would it be possible to splice the wire shown aboe to turn it into a usb male end instead of the apple dock connector? i'm curious because i don't have an ipod and would like to use my mp3 player's usb port for audio instead of the headphone jack. plus maybe i'd get lucky and my stock controls will skip tracks as well as keep my zen micro charged. just food for thought

 

in theory I see what your saying and it should work. But you would have to be pretty knowladgeable on the subject. Maybe buy an extra ipod->comp chord and see what colors run where.

 

Very difficult (if I had to guess).

That's just one drawback to the "non-apple" stuff on the market. There's no aftermarket.

 

You could email the Neo makers and ask them if they have a USB connection like you want, or if they plan on making one too.

 

just called ion and they pushed me off onto some other company that didn't care what i was talking about. so the offical answer so far is NO. i emailed ion directly and hope it finds its way to someone who actually cares. if not then i guess i might have to get my hands dirty and see for myself.

 

No -- there's no standard protocol for controlling an MP3 player over a USB connection. It cannot work.

 

hmm well i've found the wiring guide for the dock connector and i've also found a place that sells female dock connectors. the dock connector is a 29 pin set up that has four lines dedicated to usb. the stock apple dock/usb cable should only use those 4 lines when used with a pc. the ipods capabilities are still accessable (i.e. play music, charge, data transfer) when used with the usb, so at the very least it should charge and play music is my theory. i'm just curious as to how ion has wired the dock connector to their 8 pin design.

 

Try here for questions - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/...lounge-6-29-06/

I have no idea how the Ion is wired to control the iPod, so looking for a USB solution is pretty much just shooting in the dark. You could get a refurb iPod for $150 or so.

 

No way this will work. The ipod has a line out built into the dock connector. All you will have is a USB connection. You might be able to get your ipod to charge, but I don't see how you could possible get the analog sound output to go through a USB connection.