Hi - anyone who's interested. (grin)
I have a USA spec PA10 Hon + volvo adapter cable which I've been using happily for 10 months or so with a 5.5G 80 GB iPod.
It has two interfaces - one is a cable directly to the ipod dock port which charges and controls the iPod from the head unit. This works well, audio quality is excellent and interference free, the connection cable is black and easy to ignore. Pause from the head unit does not work (switch the head off to "pause") and periodically it will start the day by resetting the 'pod to the first song.
The other interface is twin RCA plus 12v power outlet. I can switch between the two using buttons on the head unit.
I paid $90 for this on eBay. Installation took literally 10 minutes once I'd located the +12V, +12V accessory & ground connections on the head unit. Several friends bought one as a result of discovering mine. So far, so good.
Along comes the iPhone. Recklessly I plugged it into the USA Spec iPod dock cable...and it worked! Deep Joy. Got the airplane mode message.
Later in the day I noticed that the iPhone wasn't charging but it does seem to take a long time to charge, so...the next day the head was making worrying digital whining noises when the iPhone was connected. Ummm..10 minutes later the 'Phone rebooted and died. Symptoms were very similar tho those described in
this post
Seriously - wouldn't charge, wouldn't restore, wouldn't make calls. Back to the Apple store, they swap it out. Happily, it was a virgin! Phew...
Now I research. I read that the iPod & iPhone dock connectors are supposed to be identical. I mail USA Spec for an opinion & get nothing back - they don't seem to have a phone # and want to process all service inquiries through their dealers (the pay up & shut up route). Crutchfield know nothing about iPhone/USA Spec compatibility.
There is no logical proof that the PA10 killed my iPhone, but it was attached to nothing else apart from the Apple charging cable. So now I'm being cautious and using the second interface.
YMMV. Take care out there.