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How does it get it's content? Cellular? I'm not sure who this is really for?
Went to the website and in very small print, it said:

Car Thing requires that you maintain a paid Spotify Premium subscription directly via Spotify and a smartphone with WiFi or mobile data connection. Eligible paying subscribers only. One Car Thing per eligible subscriber, while supplies last. Terms apply

So, you need a mobile phone with WIFI or cellular data, meaning this thing works off of your phones mobile hotspot?
Why aren't they being clear how this device gets it's data? If I have a mobile phone with hotspot, why can't I just use Spotify on my phone directly instead of this gizmo?

Very niche item.
 
How does one listen to Spotify if they're driving an older car with an old radio/no infotainment system?

2nd sentence of this post...

Spotify is looking to provide a product for customers who want a "more seamless" and personalized in-car listening experience, especially in the large number of cars that do not support modern in-car infotainment systems.
If we're talking older cars, there's a large number on the road w/out any support for anything other than the factory CD player or even tape deck.

I guess people can use one of those old 3.5mm to tape converters that were the 90's rage?

This is a curious and niche move from Spotify. I don't pretend to have done the market research on this product, but I surmise that this won't be profitable.
 
Maybe this is intended for markets in developing countries, where cars are probably less likely to have Carplay integrated audio systems. I really don't know who else would be interested in this.
How about people who own older/classic cars and want to listen to music while out for a cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway. Owners updated the old factory stereo but don't want to update it again so this could work as a fix. 🤷‍♂️

Sure, it's ugly, but that's a different topic.
 
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Why would a company invest all the R&D and energy into a new device that will surely have fewer and fewer users with each passing year? Every new car has built-in entertainment that syncs with phones. And the cars that don’t have them are getting older and older and more likely to be trashed.
 
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How does one listen to Spotify if they're driving an older car with an old radio/no infotainment system?

2nd sentence of this post...

Spotify is looking to provide a product for customers who want a "more seamless" and personalized in-car listening experience, especially in the large number of cars that do not support modern in-car infotainment systems.
Any old car can have the most modern latest tech in infotainment....go to any car audio shop...or crutchfield.com. The thing that sucks is the other way around. Modern cars have all kinds of built-in infotainment and if you don't like it, you are stuck with it because most (I said most, not all) have much more that just infotainment on the screen and removal will cause other issues.
 
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Pretending this is a useful gadget - maybe someone will like it and who am I to judge - shouldn't it work as well with Apple Music? I mean, Spotify did complain about the inability to listen to Spotify through the HomePod a while ago.
They even had a website, timetoplayfair, where they specifically complained about that.
 
I like this. I wish apple would make a device similar to this but with a carplay screen. For those of us that are unable to easily changed the factory stereo.
 
No maps, no messaging, no phone, no calendar, no notifications, no Siri, no 3rd party apps

No Go. DOA
 
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This reminds me of 10 years ago when I first got Sirius radio and it was not built into my car.
Except that Sirius had its satellites and could operate independent of a phone. This Spotify device requires a smartphone and a good internet connection. Good luck with that in rural America! They should rename it to "Unnecessary Car Thing."
 
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The thing with this thing is that it puts an always-on voice control for playing music through Spotify in your car. If you want that, there aren't that many good options if you have an older car.
 
Is this a late april fools joke? Just put your phone in a cradle. This device requires your phone anyways to work. It's essentially just a remote for your Spotify account.
 
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