iLounge

Griffin TuneFlex Aux Handsfree

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Monday, October 4, 2010
Category: Car Mounts - iPhone, Car Mounts - iPod, Car Power Chargers, Kits and Adapters - iPod, Car Power Chargers, Kits, and Adapters - iPhone

The latest iteration of Griffin's TuneFlex Aux line of combination car mounts/chargers/audio-out accessories is TuneFlex Aux Handsfree ($50), which uses a decidedly un-Griffin-like workaround to deal with the challenge of offering both audio output and handsfree car phone features. Unlike prior TuneFlex Aux models, which actually used the line-level outputs from iPods and iPhones for peak sound quality, TuneFlex Aux Handsfree uses the iPhone's or iPod touch's bottom port solely for charging, and has you connect a separate cable to the device's headphone port for both audio output and microphone input. This cable has a small microphone at one end, designed to sit right at the headphone port to pick up your voice at whatever height the device has been mounted at, and you connect it to the aux-in port of your car stereo, adjusting the volume manually. As with earlier TuneFlex designs, this one has a flexible steel neck; the new cradle passively holds iPods and iPhones in place with a soft plastic set of arms.