Car Tech's guide to using your Android phone in the car

Your phone is a hub for your music and entertainment, GPS navigation, and communications with your friends, family, and social circles. You've got your apps for streaming music and podcasts from the Web, apps for picking a place to eat or finding the lowest fuel prices around, and your hands-free calls of course. Or, because phones are such personal devices, your handset can bring only a few of these things to your driving experience.

You're in charge of why you'd want to use your Android phone in the car. The tricky part is figuring out how to do it and how to do it safely. Read on.

Bluetooth

For the last few years and for most of the Android OS's lifetime, Bluetooth's Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) has easily been your best bet for connecting an Android phone to most newer model vehicles. This is especially true if you're already making the Bluetooth wireless connection for the Hands-free Profile (HFP) to make voice calls -- using A2DP kills two birds with one stone. Often, A2DP-connected stereos can display artist and title data for the currently playing song and almost always includes shortcuts (either onscreen or accessible by steering wheel buttons) for play, pause, and skip.

Bluetooth-to-stereo audio streaming does have one minor drawback. When you make the wireless connection, your phone and the receiver must negotiate the audio quality at which the music will be streamed. While there is startlingly little information published about how this process works and what specific bitrates and compression algorithms are used, suffice it to say that the audio quality is always less-than-audiophile levels. What's more is that some phones sound better than others, even within the same brand, and there's no guarantee that a phone that sounds good with a Honda stereo will sound just as good with a BMW, for example. With all but the top-tier premium audio systems, most listeners probably won't notice, but it bears mentioning.

The details of the Bluetooth pairing vary between the different versions of Android, but the broad strokes remain consistent.

Pairing your smartphone with your car stereo for audio streaming should happen automatically when you pair for hands-free calling if your stereo and phone both support it. Pop into your phone's Wireless settings and locate the Bluetooth menu. Make sure that your phone's Bluetooth is set to On and, following the instructions that came with your car, place the car stereo into its paring mode.

Tap the "Search for devices" button in your phone's Bluetooth menu and look for your car's ID to appear. It should say something like "Elantra," "NISSAN," or "MYCAR." Tap the ID and, if prompted, enter the PIN that may be given to you by your car stereo. Sometimes, you'll be asked to confirm the connection and sometimes the pairing will just happen automatically. You should only have to pair your phone to your car once, with subsequent reconnections happening automatically.

At this point, you'll usually be asked to sync your phone's address book. This is usually a good idea, so be sure to check the box that gives the stereo permanent phonebook access if you don't want to be prompted for a sync every day.

If after this, you aren't able to stream audio wirelessly, pop back into the Bluetooth menu on your phone, locate your car's ID, and access its options (either by long pressing the name or tapping the options slider in newer versions of Android). Make sure that both the Media and Phone audio profiles are checked. If you don't see Media audio as an option, chances are that your car stereo doesn't support it. Double check your car's manual.

If you don't see the Media audio option, odds are that your stereo doesn't support it.

Auxiliary input

For drivers of older cars or vehicles with more basic car stereos, the humble analog auxiliary audio input (3.5mm TRS) is the next best bet. You'll connect to this simple audio connection with an audio patch cable that plugs into your phone's headphone jack.

The auxiliary input's simplicity makes it the most easy to set up and, possibly, the most future-proof of phone-to-car connection methods. However, this connection is a dumb input, lacking bidirectional communication, so there's no way to control your phone with the car's stereo. If you want to, for example, change songs, then you'll need to interact with your Android phone, which can be less than ideal in a driving situation.

USB is no longer an option

The ability to simply plug your phone into a car stereo via USB is one area where iOS devices still have an advantage over Android (as well as BlackBerry and Windows Phone) devices, even after the great Lightning connector scare of 2012.

I haven't been able to consistently USB connect an Android phone to a car stereo since the first Motorola Droid.

Years ago, when I took my first look at methods for connecting your Android phone to a car stereo, USB mass storage connectivity was a shaky alternative method for audio playback. I no longer recommend this connection technique for many reasons. I never really had much consistent success getting aftermarket or OEM car stereos to recognize my USB connected phone and, now that many of the most popular Android phones no longer support expandable SD card memory or the mounting of the phone as a generic USB drive, Android USB connectivity has gone from an inconsistent hack to just plain unreliable and unsupported.

If your particular car and phone combination still supports USB connectivity, consider yourself lucky.

Combining methods with adapters

With the aid of inexpensive adapters or certain visor-mounted speaker phones, you can very easily add a Bluetooth or auxiliary connection to many basic car stereos. Products, like theKanex AirBlue and Scosche MotorMouth II plug directly into your car's auxiliary input, and convert your Bluetooth audio and/or calls into analog data your car stereo can digest.

For old cars with a working cassette player, there's the classic tape adapter option, but these devices can sometimes damage the moving parts in your car's cassette deck if poorly made or gruffly inserted.

Other devices, such the Jabra Freeway, serve double duty, providing fantastic audio for your hands-free calls via Bluetooth and an internal speaker, while also bouncing the wireless audio beamed from your phone to your car's radio for playback through the speakers via FM modulation. There are also FM transmitters that connect to your phone's headphone jack, wirelessly beaming audio to any radio in the area tuned to the right frequency. Of course, FM transmission is notorious for its poor audio quality--you'll get better sound from devices that connect digitally or directly--and should be avoided as anything but a last resort, but if you're looking for a cheap way to simply listen to podcasts in an old car without replacing the stereo, this is an option.

