If you have an iPod mini you may need this cable in order to hear all your music through the Sync system in your new Ford. The Microsoft developed Sync system is truly a great piece of technology and it works as promised. There is one little catch - if you have an iPod Mini or Nano you may need a special cable. If you own a CD and ripped it into iTunes - no problem...
Certain tracks (mostly newer songs) will not play through Sync unless you purchase the cable pictured above. The problem seems to be files with an M4P extension.
You may be able to get the cable at your local Ford dealer but when I called mine, they seemed puzzled. Better buy one online - the Keyspan website will sell you one for about $50. I paid an extra $10 for shipping.
Blame Apple and thier curiously restrictive DRM policy for the extra $60 you're gonna drop. Of course you could just get a NEW iPod and that would likely fix the problem. I'm getting a Zune.
Brian Moody, Road Test Editor
redliner says:
11:29 AM, 01/ 2/08
Sour Apples are no fun.
ateixeira says:
01:39 PM, 01/ 2/08
$50 for a cable? $60 delivered?
A stinking cable?
Unbelievable!
I got an iPod shuffle for $79. That's pretty close to the price for that cable alone!
stovt001 says:
09:42 PM, 01/ 2/08
Why is it surprising you have to buy an insanely overpriced piece of equipment to make a crappy Apple product work? Why is it surprising that Apple just had to be restrictive and proprietary? Just drink your kool-aid and hand the nice man in the turtleneck your tithe...er...money.
Once my ipod finally dies from the cancer that has plagued it from day 1, I'm getting one of the new smaller Zunes. It will be so nice to have a properly functioning piece of rationally priced equipment again. An Apple a day certainly does not keep the service techie away.
estreka says:
01:38 PM, 01/ 3/08
I bought a MURO mp3 player 6 years ago and it is completely compatible with all Microsoft devices. It works exactly like a thumbdrive except it plays music, records, and broadcasts via an internal transmitter. It's an all-in-one media device, and they're cheap!
mirth says:
06:04 AM, 01/ 4/08
I checked the Sync site and it seems to only be an issue with the Mini and old click wheel iPods. Which sucks if you have those I guess, but that's the price you pay for being on the bleeding edge of technology I guess.
briancam says:
06:15 AM, 01/ 9/08
I got the cable last week - it works fine now. Every track plays - the key is seeing the Ford logo on your screen, if you see that you're in business, if not you probably need the cable.
The really cool thing about Sync is that you can ditch your MP3 player altogether and just keep your music on a memory stick.