Spotify's first hardware device, the "Car Thing," is now available to purchase in the United States for $89.99.
Announced in April last year, the Car Thing is an in-car dash-mounted music and podcast player designed to provide a more seamless and personalized listening experience, especially in the large number of cars that do not support modern in-car infotainment systems or Apple CarPlay.
The Car Thing is aimed at Spotify Premium subscribers with these needs and features a touchscreen, a knob for navigation, voice control features, and four user-configurable buttons for fast access to areas such as favorite music, podcasts, or playlists.
The user interface takes cues from the Spotify mobile app so that it is familiar to users, and there is the choice of touch controls, "Hey Spotify" voice commands, or physical navigation via the knob. The Car Thing works over Bluetooth, or via an AUX or USB cable, and it comes with three different dash and vent mounts to ensure that it fits to the dashboard securely, as well as a car charger and a USB-C cable.
The Car Thing is compatible with iOS and Android devices, and connects to a user's smartphone for data and linking to the Spotify app. The Car Thing was initially only available to selected users who requested an invite during the device's testing period, but now the device is now publicly available in the United States for $89.99 including shipping.
I couldn't wait to get rid of this thing when I used to have Sirius for the car. This connects to the phone for data anyway, why not just use the phone instead?
I saw a post where someone used this on their desk beneath their monitor a while back. Knowing how cluttered a digital workspace can get and how people often prefer to add physical hardware to simplify this (think of multiple monitors), it actually made a lot of sense. I’ll edit in the post if I can find it.
Honestly wouldn't mind something similar to this but to enable CarPlay functionality. My vehicle is just shy of the model year where CarPlay became a standard option, and the after market devices are just ludicrously expensive for what is, essentially, a vanity.
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Monday November 22, 2021 10:39 am PST by Sami Fathi
Spotify users are growing impatient with the music streaming giant over its lack of HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.
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Wednesday December 8, 2021 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
As Apple gears up to release a fully autonomous vehicle, it is continuing to lose key people who are working on the project, reports Bloomberg. Over the last several weeks, three engineers have departed the company.
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Spotify has today announced its first hardware device, the "Car Thing," which is an in-car dash-mounted music and podcast player (via TechCrunch).
Spotify is looking to provide a product for customers who want a "more seamless" and personalized in-car listening experience, especially in the large number of cars that do not support modern in-car infotainment systems.
The Car Thing is aimed ...
Apple suppliers are positioning to manufacture and assemble the company's long-rumored electric vehicle (EV), according to a report from DigiTimes.
Apple Car concept render by Vanarama based on patents filed by Apple The report claims that Foxconn, the colossal manufacturer behind most iPhone models, and Luxshare Precision, the assembler behind Apple devices such as AirPods, are angling to...
Thursday October 7, 2021 4:28 am PDT by Sami Fathi
Apple is looking to expand CarPlay's functionality to include controls for core car functions such as the air conditioning system, radio, speedometer, seats, and more, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
The project, internally codenamed "IronHeart," is still in its early stages but would include Apple working with carmakers to expand CarPlay's functionality to control core car...
Wednesday December 1, 2021 2:31 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple's Car project recently lost one of its engineering directors, with Michael Schwekutsch departing the company to join air taxi startup Archer Aviation.
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