Options for music from Android phones through car stereo?

[woodshedder]

Here's what I'd like to do in my car...

(1) be able to control the music from my phone (mp3's and other filetypes, and radio) using my car stereo (it would have to be an aftermarket stereo I assume), and

(2) ideally I'd like to do it wirelessly.

I've done a little bit of looking on the internet as well as talking to a Best Buy salesperson, and it appears to me that both (1) and (2) cannot be done at present. Is that right?

If not, are there aftermarket stereos available that will let me control my phone's music wired up? I want to use the stereo to control more than just volume. I'd like to be able to select the music (internet radio or mp3s or other filetypes) using the stereo controls. Is that doable with Android phones?

I have a Motorola Atrix 4G. I've had it for about six weeks now. Its my first smart phone, so I'm pretty green on this stuff. Thanks!

 

[sitlet]

There is no way that I know of to have the stereo control the music from the phone. Some stereo's can do this with iphones, because the iphone was built to have this interface.

If you want to go wireless, you have two options, bluetooth or fm transmitter. FM transmitters never work that good, and ruin the quality of the music. Bluetooth works good, however you will still have to control the music from the phone.

The BEST way is to go wired, as it provides a constant connection with perfect sound. Most aftermarket decks will have a 2 channel rca input, or a 3.5mm input, both of which can be connected to the phone with a 4 dollar cable.

 

[bbrosen]

some after market stereos will let u control the phone in simple ways, ie forward backwards, pause. I have only seen it wired via usb and with iphone/ipod tho. I use bluetooth a2dp with my aftermarket stereo and my samsung galaxy s, sounds and works great. unless you have a large touch screen on your stero seems it would be hard to manipulate via the stereo, but it seems that is what you want. I also take and make calls via blutooth with my aftermarket stero, also works very well...mic is mounted on my dash directly in front of me. music pauses and restarts automatically and everything, love it.

 

[woodshedder]

Thanks for your response sitlet.

There is no way that I know of to have the stereo control the music from the phone. Some stereo's can do this with iphones, because the iphone was built to have this interface.

Best Buy sells several stereos that will do this with iphones. I am a little surprised I guess that Android phones were not built with a similar functionality.

If you want to go wireless, you have two options, bluetooth or fm transmitter. FM transmitters never work that good, and ruin the quality of the music. Bluetooth works good, however you will still have to control the music from the phone.

Best Buy has a BT system which to my understanding is controlled using a remote, not from the from. I wasn't too crazy about that option. It is pricey too.

The BEST way is to go wired, as it provides a constant connection with perfect sound. Most aftermarket decks will have a 2 channel rca input, or a 3.5mm input, both of which can be connected to the phone with a 4 dollar cable.

Is there any advantage to going with an aftermarket deck with such inputs, or is it just as good to go with something like this?

 

[woodshedder]

I use bluetooth a2dp with my aftermarket stereo and my samsung galaxy s, sounds and works great. unless you have a large touch screen on your stero seems it would be hard to manipulate via the stereo, but it seems that is what you want.

Thanks for your reply bbrosen. I looked at the BT option that Best Buy has, although I guess it was a little hard to imagine what it would be like without seeing it operational. It came with a small screen and a small remote, and those weren't very enticing for me. I also didn't like the price too much.

 

[sitlet]

Is there any advantage to going with an aftermarket deck with such inputs, or is it just as good to go with something like this?

Because, like I said, FM transmitters dont work well at all. They need to be right next to your radio to get a good signal. They always get interference with other stations, especially if you are in a big city. Plus, FM is limited with quality to begin with, it's been around for decades, way before high quality music has been around. Your music will sound like cassettes.

 

[woodshedder]

Because, like I said, FM transmitters dont work well at all.

OK thanks. I did see that in your earlier post, but I think I thought that FM transmitters were just wireless. I didn't realize that product I linked to was an FM transmitter.

I did talk to a different Best Buy person today, and I saw a different BT product than I saw the first time I went there. It's less expensive than the first one I saw. So now I'm thinking I might go with BT.

 

[Usta]

FM is limited with quality... Your music will sound like cassettes.

This is indeed the case. I've used a few such models and the quality is noticeably lower than other music sources.
Use FM Transmitter if you really don't have other choice.

 

[guyver_dio]

I use an FM transmitter in my car and it works great but then again I'm not in a large city. They plug in to where the lighter goes so they are always close to the radio anyway and I've never had signal problems. Quality is about the same as listening to the radio so if that doesn't bother you then the quality won't be a problem.

The only problem I see is interference if you live in a big city, in which case I'd recommend getting one with a wider band of channels so if you do experience interference you can switch it to another channel and see if that fixes it.

Mine connects to the transmitter through a cable but I think there are some bluetooth ones out there if you want to go completely wireless.

 

[woodshedder]

Alright so I am the OP who was looking for how to control internet radio and music on my Android phone by using car stereo controls.

I imagine much of the info below is common knowledge around here, but on the chance that there is an Android newbie (like I am) reading this, this may be helpful. Here

 

[kayakalp]

Great post folks.

 

[slki4fun]

This works if have imput AUX in the car.should connect same way as your earbug.

Scosche Industries

Scosche motorMOUTH II stereo - Bluetooth hands-free car kit
Hope this helps.

 

[sitlet]

uhh, what?

 

[XLAR8]

the only reason the iphone connects to car radios is because of the ipod part of the phone.

even then if you read the screen of the iphone when its connected it will say this device is not compatible,

 

[GoogleMeTimber]

I connect my Samsung galaxy S2 to my car stereo through a USB connection. I have to control my music folders with my Alpine CD player. My biggest problem with this is that the CD player will start with the last song on an album and work its way back wards to the first track of the album.

Any body else have this issue or know how to fix this ? I've tried changing the sorting order in my sd file on my phone but my car stereo still reads my album folder contents in reverse order.

 

[akashane]

alpine CDE 123 is a smart phone head unit officially made for made for the ipod and nokia music phone,.. saying that the nokia music phones use MTP connection (Media Transfer Protocol) witch is the same system your pc at home would use to connect your phone to, android phones also use MTP so should ideally work with this head unit too. I have this head unit and have only tested the samsung galixy s2 and the blackberry torch both working flawlessly by the original usb cable supplied with the phone. you can search albums, artists, song name, ect ect.. Im sure you can also use Bluetooth parrot system and have the same full control

 

[Saltine713]

Ford Sync does all the OP wants. I have a new Ford Escape and the BT connectivity works great for me. It can be a little annoying to set up, but once it is, it is a dream! You can even control other apps by it, including Pandora, GPS, etc...