I don’t drive, but my husband and I go on many trips using his car. And while I’m grateful to have a partner willing to do 100% of the driving, I can’t say I’m a huge fan of his vehicle: a 1999 Toyota Camry. Needless to say, it’s not exactly equipped with high-tech features, or even low-tech features (they have cassette and CD players, remember those?). After a journey many have spent listening to mediocre radio stations, I decided it was time to bring our vintage journey into the 21st century. I present to you: Lencent FM Transmitter. This $15 Bluetooth device lets us stream music and podcasts from our phones, and I don’t know how we managed to go this long without it.
Amazon
Old car? This won’t fix wheezing air conditioning, but it will let you stream music, make hands-free calls, and charge your phone.
$15 on Amazon
Now, full disclosure – I am definitely not a tech expert. To be honest, I almost didn’t buy this device because I was worried it would be too complicated to use. However, since it has been in our car for over a year, I can easily say that it is extremely user-friendly. It plugs directly into our car’s cigarette lighter, and all I had to do to connect it was tune the car radio to a free FM frequency, then tune the transmitter to the same frequency. From there I looked up the name of the device in my iPhone’s Bluetooth settings, connected, and that was it!
I wasn’t expecting good sound quality, but surprisingly the sound was clearer than I thought it would be when streaming music from my phone. is this unbelievable? Not exactly, but very listenable (and I’m sure the condition of the car speakers plays a part in that, too). During long journeys it is definitely better to be at the mercy of whatever radio station is in range!
Besides music, this Bluetooth transmitter also allows for hands-free calls while driving, and it makes me even more comfortable knowing my husband can focus on the road while being reachable. It also has two USB ports for charging two phones simultaneously and displays the voltage of the car battery.
The only problem I have is forgetting that the transmitter automatically connects to my phone when I get in the car. There were a few instances where we missed a turn when using Google Maps because the transmitter was unknowingly connected to my phone but not to the car, meaning the GPS’s audio was muted. I prefer to manually connect my phone to the device, but that’s a personal preference.
I’m not the only one grateful for the Lencent FM Transmitter; Consider some of the more than 39,000 Amazon customers who gave it a perfect rating.
“I have an old car (2003) so I don’t have an auxiliary cable and literally all my old CDs were taking up space,” one shopper wrote. “This is so easy and works so well… [Other] One great benefit is the forward and back buttons, so you can just press those buttons while driving instead of fiddling with your phone.”
And it’s not just for cars. “My wife and I recently had to rent a U-haul to get back to New York from GA,” another user shared. “I hate listening to standard radio, I have tons of music on my phone, and U-haul trucks don’t have the ability to play music via Bluetooth. … This went FAR beyond my expectations! The interface is extremely easy to use … sound quality was good (where the truck is noisy on the highway and probably initially admitted it didn’t have great speakers)…”
“I was expecting a microphone for hands-free calling. [which] wouldn’t be great,” admitted a third buyer. “I’m glad the mic is great. The person on the other end can hear me as if I were talking on the phone. Recommended!”
Of course, no product is perfect. One critic’s only concern? “You can only use one phone at a time,” they wrote, “But if you turn off the Bluetooth of the phone you are not using, you can switch between phones. … I definitely recommend it.”
One final fan said: “The only thing I would change is adding the option to turn off the bright blue ambient light. It can be distracting at night.” However, they appreciate the fact that it “connects quickly and the sound is very clean and audible.”
Amazon
Are you ready to travel to the future? Or at least the present.
$15 on Amazon
As for another road condition…
Amazon
Keep your eyes and hands on the road while keeping your phone nearby with this premium phone holder. It sticks directly to your dashboard or windshield (its strong suction power is designed to withstand bumps and twists) and even has a telescoping arm that lets you adjust the viewing angle.
“This was very easy to put together and quickly set up for a road trip,” one reviewer wrote. “I needed to use GPS and I had never been to my destination before. This made it easy to get there safely and easily!”
$11 on Amazon
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The reviews quoted above reflect the latest versions at the time of publication.