Background

If you're not lucky enough to have one of these, there are a few more options. The one I used to use, and I think the majority of iPod in Car users use is the FM transmitter. After doing a lot of research a couple of years ago, I ended up picking the Monster iCarPlay Plus Wireless FM Transmitter. It was great when I moved to Houston in a UHaul, but we had to keep changing the station as we went across the country. Then, I used it for a while in my Saab 9-3 before replacing the factory stereo with a Sony stereo with a line-in. Chenging the stereo was messy and I had an ugly cable sticking out. Well, I used that until the engine blew in my '99 Saab at around 105,000 miles.

The Dice install

My current ride is a 2004 Honda Accord EX. The factory radio is a 6-disc in dash changer with XM radio. I dont use XM and the installation stops that from working. I purchased a Digital in-car entertainment (DICE) unit through River Oaks Car Stereo in Houston, TX. The model # for the Dice for my car is "i-Honda-R3". The list price on the DICE website is $159.99. According to River Oaks Car Stereo, there isnt much room to discount it, so they gave it to me for $149.00 + installation. I brought the car in and the installation was botched the first time! The DICE unit was broken. So, they returned it and I came back a week later to complete the installation. They did a great job of hiding the unit. The cable comes out in the center console arm rest and you cant see the iPod at all!

Operation

When you turn on the car, the DICE unit (usually) registers as a CD Changer. The iPod turns on and starts playing the last song. If there is no playlist you have defined, it will begin playing your tunes, shuffling all songs. The volume of course works, and the track change works. Skipping back and forth within a song works too, however, it is not easy to be accurate. Turning off the radio while the car is on switches off the iPod and the song stops and starts without any noticeable content missing.

Issues

Sometimes the Dice unit doesnt register when the car starts up. It's really unfortunate that the only way to get it to register is to turn the car off and then back on again. For my Honda, the CD text doesnt show up. This isn't really an issue and I was aware of it, however, on XM, the text shows up, so this must have been too big a technical hurdle for the DICE people to overcome for my car. Maybe the market isnt big enough for the Honda to make it work perfectly?

Conclusions

Although there are a couple of quirks, the DICE unit is an awesome way to listen to your ipod in your car. Audio clarity is excellent, and hiding the ipod in the center console means I dont have to mess with things when I get in and out of the car. The price is pretty decent considering alternative options are not as good and generally dont allow you to skip tracks.

This car is fantastic. It is the most beautiful car I have seen in a while. It is just a shame it is rumored to be costing $200,000. I would buy it for $80,000! Maybe I will just have to save for a used Aston Martin V8 Vantage.