Stock infotainment options

Most people can't just run out and buy a new car because their current set of wheels is incompatible with their smartphone. However, if you are already in the market for a new ride, knowing which automakers and vehicles are available with infotainment systems that are Android friendly may sway your ultimate choice.

Through a Bluetooth connection to your phone, Ford Sync AppLink-equipped vehicles are able to give drivers control of a wide range of Android apps using little more than the sound of their voice. At time of publication, there are seven apps that AppLink supports, including Stitcher, NPR, Slacker, iHeartRadio, and Pandora for audio, and Scout and Sync Destinations for navigation. Simply say, "Sync, NPR News" and you'll be listening to "This American Life" before you know it.

Toyota Entune (pictured) and Ford Sync AppLink are the best OEM systems for in-dash app integration.

Hop into a fully loaded Toyota vehicle these days and you're likely to be greeted by the automaker's new Entune interface (or Enform, if you're in a Lexus). This system ties into an Entune app that is installed on your Android phone, giving the driver touch-screen access to apps such as iHeartRadio and Pandora for audio streaming, MovieTickets.com for browsing and purchasing movie tickets, OpenTable for making dining reservations, and Bing for online destination search.

Pandora Link is found in both of the above systems as well as the newest Mazda Navigation system, General Motors' MyLink/Intellilink, Scion's top-tier receiver, certain Hyundai BlueLinksystems, and the 2013 Nissan Altima. Beware, although BMW, Mini, and Mercedes-Benz also offer Pandora integration, they are only compatible with the iPhone version of the app.

All of these Android and app connectivity systems will make use of Bluetooth, because -- as I mentioned earlier -- that's pretty much the only reliable, bidirectional connection that you can currently make with your Android phone. Even the automakers that I haven't mentioned at this point are going to offer some sort of Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling and/or A2DP, as well as an auxiliary input as standard or optional features, so look for these basic connections at the very least.

Aftermarket stereos

Yanking out your stock stereo and replacing it with an aftermarket unit may not sound too appealing, but this is often the best way to add smartphone connectivity to an older vehicle while simultaneously boosting the audio quality. In addition to your basic Bluetooth and aux-in setups, the aftermarket is often where you'll see emerging technologies appear first. Pioneer's AppRadio2, while still a bit "beta", is one of the first receivers to support MHL and HDMI app mirroring to give users touch-screen access to the apps running directly on their phone, and you can bet that it won't be the last.

(Honda has debuted support for HDMI video, which many Androids can output, but only for rear-seat video, and then only on the Odyssey minivan.)

Other things that you'll need

Streaming audio from the Internet, reading your GPS position, and maintaining a Bluetooth connection can be hard on your phone's battery. If you don't want to arrive at your destination with a flat battery at the end of a long trip, then you'll want to invest in a 12-volt USB charger. However, not all chargers are created equally. The standard USB port outputs about 500 to 600mA of current, but many of the large-screened, multi-cored mega-phones that have become the norm will scoff at anything less than 800 to 1,000mA (or 1A). Take a close look at the wall charger that came with your phone for the manufacturer's recommended charging rate and try to match or exceed that number with your car charger.

Beware of 2.1A "iPad" chargers as some of these use Apple-specific variable amperage that renders them incompatible with certain Android phones and tablets. I'm thinking specifically of the Google/Asus Nexus 7. On the other hand, many Android devices work just fine with these adapters -- albeit often at a lower-than-advertised charging rate. As is often the case with cars and Androids, your mileage may vary.

If you're using your Android's screen for navigation, you'll need to mount the device somewhere that's easily visible.

You'll also need somewhere to stow your phone while you drive. If you're using a totally hands-free system like a Pandora Link connection, you can simply toss the phone anywhere (a cupholder, the center console storage bin, or your pocket are all good spots).

However, if you're using your phone for navigation and need to be able to use the screen or to interact safely with your phone because you're stuck using an analog connection, you might want to invest in a phone cradle of some sort. Many phone manufacturers (such as Samsung or Motorola) will offer specific car cradles for their high-profile phones, but they're usually overpriced and won't be compatible with next year's hot phone, so look for a quality universal cradle that uses a suction cup or adhesive to hold your phone to the car's windshield or dashboard.

Avoid those "sticky" or "tacky" dashboard pads that simply hold your phone in place flat on the dashboard with little more than friction and gravity. They may be OK for most driving conditions, but you won't want your smartphone becoming an unsecured projectile in the event of a minor accident.

Tablet-specific tips

I've already gone over much of what you'll need to know about using an Android tablet in the car as part of the previous Transform your Nexus 7 into a car tech powerhouse feature. Nearly every tip in that article can be applied to any Android tablet on the market.

Possibly the best place for any tablet in the car is in the back seat, and you'll need either a DIY or universal mount, if you plan on hanging an Android tablet from the headrests as you would with a traditional rear-seat entertainment system. I'm of the opinion that, with the exception of very young children, most users would probably be better served simply holding the tablet in their hands, so you probably shouldn't even bother with the mounting unless you're trying to be fancy.