It’s worse than that even, before CarPlay we still had Bluetooth audio in cars. This thing was designed for literally no one. Or, I guess designed for people with cars from 1999.
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Spotify Stops Making Dash-Mounted 'Car Thing' Just Five Months After Launch
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As the owner of a car from 2004 that still has a cassette deck and no aux in, I can honestly say I never considered it. And I use Spotify nearly daily.
Now maybe they can focus on airplay 2?
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
I bet you they probably shot themselves by placing the orders in signification amounts without doing any type of market research. They thought it was going to be successful like an iPhone.
This has money laundering written all over it.
I honestly don't get this device at all. Why is it better than just mounting my phone?
"Car Thing." What a horrible name. Spotify themselves couldn't define what this device was, so did they really expect potential users to notice it? Ssomething generic like "Spotify Auto" would at least have been much better at instantly communicating what this device does.
A problem that hadn’t existed in years. They should have called XM
I mean I guess too much supply in the chain could be considered a kind of supply chain issue lol.
Most likely they are talking about component price increases. I imagine that if certain components are in high demand with low supply the price goes up.
I know it’s in jest but…that thing was ahead of its time, actually did have niche utility, and, compared to this, was and and is sliced bread.
I have a 2008 Chevy Cobalt. No ability for CarPlay/AndroidPlay, I use a bluetooth FM transmitter and a vent mounted Qi charger. Works well for me, but as I said, my car doesn't have the infotainment stuff. Though I think I can technically get one added/installed.
Use mine all the time when I'm in my well-maintained 20 year old vehicle thats been paid off for 17 years. Better to have a seven figure IRA than a 3 figure car payment just so I can have Carplay.
I really really liked the concept of this thing, but it had a few major flaws:
1) It couldn't receive and send music to the stereo (though it was probably a wise decision not to try and handle this)
2) It required a Spotify premium account
3) The software wasn't open source - it would have been cool to see people hack this thing
I suppose I could go on and on with my list of gripes. What I liked:
1) Dedicated audio display, could mount anywhere (not just a car)
2) Easy access to skip/switch songs
But there are already cheaper options for #2, and seeing what's playing is only important once in a while.
1) It couldn't receive and send music to the stereo (though it was probably a wise decision not to try and handle this)
2) It required a Spotify premium account
3) The software wasn't open source - it would have been cool to see people hack this thing
I suppose I could go on and on with my list of gripes. What I liked:
1) Dedicated audio display, could mount anywhere (not just a car)
2) Easy access to skip/switch songs
But there are already cheaper options for #2, and seeing what's playing is only important once in a while.
I actually surprised your 2008 doesn’t have any native Bluetooth audio. Thought that was pretty standard in the early 2000s.
You and the other 12 of you were the target market for this. Was never really a viable product for the masses.
They probably hired Jony's LoveFrom 🙄
So corny and probably didn’t help sales.
I recall naming products “____ thing” was a minor trend — and was probably quirky and memorable the first time. But now it’s just the route taken when a real name can’t be thought of.
Came to say the same thing! I remember getting a free CueCat at Radio Shack and loving the concept but lost interest quickly since there was hardly any support for it.