I dont have experience with this unit specifically but i do have an alpine running in my car. i use my ipod with it but a few times i have forgetten my ipod so i tried to use my iphone 3g. it does work even though it sometimes says "this device is not compatible" what i do is start the music from the iPhone before i put it into the alpine connector. then it kicks in and starts playing through the speakers. i am not sure if i could control the music through the stereo or i had to use the actual phone.(i cant remember) but let me know if setup is an option for you and will check it out.

I have some experience with an Alpine unit that is pretty similar to the one in question. It looks like the one you're looking at is the 9872, and the one I have installed is the 9874. So the caveat is that I haven't actually used the 9883, but I'll describe how the 9874 works, because they look so similar. To actually use the radio's iPod funciton, you can go one of two ways, you can either use a standard auxiliary cable or you can use the Alpine KCE-422i iPod cable. I use both methods and I much prefer using the standard aux cable to control the iPhone 3G.

The KCE iPod cable works and allows the radio to control the iPhone 3G, but it will not charge the iPhone 3G. Another thing to mention when it comes to the KCE cable is that you can only control the iPhone by using the radio, if you have the iPhone plugged into the KCE Cable, you can't control the ipod part of the iPhone from the iPhone itself. I'm only speaking for myself here, but I just find the (using the aux cable) iPhone's iPod app way faster and easier to use than the actual alpine radio controls. Nonetheless, the Alpine radio does work with the iPhone 3G and I have no static and would be fine using it in place of the Aux cable if I didn't have it as an option.

Those are good questions and I'll do my best to answer them (again, with the caveat that I'm no expert). In general, I really like the 9883. I wanted something pretty simple that provided me the option of using either the iPod cable or the Aux input, and the 9883 does the trick. It's especially nice to have the Aux input right on the front of the unit itself. Part of my appreciation for the 9883 stems from what I had before it, which was just a stock radio with no Aux cord or iPod cable. Thus I was stuck trying to use an FM Transmitter that properly worked with the iPhone and didn't have an overwhelming amount of static (none of the FM Transmitters I tried worked well).

If you are going to use the iPhone 3G with the 9883 and the iPod cable for long periods of time, then perhaps it's not the best option for you, as the iPhones battery will run down. I am usually in the car for short bursts of time and I tend to use the Aux cord which then allows me to charge the iPhone with a separate charger. Most iPhone chargers are relatively inexpensive although you can find higher end ones which will definitely cost more.

I'm not in a position to properly evaluate if the 9883 is worth it or not for you, it just depends on your particular needs/circumstances. There are other Alpine Units that look like they charge the iPhone 3G (using a usb cable) but they look more expensive (The Alpine X100 might be one example of that). As far as I can tell, Alpine really doesn't officially support charging the iPhone 3G yet (although I think the X100 does actually charge it). You might also want to look at other brands to see if they offer a better charging option for the iPhone, Kenwood and Pioneer come to mind.


Again, I do want to say that I'm really pleased with the 9883, I can use the iPod cable if I want, and if I need to charge the iPhone, I can just switch it to the Aux Cord and then charge the iPhone with a separate charger. I also sort of think the Aux cord option give me a bit of added insurance in case Apple ever decide to change the way the iPhone works (with the headunit) when they upgrade the firmware.

Take care.