Bluetooth, Android, and your Car

I've been using the "GOgroove FlexSMART X2 ADVANCED" to listen to audiobooks in my car and I am loving it. Allow me to tell you why.

My car has no built-in bluetooth capability; however, it does have an auxilliary-in jack, which I had been using. Most bluetooth-music-receiver devices broadcast the audio over FM Radio. In the past, I have not been happy with the quality of such methods. This funky little guy does it all, aux-in to FM (e.g. for an iPod) or bluetooth to FM (if your car has no aux-in), and what I use, bluetooth to aux-out (and then aux-in to the car).

My biggest concern was its compatibility with Android and its apps. Verdict: highly compatible!

The audio works with at least the following apps: Audible, YouTube, MortPlayer, DroidTV, Samsung Music Player. The hardware buttons are finicky. Play/Pause kind of works, sometimes? But I don't bother.

My second concern was ease of pairing. If bluetooth is already turn on, in my phone, and I turn on my car, the devices pair within 5 seconds. If the phone bluetooth was off, I turn it on, push one button on the GOgroove, and they're paired.

How about phone call quality? I've been told I sound like I'm on speakerphone but that it is workable. If I get a call, I normally just hit the button to stop using the 'headset' and I'm back to using the phone itself. Once the call is ended, I can unpause the audio and everything resumes instantly (no re-pairing needed).

Power consumption seems fair. Playback consumes 20%-25% of the battery per hour. So this isn't for a long drive, but perfect for short commute.

Other notes: The flexible arm isn't as flexible as one might think. It can only do one bend and it will not likely stay in and bend over 90°. The display on the GOgroove is very bright (relative to the other controls in my car), thus I face it away from me.

Essentially, (except for the hardware buttons) the GOgroove works exactly how you'd expect it to. It's the best $50 I ever spent in my car!

Its final test will be surviving the Arizona summer.

Lastly, here's a small discussion about other such devices.