So why do in-car iPod adapters still SUCK? Most require an ugly cord that runs into the stereo or glove box. Many require you to still use the iPod’s own interface while driving (terrible idea), or attempt to recreate the interface through the stereo – only to fail miserably (I’m looking at you VW).

So what do I want? I wanna get in the car and literally put my iPod into the dash, somewhere near the stereo. I want to control the music through a stereo based system that doesn’t suck. Don’t try to recreate the iPod’s interface. It’s not the same experience, nor should it be. AND I want it to charge my iPod while driving, so when I get to the gym or wherever, I’m good to go with a fully charged pod.

Is that SO much to ask? Come on VW. Step up!

Volkswagen of America to offer SIRIUS as standard equipment on the 2008 Volkswagen MY Touareg2, 2008 VW New Beetle, 2008 VW New Beetle Convertible, 2008 Volkswagen GTI, and 2008 Volkswagen GLI.

Read the full post here. Apparently you’ll receive 3 months of free service with the purchase of one of the aforementioned ‘dubs. I have to say that I’m fairly disappointed that VW didn’t opt for HD Radio instead. I hate the idea of paying for radio.

But I’m also very interested in the experience. What’s it like? Easy to use? Is it really CD quality?

If you own an HD radio or know someone who does, I’d love to hear about it. Pretty please comment below, or contact us.

Well… the question remains: is the PhatBox worth the large wad of cash?

Lets start from the beginning…

Installation is relatively simple. The PhatBox module plugs directly into the same port in the back of your car as the multi-disk changer. My two major gripes with installation are that you are required to buy a separate mounting kit, and that you have to cut a hole in the access panel to allow for the front of the PhatBox to fit.

The actual “DMS” module is nothing more than a wrapper for a standard laptop hard-drive…. My guess is that if the drive were to ever crap out, you could replace it with a larger one pretty easily.

The PhatNoise Music Manager software is pretty nice… Think iTunes, but a *little* more clunky. Still, it has a lot of nice features (aside from being the only software you can use to put music on the DMS). I organized my entire MP3 collection using the PMM software because it allows you to quickly set album-level id3 tag information *and* rename files to match the id3 tag information. The interface for hooking the DMS up to the computer is a little clunky… Because the drive is a standard laptop drive, it needs a little more “oomph” than a standard USB port can provide, so the accompanying power block (which is kinda big) will take up a spot on the ole surge protector.

Now for the actual in-car experience. The nice thing about the PhatBox is that you control your music through the stock head unit. There are no other devices you have to install or use than the mount in the back of the car. So how can you manage hundreds of albums through an interface designed to handle at most six albums? Very ingeniously. When you import music to the DMS, it also saves an English translation of the album name into the DMS. As you scroll through your albums via the head unit, the PhatBox reads the name of the album to you over the speaker. It will begin playing the album, and after five seconds, it assumes you want to listen to your selection. There is a small pause in the music and a “blip” plays to confirm this. Any time before the five seconds, you can resume perusing your music. My biggest gripe with this interface, is the stock head unit only supports 99 tracks (which the PhatBox leverages when displaying album numbers). SO if you have more than 99 albums, you have to toggle between the “artist” list and the “album” list to skip from one set of 100’s to the next. Still: not a big deal.

All in all up to this point, I love the PhatNoise DMS…. Then I had to find *the* single major flaw in this product. Periodically, when you fire up your car, the PhatBox will not mount, requiring the owner to go back to the back of the car, unplug the thing and re-plug it in. This wouldnt even be a big issue if it happened with minimal frequency, but as of late, it seems to be happening every other time if fire it up. I have resorted to keeping a few CD mixes in the side of the door as a contigency.

So the question remains? Is it worth it? Not for as much as they want it new. My recommendation: if you have an iPod, invest in one of the WIRED hookups that plug into the back of the head unit and power the iPod at the same time. Otherwise, stick to burned CDs and save some $$$.

UPDATE: after perusing the PhatNoise website, I have noticed that they arent even SELLING a VW version anymore… blast!