the call to collect his car and swiftly popped down to the VW Dealer. He was delighted with the car in every aspect but within a few hours (after playing with all the gadgets and getting used to it) he got around to testing the iPod kit. To Andy’s disbelief the only visible iPod connection was just a 3.5mm jack in the glove box. He scoured the vehicle manual and couldn’t find any information so he called the dealer and was told that the 3.5mm jack was the iPod Integration kit that he was promised. Andy pointed out that 3.5mm jacks cannot integrate an iPod with a stereo, it can only provide a simple audio signal. He was after hoping that his iPod would stay charged and have the ability to be controlled from the car stereo.

After a 30 minute conversation the VW Dealer finally decided to offer an integrated iPod solution to Andy for free of charge. The car was booked in and the iPod kit was installed. It turns out that the kit they were installing was a very poor, very old version of a Dension In Car iPod kit (infact, one of the very first versions produced nearly 8 years ago). It wouldn’t charge his iPod, it would only map 5 playlists on the stereo (he couldn’t control it via albums, artists, tracks or any other means), he couldn’t revert the controls back to the iPod, the kit didn’t send track information (ID3 tagging) to the stereo. All in all, Andy wasn’t happy!

We received a call at 3:30pm on a Friday from Andy, our first contact with him. He asked what could be done and if any of the features he wanted were possible. We confirmed that ALL the features were possible & infact very simple. He could even install the kit himself easily. Andy ordered & we received a call on Monday morning from Andy. Andy received the kit on Saturday at 8am, had it installed by 9am and all the features he was after worked just as he had hoped.

Andy was just another happy customer of iPodCarKitDirect. If you want iPod integration or an In Car iPod then give us a call, see what see can do for you! ]]> http://www.incar-blog.com/2009/09/23/customer-case-study-vw-ipod-car-kit/feed/ 0 http://www.incar-blog.com/2009/09/03/dension-ipod-car-kits-the-users-choice-for-ipod-integration/ http://www.incar-blog.com/2009/09/03/dension-ipod-car-kits-the-users-choice-for-ipod-integration/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:58:08 +0000 info http://www.incar-blog.com/2009/09/03/dension-ipod-car-kits-the-users-choice-for-ipod-integration/ Link [...]]]> Dension iPod car kits are a great option for those who want to be able to listen to their entire music library on-the-go. Dension has a variety of car kits available, ranging from a simple auxiliary cable, to an active dock which charges your iPod while it plays. Another popular model is the Dension ice>Link one, which works with virtually every vehicle, and plays your iPod via seven user-selectable FM frequencies. (Of course, with this model, getting great sound quality isn’t difficult to obtain, as its hard-wired connection into the radio aerial, and blocks out additional frequencies. The most popular and user-friendly models appear to be the Dension Gateway 100 and 300.