I recently acquired an iPod mini and love it. I am researching the best approach for getting the signal to my FM radio. There are two options and I am still weighing which one is best.

FM Modulator - needs to plug into your antenna therefore you have to pull the deck out of the dash. Not a major problem but it makes it less portable and it is not an option if I want to take the iPod in a rental car with me. It provides the best signal though with no interference

FM Transmitter - There are a few options in this area and the Transmitter is the most flexible but can be susceptible to interference. I am looking at the Belkin TuneCast II.

Any thoughts on the best options or experience with either option feel free to comment.

If you have the bucks, buy a beemer. They have an input and controls for the iPod in the car now. It would be nice to see if any car stereo vendors are building iPod controls into their units now.

Thats a pretty expensive solution but an elegant one. Maybe the BMW should come with an iPod :-)

I use to use an fm transmitter, but it is definitely a hassle if you travel outside an area. Typically have to change a setting on the transmitter then change the tuning on the fm radio.

Now I have a cd player for my car that has a mini jack on the front for an aux input. I plug my original NOMAD Jukebox into it and it works like a champ!

BTW, I replaced the original 6 gig hardrive on the Nomad with a 40 gig and carry all my music everywhere.

Kay, you clearly have too much money/time on your hands! Which is why I just upgraded my mobile phone to a Nokia 6210 (with built-in FM radio :) )!

I would recomend upgrading your head unit to something like the one with an aux input as mentioned above. I currently have no head unit in my car, and use my ipod plugged directly into two amps in the truck to power my speakers :o) Who wants radio when you have all the songs you like with you?

(ok ok, I do wish i could listen to NPR sometimes, and especially Car Talk, but I'm happy w/o the commercials!)

The BMW's control over the iPod pales in comparison to the control you'll have with an Alpine head unit and Alpine's Ai-NET to iPod interface due out August/September.

Plus, you have to have a 2002 or later BMW to get it to work. :(

Here's the best solution I've seen so far short of the Alpine head units:

http://www.pac-audio.com/