Are you planning to upgrade your car CD player to include mp3 playback? There is a low cost way to do it without changing to a better CD player. All you need is a gadget called car mp3 FM transmitter. Installing the device is plain easy. You just need to plug it into car 12V cigarette lighter jack and you are ready to rock. Without much tinkering to the car audio system, you can blast your favorite songs through FM radio.

FM transmitter works by broadcasting wireless signal from external audio to the car radio. All you need to do is to set your car radio to the same frequency channel as the FM transmitter. Your songs will then be played by car audio system just like a personalized radio. As the mp3 is transmitted using FM signal, the sound quality is as good as music from radio.

The device is now in its third generation. It is more feature rich compared to previous generations. The first generation model is only capable of transmitting audio from external sources. After all, that's the main function of a FM transmitter. iPod and other mp3 players can be hooked up using 3.5mm input jack. The device has only 4 FM channels to choose from and LED is used as indicator. This is not good enough as it is very likely that all the 4 channels would have been occupied by local radio stations. This makes it hard to enjoy clear sound quality from your external audio.

First generation model

The second generation model adds the capability of a basic mp3 player. Using a USB thumb drive as storage, you can now play mp3 in the car. To overcome the chances of interference from radio station, the range of FM channels have increased. Since there are more FM channels available, LCD display is used to display the frequency selected.

Second generation model

Now comes the ultimate model. You have more flexibility to choose your source of music. Besides USB slot and input jack, a SD/MMC slot is included as well. You may now play songs stored inside a SD or MMC card. There is also a backlit LCD screen on the device to display track name and other useful information. It also comes with a remote controller, so those seating backseat can easily pick a song to be played.

Third generation model

With a 8GB USB thumb drive in hand, you may easily store and play thousands of mp3 songs in the car without much hassle. This is the cheapest way of adding mp3 playback to your car audio system. Check out the full review of a car mp3 FM transmitter at http://www.money-specialist.com/reviews/mp3_fm_modulator/.