Design
Belkin's TuneCast 3 is an FM audio transmitter designed primarily for in-car use. Where its predecessor had a small and distinctly iPod-coloured stubby body that was quickly prone to becoming grubby, the TuneCast 3 more resembles a tiny MP3 player in its own right. It feels and looks an awful lot like the Creative Zen V Plus, in fact, right down to the onboard colour screen. Buttons on the TuneCast 3's face control the two station presets -- so you can switch to another frequency where you come into range of a competing station -- as well as manually change the frequency, while side-mounted buttons switch between stereo and mono transmission, and switch the TuneCast 3 on.
One of the lesser changes from TuneCast II to TuneCast 3 (aside from the strange switch away from Roman numerals) is in the promotion of the device; while the TuneCast II was promoted as an iPod product -- but could work with any player with a 3.5mm audio port -- the TuneCast 3 proudly proclaims that you can "Listen to any MP3 player in your car" with it. No great change of course, and Belkin's not daft; it still lists the exact iPod models that work with it on the back; the fourth generation plus of the base iPod, Nano and Mini to be exact. The omission of the Shuffle is a mystery, but we can't see why it wouldn't work.
The TuneCast 3 also comes with an in-car cigarette lighter adaptor, which will power but not charge the TuneCast 3, and a small mounting dock for sticking the Tunecast 3 to your car dashboard.
Features
The TuneCast 3 takes any audio source and transmits it on a set FM frequency. That's got to be the easiest write-up I've ever done of a product here at CNET.com.au, and that is basically what the TuneCast 3 does, although to be fair it's also what its predecessors did. There are a few key differences that this iteration has introduced, however, and not all of them are entirely positive.
On the plus side, the colour screen display of the TuneCast 3 is much easier to read in both bright and dark conditions, and the car mounting kit means it's easy to place it within the driver's view, so you don't need to suffer through crackly reception simply because it's not safe to switch channels.
On the downside, two features have been stripped from the TuneCast 3 that were present in its predecessor. Firstly, it doesn't have the ability to automatically power on the device when it detects an audio source. This is one of the nicer aspects of the TuneCast II; you just power up your iPod (or compatible player) and the TuneCast II will fire itself up while you get on with the driving. The TuneCast 3 can at least detect when the audio signal's gone missing; if you leave it sans sound for ten minutes it'll automatically power down. Secondly, the TuneCast II offered four user-defined preset FM channels, where the TuneCast 3 only offers two.
Performance
It did take us some time to adjust to the TuneCast 3 transmitter, primarily due to the lack of automatic power-on, and the slower start-up time, which is indicated on the display as an expanding bar. Once we'd installed it and had some minor play, it quickly became second nature. Belkin rates the TuneCast 3 as having "up to" 20 hours of battery life, although that's a highly relative figure depending on how keen you are on cheap alkaline batteries.
We tested the TuneCast 3 head-to-head with the older TuneCast II, driving around Sydney's busy -- and rather radio-soaked -- streets. The difference between the two units placed at the exact same distance from our car radio was remarkable. In areas where the older TuneCast II simply gave up and let stronger signals kill our musical enjoyment the TuneCast 3 powered through, albeit with some crackly performance. This is where the otherwise stupid-seeming mono option also comes into play. If you're prepared to sacrifice a little audio quality -- and if you're listening to already compressed MP3 music through a car stereo over FM transmission, it's probably a safe guess that you're not that fussy -- then switching to mono can greatly improve the signal pickup, and turn a crackly stereo track into a smooth single-source audio experience. The included car docking station also improved signal reception, at least in our test example, because our dashboard had plenty of space to put the transmitter right next to the radio itself.
It's a bit of a tough sell to suggest that existing users of the TuneCast II (or, for that matter, any competing FM Transmitter -- well, maybe not the i-rocks Car DJ) should pick up the TuneCast 3 as an upgrade path, but for those who want to make their portable music players into transport-able music players, the TuneCast 3 is an exceptionally good buy.
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Ger
25/08/2008, 06:24 PM
rating
1/10
Signal strength is lousy (weak and noisy). Almost ran into another car desperately trying to find an appropriate channel and signal. It's a bloody shame Belkin sells a piece of **** like this !
Cons: Basically the device doesn't work. It's a waste of money !
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AngryTunecastOwner
22/07/2008, 07:56 AM
rating
2/10
so hard to get good sound quality, and as you drive u pick up more noise on the airwaves. the signal strength is so weak it gets overpowered by local radio stations 20kms away.
Pros: Looks good
Cons: Basically doesnt work.
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WurstEver
13/07/2008, 12:32 AM
rating
4/10
I recently used the built-in FM transmitter of my friend's Nokia N78. It performed infinitely better than my Tunecast 3. I had no idea what awful performance I had been putting up with. The N78's signal strength and clarity made the Tunecast 3's performance look really bad.
Pros: Easy to operate
Nice display
Cons: Signal is very, very weak
Beaten hands-down by N78 built-in transmitter
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xvicx
05/05/2008, 05:55 AM
rating
9/10
Hey I’m the owner of the TuneCast II. Was tiered of the 60 second turnoff timeout so got a the new TuneCast III. This new one is not as powerful as the version II. The TuneCast III sound quality is better that the version II but for the FM transmission part, it is not. It doesn’t transmit as far like the previous one :-( Maybe one day one will come up with a HACK/MOD for the TuneCast III to expend FM transmission signal?
Pros: 10 minutes auto shutdown
Better sound quality
Smaller in size
Better battery performance
Cons: Doesn’t transmit as the previous version TuneCast II
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nicjac
04/04/2008, 01:09 PM
rating
8/10
I use this at home and in the car.
It works well everywhere I've been throughout Melbourne (inner and outer suburbs) and rural Vic. I've only had one time when the reception wasn't so good.
Pros: Easy to use.
Compatible with any device with a headphone jack
Cons: Can be hard to find a frequency to tune into.
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Chupacabras
02/04/2008, 03:59 AM
rating
2/10
Useless. Period. Too much noise. Absolutely unsuitable for transmission/reception of music of any kind.
Pros: Nothing.
Cons: Noise. Noise. Noise.
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Rusty79
22/03/2008, 12:49 PM
rating
2/10
I agree with the others on this one. The reception is pretty bad even in areas where there is no competing radio stations. If the tunecast and mp3 player are strung as far apart as possible this helps things, but still the whole thing is woeful. I wouldn't waste my money on a like device again. Just wish I had read these reviews before wasting 65 bucks.
Pros: Plays scratchy music when there's nothing else available
Cons: Lack of signal strength
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Chas
12/01/2008, 11:45 AM
rating
8/10
It works perfectly with my iPhone and Nokia N95. Of course te sound quality can't be compared with the car built-in stereo CD player. Although interference is always the issue for FM transmitter, this one is the best in the market. I have no problem of setting channel and its signal coverage is good.
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zidanee
01/11/2007, 09:45 PM
rating
2/10
useless, too much noise..
Pros: NON
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Matt B
16/09/2007, 05:32 PM
rating
2/10
Crap, just plain crap.
I couldn't believe how bad it was. Constant static on every station.
Luckly I bought it from Bond & Bond who have a return policy which meant I could simply return it _____ Thank you Bond & Bond.
Pros: Looks nice, feels good, can tune into any frequency.
Cons: Rubbish reception, static everywhere you try, impossible to use, even when right up next to the stero.
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