Please explain this claim in Car Thing advertising

[gAggiNgcactUS]

Here’s where I’m confused. Your product sales page reads

“Car Thing is its own thing - Let your phone do phone stuff. Car Thing has one job and does it awesomely.”

Now I understand that car thing needs the phone for Internet access. However according to the above statement, it should end there. At least for me, the Spotify App needs to be open and running on the phone the entire time. Maybe I just haven’t spent enough time with it? This was the statement which sold me. I want CT to handle all things Spotify and my phone for everything else upon which I have no choice but to use the phone for. I don't want to see anything regarding Spotify on my phone...unless I open the app manually. That's the reason I spent money on the Car Thing.

Should I re-do setup to my car head unit differently? Choosing USB connection instead of BT? My vehicles 12v power outlets receive constant power regardless of ignition state. For this reason, I power CT from the head unit's USB - so that it only receives ignition power and shuts down with the vehicle. I don't know, just providing this info in case it matters. Thanks.

[Kiril]

Hey @gAggiNgcactUS,

Thanks for posting in the Community!

We understand that you need some clarity regarding the way Car Thing uses your mobile phone. We'll try to explain.

The Car Thing device is used to interface with Spotify and your library stored in it. It itself is not capable of any internet connection, so it is still dependent on your phone to collect the needed data and to load your personal library.

The Spotify app will need to run in the background of your phone, but control over it is transferred directly to the Car Thing in a driver-friendly view. This removes the need to use your phone for anything Spotify related while on the road.

We've also recently expanded the Car Thing functionality to offer queue management, additional playback control for other media and allow you to answer or dismiss call. Check out more about the newest updates here.

Hope this clarifies things!

[gAggiNgcactUS]

Thanks for the reply, although I'm still unclear as to what the claim actually means.

If you look at my original post right after the bold quote, I state my understanding of CT needing to connect to the phone for internet connectivity. Not really sure why you made that your first point. 

Of course it will need to run requests through an internet connected device, else CT would be sold with a separate data plan.

The way I understood the statement before buying the Spotify gadget, was that, sure, CT would need to tether to my phone to be able to actually do anything useful, but it would end there. I mean, really, that should be it. Why is it necessary that the  Spotify app be open on my phone? Everytime I get in my vehicle, Spotify is pulled to the forefront of my phone. This is hardly conducive to the validity of the “Car Thing is its own thing - Let your phone do phone stuff. Car Thing has one job and does it awesomely."  claim.

If this were true, CT would only need a BT tethering handshake with my phone, and then any credential checking, data requests, audio output, etc. would all be initiated and processed by Car Thing - only utilizing the phone for tethered bluetooth internet requests.

I am aware that I am wasting my time here writing any of this, and if ever intended to function in the manner of which I describe, it is  certainly not how the device which I purchased operates. Unfortunately, I am more convinced than prior to  initiating this thread that the statement in question extremely misleading and borderline false advertising.

I would appreciate other's thoughts about this. Especially those of fellow end users.

[onesmarmymama]

You've got it. I was kind of bummed about this too when I got mine. CT is essentially a voice remote control for your Spotify, which is actually running off your phone. That's it. I will say, after using it a few months, the annoyance of that wore off and I VERY heavily rely on that voice commands for using Spotify. I also exclusively use Spotify for music, so maybe that's better for me. Anyways......yeah, I feel like Spotify HQ was a little misleading.....CT is a voice operated remote control and thats about it. 

[gAggiNgcactUS]

It’s been a while since I checked in, and you’re right. Voice commands work exceptionally well. 

[Lyubka]

Hey @gAggiNgcactUS,

Thank you for your reply and confirmation.

We're glad to see that everything works as it should for you. 
 

If you ever have any other questions in the future, feel free to post in the Community again!