Q: I recently purchased a 16 GB iPod touch. We currently have two older model iPods (80 GB video and 8 GB nano). It appears as if the iPod touch is not supported on the speaker systems we have (Apple iPod Hi-Fi and iHome).
Is there some type or converter that will allow this to work?
– Jim
A: Some older speaker systems and other Dock Connector based accessories do not provide charging capability with the newer iPod models due to some changes in the charging standards. Specifically, with the iPhone 3G, fourth-generation iPod nano and second-generation iPod touch, the 12V FireWire charging that was used by many older accessories is no longer supported.
Note that these speaker systems should continue to play content from your iPod touch without any issues – the device simply won’t charge while you are using it for playback.
Whether this is a problem or not would depend largely upon how frequently you use your iPod for playback in these devices and for how long, since you should still be able to get several hours of playback from a single battery charge.
If you do need to charge your iPod touch while playing it back from these speakers, there are accessories available that can provide the necessary power conversion. Two such options are Griffin’s Charge Converter (iLounge rating: B+) and Scosche’s PassPort Charging Adapter (iLounge rating: B).
