Digiana Audia X II FM Transmitter (20/10/2005) | nedge2k.com | Battery, Have, Really, Great, One

Want a quick, easy and inexpensive way to turn your Smartphone into the ultimate portable media player? Get yourself an FM transmitter!

FM transmitters basically plug into anything with an audio output and transmit the sound to a nearby radio. Now, although the idea sounds great, the reality usually isn't. In most cases, these devices are analogue and prone to poor performance but the last few months have seen the release of a number of digital transmitters which offer much better quality.

Some of you may remember a while back when I sold my beloved S12. Well since then I have been relegated to being a passenger in my girlfriend's 106. The first thing I did was install my nice Blaupunkt head unit and along with it, my bodged AV-in cable (Blaupunkt wanted £40 for their official cable!). Although my homemade cable was great a connecting the phone, laptop, minidisc etc. to the head unit, it did have a tendency to come loose when certain people (you know who you are) stood on it "by accident". It was for that very reason I longed for an FM transmitter. So I was delighted when the guys at Merconnect sent me over the awesome Digiana Audia X II FM transmitter.

Hand on heart, I honestly cannot find a flaw with it. The unit is small, lightweight, takes one AAA battery and has a stretchy lead to connect it to devices. The display is clear and easy to read. A backlit LCD display shows the frequency you are currently transmitting at and warns when the battery is low. The unit even has a power socket allowing you to plug a car/mains adapter into it and it even comes with a car adapter!

The fact that it has both a backlight and a power socket is quite a surprise considering the price. Even though they are relatively inexpensive features to add, manufacturers tend to reserve them for higher priced products but not in this case. It is, however, a shame that the power socket cannot be used to charge rechargeable batteries.

So how does it perform? Excellently! They say it's only supposed to have around a two metre range but I've had good results at up to ten! The best performance I've had is when it's used in-car, which is basically what it's designed for but it's still great in the house too. I regularly have it connected to the laptop/psp/phone and tune my home theatre into it. It really is a great little device and anything that helps cut down on dreaded wires trailing everywhere is great in my book.

Now, I know I said earlier I couldn't find a flaw with it, well that was a little white lie. Although the battery lasts quite a long time, there is no audible warning when it starts to run low. You'll hear the reception start to get really bad when the battery is just about to die but that's it. You do get a visual warning on the unit itself but, from my experiences, after I've switched it on I don't tend to look at it again until I turn it off. So I only know when the battery is dead when it's dead. A little beep when the battery has like 10% left would be really handy. That really is it's only flaw though.

I love the Digiana Audia X. It looks good, is very portable, has great performance and good battery life. If you're in the UK you will have to remember that technically, using an FM transmitter is illegal. Now I really think they need to revise this law to exclude devices such as this one. It really is ridiculous. It's not as if you're going to set up your own pirate radio station and take over the world with something that can only transmit short distances. Personally, I'm not bothered about it. I tend to think the Police have better things to do but don't take that as encouragement to break the law because, technically, by using one of these in the UK, you would be.

If this doesn't bother you or you're from a country where these are not illegal, then go buy one! You really will wonder how you ever managed without one. For me, this little baby has been a real godsend on long car trips and I wholeheartedly recommend you take a wander over to Merconnect and pick one up today.

For more information or to buy go HERE