Review: XtremeMac AirPlay^2

Looks like wires are out and wireless is in.

Almost every electronic gadget I see these days claims to be wireless. Bluetooth, FM band, IrDA, WiFi, WiMAX, Wireless USB! Whoa! No wonder my ears are ringing and my eyelids sweat. The airwaves are swarming! Time to get myself fitted for an aluminum foil deflector beanie I guess.

Yes, everything in the world, including Microsoft’s Zune, seems to be wireless these days.

Everything except for Apple’s iPod.

I wonder why.

Probably because not everyone wants wireless, in whatever guise, and Apple decided to focus on core functionalities rather than succumb to a never-ending bout of feature-itis. Or something like that.

Anyhow, the iPod has been by most standards a moderately successful product line despite not having scores of possible extra functions. In my sometimes humble opinion, Apple has, to date, focused on producing a very excellent general device and has left the options and extras to an ever growing market of iPod peripheral developers.

And so we come to XtremeMac’s AirPlay^2.

This is one of those accessories that expand an iPod’s capability for those that want it. It’s an FM Tuner. With the AirPlay^2, or similar devices, you broadcast your iPod’s audio to a very nearby FM radio, usually your car radio, though you could send a signal to any other sort of FM radio, as long as it’s pretty close at hand.

The AirPlay^2 is a really great little FM transmitter. It’s best size matched with a Nano, but will work with any 30-pin connector iPod after the 3Gs. There’s a port on the adapter so that you can use your existing car charger with it. It can tune throughout the FM bandwidth from 88.1 - 107.9 and displays the present frequency on a small but surprisingly bright LCD display. You can store up to three frequencies that you have found that are noise free for your area—a very useful feature in FM cluttered regions—and this saves you having to scan up and down manually while driving. As well, if you are in a really polluted FM environment, there’s a mono mode that uses less bandwidth and is meant to give an even clearer signal in these cases. Since my neighbourhood isn’t so FM busy, it wasn’t something I could effectively test except to say that it does work. If you need it, it’s there. And lastly, there’s an adhesive backed plastic dock thing included that you can put on your dashboard. If you have a Nano, this will hold tuner and iPod together on your car’s dashboard no problem. If you have a hard drive based iPod, don’t bother. It’s really not strong enough.

Overall, I like the AirPlay^2. It is very small and draws very little power, so I’ve used it for short trips without any power adapter at all and that’s what I like it best for. I keep it in my coat pocket, just in case I need it. At $49.95, it’s worth the money. If you don’t have a car power adapter, you might want to look at a unit that has a built-in power adapter, but if you already have one, or plan to use the AirPlay^2 predominantly for short trips about town, it’s a really good device. I give it an 85%.