Spotify -- In car compatibility?

[carter711]

I have Spotify premium on my iPhone and love it, I want to but a new head unit (I have an old car, Corrado VR6) so I can listen to my favourite tunes whilst driving.

If I buy an alpine Ipod headunit it comes with a connector that connects to the bottom of the phone ( the long slot).

Will Spotify play through this, or will it only play through a 'jack' connector as per headphones?

I would prefer to have an Alpine headunit as I love the old school looks and everyone know Alpine are the best Although if it means I can't have spotify I'll have to reconsider!

[Craigyp79]

Just buy any headunit with an USB port on it?

[devnull]

It doesn't work, very annoying as I upgraded to premium to do this with iPod touch. This was with an alpine 420i interface though which is ageing quite a bit now

[carter711]

Thanks for the replies!

Do you know if it'll work if the head unit has a USB connection?

I'm pretty sure it'll work if the head unit has a jack connector but would prefer a USB alpine if possible..

[ic0n]

I've got a Pioneer head unit and it works, sort of, I can't control the Spotify app with the head unit buttons.

What I do is plug the phone in (USB), it will start playing iPod songs, then just open the Spotify app and pick a song, which pauses the iPod tracks and then Spotify is playing.

I researched it and I don't think any head units actually offer full compatibility with Spotify

[Thesaint01708]

Spotify is a streaming service which means the music isnt stored locally on the handset just 'playlists'

This means the phone would need to constantly stream via 3G (no wifi in car!) so the downsides would be

1) data charges
2) bad 3g coverage areas
3) interupted playing caused by poor signal

[ic0n]

Thesaint01708 said:

Spotify is a streaming service which means the music isnt stored locally on the handset just 'playlists'

This means the phone would need to constantly stream via 3G (no wifi in car!) so the downsides would be

1) data charges
2) bad 3g coverage areas
3) interupted playing caused by poor signal

All true above, however, Spotify premium (which is required for the mobile version) allows the user to have up to ~3000 songs available offline.

[Thesaint01708]

ic0n said:

All true above, however, Spotify premium (which is required for the mobile version) allows the user to have up to ~3000 songs available offline.

Ohh really? dammit!

[ad551]

I have a USA-Spec iPod connector in my car (this is the one for a Volvo: http://usaspec.com/product.php?ProductID=35&fo... ) - it plugs into the dock connector and if you open the Spotify app it plays through the car stereo. I can also use the steering wheel controls to skip back and forth between tracks. The only thing I can't do is change playlists so you just have to make sure you choose the right one before you set off!

[jon-]

Slightly older thread, but have any of the updates to the spotify / ios integration improved this situation?

Ideally you should be able to use spotify like you can itunes through 3rd party hardware.

[MysteryLemon]

I asked this exact question in the Lounge just the other day.

Best bet seems to go to halfords and see what works as you want. Otherwise, get a bluetooth compatible headunit and stream to the headunit that way.

[luke111s]

I can confirm that it does work via the built in iPod dock connector on an '07 Z4, the tracks cannot be controlled but if I launch the app and start Spotify playing, it all works just fine.

I'm not sure how this translates to other iPod docks, but it must possible on some!

[illmonkey]

I use spotify on a iPod/phone dock and it works well, it will accept track changes too.

I also use a FM transmitter that uses the iPhone dock connector.

[clunkbox]

I had a Tunelink FM bluetooth adapter till somebody borrowed and lost it. Takes audio via bluetooth and into your car stereo via line in or FM transmitter, and plugs into a cig lighter.

As soon as it gets power it connects to a bluetooth device and starts playing, means you can leave your phone in your pockrt for short trips or when you are in and out of the car. I used it with my iphone 3gs and spotify, only issue was if spotify wasn't running and ready to play it would start itunes instead. Which was an issue for me because I only had about 3 songs uploaded and they were all st! If spotify is paused it will start playing automatically though. This is a failing of the iphone as much as the device though.

Bluetooth auto quality seemed great to me, FM stransmitter one of the best quality I've used although I used a cable most of the time. Having said that I use a tape adapter so I wouldn't know good quality audio!

Edited by clunkbox on Thursday 11th October 02:12

[Howard-]

I use Spotify on my work iPhone through my Alpine IDA-X305 head unit. It displays "no song" and you can't control it, but if the phone's in an accessible place you can pause and skip tracks by swiping the screen etc anyway so it's not the end of the world.

I have my playlists synced offline as Vodafone's idea of a 3G data network is laughable

[Merry]

I suspect this may not be helpful, but if you have an Android phone and connect to your head unit via Bluetooth you can use the controls on the head unit. Though I suspect, although don't know for sure, you cant do that with an iOS device.....

And that's with my cheapy Aldi special.

[clunkbox]

Merry said:

I suspect this may not be helpful, but if you have an Android phone and connect to your head unit via Bluetooth you can use the controls on the head unit. Though I suspect, although don't know for sure, you cant do that with an iOS device.....

And that's with my cheapy Aldi special.

I've used stereo controls with a 3gs/spotify in an '09 plate Renault Traffic and '12 plate Peugeot 3008. Works the same as itunes does, as long as spotify is running and paused. If it isn't you have to start it manually, and the you can use the car controls.