Amazon Alexa in the Car?

ACraigL posted a pic said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 9:14am ET

So I saw this thing in the Amazon daily deals, and wondering why someone would want this in the car, especially when you still need your phone present.
https://www.amazon.com/Alexa-Enabled-Charger-Navigation-Hands-Free-Streaming/dp/B079FYG5TC

enter image description here

So why this over native Siri or Google Assistant? Am I missing something? Also the video on the product page is pretty horrendous.

9 comments, 5 replies
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lichme said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 9:25am ET:

I saw that about a month ago, and was interested, but decided against it. My phone either has to be unlocked or at least “awake” for alexa and/or other apps to respond, which makes it not truly hands free.

Not sure if Google assistant works with Amazon Music, which is my primary streaming method for music.

Also, video is super cheesy

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thismyusername said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 9:52am ET:

Clearly it is so you can order a car that catches your eye while out driving.

I don’t know crap about this thing, but roav is anker, and anker makes decent crap for cheap.

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djslack said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 9:53am ET:

I saw this a week or so ago. My “new” car is older than my current vehicle and doesn’t have bluetooth built in, but it has a good stereo that I think would be difficult to replace with an aftermarket unit. I was looking for vehicle Bluetooth adapters with microphones to add hands free calling to the aux port in the car, and at one point wondered if an echo Dot would do it for me (turns out it won’t).

I saw this and was intrigued, but not at $60. For deal price I may pick one up to play with, but I also found direct Bluetooth adapters that plug straight into the aux in and have a puck with mic that can be placed on the dash for $20-25, so logically this isn’t needed. Its connection method through aux in is fussier, having to connect through the phone, and Alexa doesn’t provide that much value to me in the car. Plus my lighter outlet is down in the center console, which is probably not great for mic placement.

So if I do get it it’ll be strictly for the gadget aspect, but I think in the course of writing this reply I’ve talked myself out of it. I think I’ll get the Bluetooth puck and work out a way to put Qi charging in the change bin in front of the shifter, then all I have to do is stick my phone in the bin and not fuss with plugging in any wires.

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- @djslack I have one of the BT puck things in my 2004 Infiniti, lined to aux-in as you described. Works great as far as I’m concerned.
  
  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NLTW60/
  
  The best thing about it is it’s got virtually no lights. Ones I’ve gotten in the past are too bright/distracting and cause a glare on the windshield at night. This one works well, and is stealthy.
  
  ACraigL said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 10:05am ET
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- @ACraigL thanks for the tip, the light situation would have never occurred to me.
  
  djslack said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 11:52am ET
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lseeber said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 9:58am ET:

All I know is I keep calling my google assistant, Alexa when I’m in the car. She doesn’t like it.

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craigthom said Wed, Jul 11th 2018 at 10:55am ET:

I saw this thing as a deal a few months ago, but reading the reviews, even the positive ones, convinced me not to buy it.

I recently bought a car with Android Auto, which, while not perfect, works decently (it came with the trim package I bought, so it didn’t cost extra).

Occasionally it doesn’t work if I plug it in while the car is running, so I have to turn off the car and turn it back on, but, other than that, it works. I just use Rocket Player, Audible, and Waze on it, for the most part. Having Waze on the big car display is nice, if not yet perfect.

I also can just say “OK, Google” and tell it to call people or whatever. It will not answer trivial questions, though. And it dominates my phone while it’s running. Yes, I shouldn’t be looking at the phone while I’m driving, but when I stop I’ve got to unplug it to check email or whatever. Or turn off the car, which I’m not going to do in this heat.

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- @craigthom
  What is Android auto?
  
  I am behind the times.
  
  f00l said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 3:43am ET
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- @f00l plug in your Android phone and you get driver friendly stuff on the (in-dash) screen like navigation and music playing controls. I think it also subtly makes it so you can’t use your phone, say, to text while driving.
  
  djslack said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 2:16pm ET
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baqui63 said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 12:17am ET:

I got an Echo Dot for my car tho I never got around to actually installing it. The plan was to use an old android phone to put a hot spot in the car and just leave that phone and the dot in the car all the time.

Maybe I’ll get around to setting it up in the car, tho I’m more likely to give it away to someone.

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ocifersven said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 12:25am ET:

Also known as, “CIA wiretap in your car.”

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- @ocifersven Agreed but if you have a smartphone on you, you already had a wiretap in your car.
  
  jasonkoz said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 8:44am ET
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jasonkoz said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 8:43am ET:

I got one for my birthday. It’s pretty great for one thing and that one thing only. “Alexa, play such and such”. Other than that she’ll tell you stuff like the weather if you ask but it’s pretty laggy so that’s annoying. Basically a hands free radio and that’s what I wanted anyway.

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Smitty2525 said Thu, Jul 12th 2018 at 10:29am ET:

See it now, But officer, Alexa was being argumentative and I didn’t see that red light.

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