Car Thing
I got a Spotify Car Thing. Yeah, I know I'm a bit late and it's been discontinued. I also know it's a "car thing" and I didn't want it for my car.
The problem I was hoping to solve is Spotify controls while I work. Currently I need to toggle to the Spotify app, see what it's playing, tell it what to play, choose my speakers every single time, and toggle back. A small, second touchscreen that's constantly on, that sounds amazing.
I'm a fan of single-use devices in general. The phone does everything, sure, and I only have one pocket, sure, but there are times when I have more space. I have a Dakboard for my kitchen calendar. Perfect device. Kindle is another great example. I'd like more single-use devices.
I admittedly have read some reviews: everyone was basically confused. Why buy a Spotify controller that works by connecting with your phone? Why not just use your phone? They have a point.
But does the Car Thing solve my home problem?
Maybe.
After plugging in the provided USB cable, I have two issues: one, it's expecting 12v from a car adapter. Two, the cable doesn't fit very well. The first problem is quickly solved: I google for the answer and apparently I can tap a button to dismiss the warning message. Cool. The second problem I stressed about, but apparently I needed to push to an extra "snap". Solved!
Two, I was hoping to control my Spotify regardless of where it was playing. I can only play a single Spotify stream on my account, so why not. Alas, it "helpfully" switches the output to the phone! Augh! That's the dealbreaker.
I can see why reviewers felt this device was too limited: it doesn't make sense in a car. But it nearly works at home!
It's a beautiful sleek device. The volume knob is a nice feature that would definitely work at home. The touchscreen is responsive. The big controls are really clear. And I love that it just shows what I'm playing! It's sooo close to being useful.
I need to decide whether to attach this thing to my work desk or actually just stick it in the car. I have an old car that plays what it wants, and this might help. Could go either way.
Take a look it's cheap!
The best thing they could do to improve it would be to make it generally useful outside of your car: let me choose the default output speakers. Hell, they should do that in the desktop app too.
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