Droid + car + usb = awesometown?

[LxMxFxD]

Hi, im brand new to droid.. in fact, I haven't even gotten my hero from fedex yet! (comes tomorrow).

That said, im looking for a car audio system that hopefully WORKS with droid. This means:

Plug in usb from car to usb on Hero:

1. to play mp3s on car speakers
2. To hear GPS nav voice on speakers from sprint nav
3. If possible use a mic built into the car unit & speakers for CALLS and things like auto pause music when call incoming.
4. Most importantly: USB charge the phone!

I know this functionality is out there for iphone/ipod. Is there a car audio system that does this with droid?

Also: I know I can get a combo of these things using bluetooth & aux ports etc. But I am hoping for simply get in car, cradle phone, plug in usb, listen to podcast..

Thanks!

 

[DaWeav]

My car doesn't have any A2DP Bluetooth feature either so I just bought an OEM HTC adapter off of Ebay for $5, but you can find them all over Ebay since they refer to them as 3in1 or 4in1 or 5in1 adapters, but its all the same.

 

[LxMxFxD]

I dont exactly see what that device will do for me. Hero has mini USB port already, right? The only CORD i'd need is mini USB to regular usb (to the car stereo).

I'm talking about a car stereo that would natively support droid and do the above listed things.

 

[Hrochnick]

I use a Sony Bluetooth car stereo with a USB port. I tried connecting the Hero to it via USB and got the following message on the head unit: "USB No Support" - but lets not forget this is a Sony and they can be a bit funny with compatibility... a different make may work.

So with that result your points 1 to 3 are a no go. But it did charge via USB!

But why not use bluetooth? With bluetooth points 1 to 3 are all YES with my stereo and I use it almost everyday like this. Mp3's are streamed from the phone and when sat nav has something to say it says it over the top of the music, when calls come in the music is paused and you take the call. My voice is picked up by the built in mic in the stereo and and I hear the caller through the cars speakers. Then all you need to do is plug it in to charge via either the USB or the cars cigarette lighter. It all works perfectly but...

The only issue I have found is if there are too many things running (GPS, mobile internet and bluetooth with the associated apps) the music does tend to slow down a little bit, and there are occasional breaks in the sound, split second dead spots. Small but irritating.

 

[Hrochnick]

...but lets not forget this is a Sony and they can be a bit funny with compatibility... a different make may work.

Or, actually, may not. To get the stereo to access the SD card and play music you will probably have to mount the SD card after plugging it in (at least I had to, before mounting my stereo said "no USB device" after mounting, as above) and then how would the sat nav access the SD card for maps?

Again, another make may function differently but I'm really not sure about it. In any case Sony is certainly out and bluetooth is probably your easiest bet.

 

[Jaffa]

Probably not what you want to hear, but I use a Jabra J700, it has a built in Fm transmitter and a 12v charger for the phone, This connects to the phone via bluetooth and to the stereo via the Fm transmitter...

 

[pa4ul]

I use a tape to listen to music in the car. Doubles as a fake bluetooth being it plays the phone though the speakers when someone calls u.

 

[G8D]

Why do people keep calling it Droid?
Droid is a phone.

 

[LxMxFxD]

Or, actually, may not. To get the stereo to access the SD card and play music you will probably have to mount the SD card after plugging it in (at least I had to, before mounting my stereo said "no USB device" after mounting, as above) and then how would the sat nav access the SD card for maps?

Again, another make may function differently but I'm really not sure about it. In any case Sony is certainly out and bluetooth is probably your easiest bet.

Well this solution seems like it would work for my needs. I guess USB would only be a benefit if I wanted to charge my phone with it? lol.

Couple of questions:

1) How much "work" do you have to do to get it started when you get in the car? Like, cradle it then press mp3? Sorry im a newb to bluetooth as well as ANdroid.

2) Does leaving your bluetooth on by default totally suck battery? I know on my old winmo phone I shut it off whenever possible.

Thanks to everyone for bearing with me!

 

[Jaffa]

With my Jabra its a case of one press turns on the device, I have a Bluetooth toggle on a home screen, one press and they connect, asking as you have pre paired the devices,(one off activity).

The hero does nor need the sd card mounted to access it, only the pc does

 

[Hrochnick]

Couple of questions:

1) How much "work" do you have to do to get it started when you get in the car? Like, cradle it then press mp3? Sorry im a newb to bluetooth as well as ANdroid.

2) Does leaving your bluetooth on by default totally suck battery? I know on my old winmo phone I shut it off whenever possible.

As Jaffa said, it's very little work, switch on the cars stereo, toggle bluetooth on on the hero and you're away (put it in the cradle and plug it in to charge if you want to... ).

With my old Moto Q I would leave bluetooth on all the time so I'd just get in the car and be connected without even thinking about it. I'd like to do that with the hero too but it does seem to destroy the battery if I leave it on all day. So toggling bt on the phone is a small price to pay, I'me certainly not going back to the Q!

 

[LxMxFxD]

As Jaffa said, it's very little work, switch on the cars stereo, toggle bluetooth on on the hero and you're away (put it in the cradle and plug it in to charge if you want to... ).

With my old Moto Q I would leave bluetooth on all the time so I'd just get in the car and be connected without even thinking about it. I'd like to do that with the hero too but it does seem to destroy the battery if I leave it on all day. So toggling bt on the phone is a small price to pay, I'me certainly not going back to the Q!

Totally thanks for all this info.

I just rooted my hero and rocking fresh 1.1 rom. LOVEEEE ITTTTT. Scary process though.

That said, is there any particular headunit I should look for ? Or is all I need is bluetooth + mic features? I have historically liked JVC for my car stereo needs. So basically just look for any head unit that has:

onboard mic + bluetooth + usb (basically only for charging) ?

 

[Hrochnick]

That's pretty much it I think, with your personal preferences coming into play for the brand. As for USB, if your car has a cigarette lighter charging point thingy and you don't plan to stick in a dedicated memory stick for music, then that's probably not essential. Plenty have BT so that's easy but what I did find was that even though some advertised the calling and hands free feature they didn't all have in built mics! Mental. so keep an eye on that... Good luck!