Rob Clymo: Columnist - Tech & Gadgets
The Clymo Brief: The finest MP3 system?
Read more from columnist Rob Clymo here

People do all sorts of things to pass the time on a long car drive. A friend of mine on a mammoth road trip round the States a few years back used to spend his time chain-smoking. Not only did he find it a great way to while away a few hours, but it also gave him something to do with his hands – aside from steering that is.

Faced with an automatic car and endless stretches of highway, you don’t exactly need to be ambidextrous to do a good job of staying on the tarmac.
This turned out to be very bad for his health though. Not only was he under constant threat from the ravages of the ciggies, he also managed to set light to a brand new hire car after attempting to throw a fag butt out of the window. Unfortunately a gust of wind blew it onto the back seat.

Minutes later he had to pull off the freeway with clouds of smoke billowing from the passenger side armrest. All of this was in the days long before the iPod, when all there was for company were the limp-wristed playlists supplied by countless middle of the road US radio stations.

Serious music

Here, in the increasingly gridlocked UK, driving can be tedious at the best of times. Journeys are far better if you’ve got a gadget for hooking up your iPod to the car stereo. These FM transmitters connect your MP3 player to an available channel on the car stereo and play music through it.
Basic models cost just a few pounds but, on the downside, it’s very possible you’ll encounter interference – particularly driving through built up inner city areas with many radio stations.
However, if you’re really serious about your music, you’ve got to take a look at the Rolls Royce of iPod car integration; the Harmon Kardon Drive + Play 2.
This is much more than just a snazzy transmitter for playing the contents of your audio library and, with a price tag in excess of £200, it ought to be. It’s more like an in-car command centre, offering additional extras perfect for any kind of car nut, from the just-passed-his-test boy racer right on through to anyone with a midlife crisis and a penchant for sporty motors.
Hooking up

Inside the box are three main components. There’s a display screen, a hub for the cigarette lighter and a wireless remote control. You’ll also find cables for hardwiring the device into your car.

Taking this installation route offers a much better chance of reducing interference, but unless you’re a whiz with automotive electrics it is perhaps best left to someone who knows what they’re doing.

A base unit helps you fix the 3.5 inch colour screen anywhere in your car. This also needs to be done for the two inch wireless control knob, which in itself looks like something out of a sci-fi movie and works in the same kind of way as an iPod click wheel.
Once everything has been plumbed in, connecting an iPod is done using the port at the base of the music player. Navigating through the subsequent menus can be easily done using a hierarchical system, which is moved through using that natty little wireless scroll wheel.

Ease of use

The Drive + Play 2 is also compatible with other USB style devices, making it possible to hook up something like a Zune and play music in the same way. It’s also rumoured the device will eventually have adapters available for connecting a Bluetooth phone.

The big thing about this unit is its versatility when it comes to playing music on the move. You can quickly browse alphabetically sorted lists using popular criteria like Artist, Playlists and Songs using the iPod you’ve got connected.
After a bit of practice, doing this using the wireless control knob becomes a doddle. The system can generate automatic mixes too, which you can prioritise by deciding what content has high and low play priority.

All these menu options are easily controlled thanks to the great design of that clickable scroll wheel. More importantly, the colour screen is wonderfully laid out, clear and concise. You can also change the colour of this display to match the dials on your dashboard – an after dark experience that’ll impress all but the most jaded of motorists.

Mind you, for this sort of money you’re entitled to have a bit of wow factor thrown in. All in all, it’s a much better way to put a cigarette lighter to good use and a lot healthier to boot!

Recent columns from Rob Clymo:
Giving the V to broadband
BlackBerry geocaching

All of Rob Clymo's columns for Tech & Gadgets

Rob Clymo is a journalist employed on a freelance basis by Microsoft. The views in this article are those of the author and not of MSN or Microsoft.