14 DAY TRIAL // The popularity of the iPod has led to car integration becoming a standard feature for most manufacturers some time ago. However, while many car makers are now getting ready to offer iPhone integration, Toyota has just released its optional iPod Integration Kit.
The Toyota Apple iPod Integration Kit, first announced in early May, will work with all current Toyota and Lexus models. Once installed in the vehicle's glove box, the kit will connect the iPod directly to the car's audio system, allowing for all iPod functions to be controlled through the audio head unit or steering wheel mounted controls. The kit also uses the head unit's display for the iPod's text-readouts-such as track title, elapsed time and will also recharge the iPod's battery. The kit takes about an hour to install and has earned Apple's Made for iPod certification of quality. The "Apple iPod Integration Kit" retails for about $300.
Although an official solution from Toyota and certified by Apple, this kit is nevertheless expensive considering that iPod integration has been a standard feature with other carmakers for quite some time. The cost of the kit is so high that many users are much more likely to consider an entirely new third party stereo with an iPod connector than an integration kit such as this. Another alternative are third party integration kits that cost a lot less than this one. At $300 the Toyota Apple iPod Integration Kit will actually cost more than all but one iPod available today, and even then not by much.
Despite being an official integration kit that offers all the features ones needs to enjoy their music while driving, both the tardiness and the cost of this kit work against it. Considering the fact that Toyota is playing catch-up when it comes to iPod integration, their first solution isn't one that will see a lot of adoption.