Connecting Android to 'things'

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davidcole

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#65299 2-Aug-2010 10:17

One of the selling points for me for an iPhone is the hardware dock compatibility. Car stereos, USB docks, stereos etc.

Apart from via 3.5mm cable (yuck - no control via stereo) and Bluetooth a2dp 9possible dubious quality) how can Android phones connect to the likes or a car stereo or home stereo?

Do they work via usb - with the stereo pulling the files?

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#361433 2-Aug-2010 11:23

I can control music in the car with the Parrot car kit. I guess bluetooth headunits will be able to control them as well? I haven't tried the USB cable approach, but I guess if you set the USB to "Disk Drive" (as it's called" then in theory I guess you could access the music files that way?

Linuxluver

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#361657 2-Aug-2010 15:25

davidcole: One of the selling points for me for an iPhone is the hardware dock compatibility. Car stereos, USB docks, stereos etc.

Apart from via 3.5mm cable (yuck - no control via stereo) and Bluetooth a2dp 9possible dubious quality) how can Android phones connect to the likes or a car stereo or home stereo?

Do they work via usb - with the stereo pulling the files?

Because Android phones are made by literally dozens of different companies, and each company offers phones in a range of price points and functionality, there is no one way to connect to stuff for all phones.

The Nexus One has a car dock.

The Samsung Glaxy S has "Allshare". It allows you to usethe phone as a remote, to play videos from the phone on a TV or PC. The TV has to be made by Samsung, of course...or it isn't supported.

So it will come down to how each vendor implements such function on their phone. Of course iPhone is one vendor and they do it their way. I guess with Android you'll be able to choose from among implementations by a variety of vendors.....and still be able to use virtually all the same apps, whatever phone you buy and whatever method of integration it may use.

It would appear the phones from consumer electronics makers will have a better chance of integrating with their products. There appears to be an after market of accessories for the most popular android phones. It's worth having a look into. Thanks for asking the question.

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numfarr

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#361702 2-Aug-2010 16:21

Linuxluver: The Samsung Glaxy S has "Allshare". It allows you to usethe phone as a remote, to play videos from the phone on a TV or PC. The TV has to be made by Samsung, of course...or it isn't supported.

Allshare is DLNA so it should work with many recent TVs and other devices, not just Samsung, though whether it works in practice...

There's a home multimedia cradle for the Galaxy S and there was supposed to be a car cradle (at least it's mentioned in their advertising), but it's not available yet.

eracode

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#361721 2-Aug-2010 16:39

Not sure if this helps but I have a great Android app on my Galaxy S called Gmote. It enables me to wirelessly remote control media on my PC (upstairs) and I have an audio cable (hidden in the walls) from the PC to my stereo downstairs.

I can sit at one end of the lounge downstairs and remote control music serving from my PC to the stereo which is at the other end of the downstairs room. It's not "all wireless" but it's pretty cool.

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cyril7

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#361849 2-Aug-2010 19:36

I use Remote for itunes (on Android) which operates just like Remote for iphone and allows control of itunes on our PC via the WiFi which in turn is cabled to our HT by the houses structured cabling, works great.

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davidcole

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#361876 2-Aug-2010 20:10

Thanks for all the replies...doesn't sound as "easy" as iphone. But some of the solutions sound good.

Dingbatt

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#362101 3-Aug-2010 09:14

davidcole: Thanks for all the replies...doesn't sound as "easy" as iphone. But some of the solutions sound good.

I wonder, does the new iPhone4 fit in the same dock as the previous versions? I seem to remember a change being required during a generational change in iPods that upset a bunch of iPhiles.

It's all to do with 'critical mass' which Apple products have. To do what you ask would require all android manufacturers to agree on a universal connector and connection protocol. And then get aftermarket devices to be developed and manufactured. Some sort of wireless is probably the most likely way around physical connection.

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vinnieg

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#362115 3-Aug-2010 09:41

Dingbatt:
davidcole: Thanks for all the replies...doesn't sound as "easy" as iphone. But some of the solutions sound good.

I wonder, does the new iPhone4 fit in the same dock as the previous versions? I seem to remember a change being required during a generational change in iPods that upset a bunch of iPhiles.

It's all to do with 'critical mass' which Apple products have. To do what you ask would require all android manufacturers to agree on a universal connector and connection protocol. And then get aftermarket devices to be developed and manufactured. Some sort of wireless is probably the most likely way around physical connection.

Nope iPhone4 requires a new dock....and with the bumper/case on it won't fit in either

Best off going 3.5mm head unit :)

Also can confirm with the Samsung DLNA above, it works on my:
Win7 PCs, 2x Shuttles, 1x Atom
Both my Playstations

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davidcole

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#362118 3-Aug-2010 09:42

Dingbatt:
davidcole: Thanks for all the replies...doesn't sound as "easy" as iphone. But some of the solutions sound good.

I wonder, does the new iPhone4 fit in the same dock as the previous versions? I seem to remember a change being required during a generational change in iPods that upset a bunch of iPhiles.

I think it's physically a different shape, but the port is the same. Hopefully by the time I buy (month or two away) some of that will be clearer.

Dingbatt:It's all to do with 'critical mass' which Apple products have. To do what you ask would require all android manufacturers to agree on a universal connector and connection protocol. And then get aftermarket devices to be developed and manufactured. Some sort of wireless is probably the most likely way around physical connection.

Oh I realise this..but as an end consumer (lets remove the geek title for a moment) this is all people care about - does it work.

I suspect this may get a bit easier in the future when the standardised charging interface is implemented....then at least android can say here is the protocol to use, please implement it to manufacturers.

Linuxluver

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#362136 3-Aug-2010 10:04

vinnieg:

Also can confirm with the Samsung DLNA above, it works on my:
Win7 PCs, 2x Shuttles, 1x Atom
Both my Playstations

Good to know. I might have a Samsung Android phone in my future. I very much wanted the one with the pico projector.....but it's looking a bit old now compared to the Galaxy S.

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