Car mode app with map and media controls? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I just got a car dock for my S4 and have been looking at various car apps (car home ultra, etc). I can't seem to find one that has everything I want...
-map showing a 3d view like a nav screen and current media album cover with playskip buttons, roughly like this car radio: http://goo.gl/7NQ6bH
-compass heading
-app launcher buttons
CarHomeUltra seems to be the most popular and it is nice. I find myself jumping back and forth between map and whatever media app I am using (stitcher/pandora/mp3) The UI for it is just a launcher really... could be done with a home screen I think. It has some other nice features I guess. Just looking for more "widget" type things (3d map, album cover) to add to the screen... with more flexibility on placement. With a large screen device like out these days, a few more buttons would still be tapped aesily while driving.
Is there anything like CarHomeUltra but better?
Thanks!

itesla said:
I just got a car dock for my S4 and have been looking at various car apps (car home ultra, etc). I can't seem to find one that has everything I want...
-map showing a 3d view like a nav screen and current media album cover with playskip buttons, roughly like this car radio: http://goo.gl/7NQ6bH
-compass heading
-app launcher buttons
CarHomeUltra seems to be the most popular and it is nice. I find myself jumping back and forth between map and whatever media app I am using (stitcher/pandora/mp3) The UI for it is just a launcher really... could be done with a home screen I think. It has some other nice features I guess. Just looking for more "widget" type things (3d map, album cover) to add to the screen... with more flexibility on placement. With a large screen device like out these days, a few more buttons would still be tapped aesily while driving.
Is there anything like CarHomeUltra but better?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I like your idea and will incorporate it into my enhancement list for CarHome Ultra.
Thanks for the idea!

Related

[Q] Poll: AOSP desk dock app or Samsung desk dock app in Superclean?

So, I don't have any docks, and finding someone who does, that can get back with me is rough.
Pros of Samsung Desk App
Audio out
Daily Briefing (news, stocks, weather, calendar)
Can show clock or calendar as default.
Can set separate wallpaper.
Music
Gallery access
Cons
Requires extra packages to work properly, including samsung music player.
Does not include a screensaver.
Is kind of ugly.
Pros of aosp Desk App
Audio out? (I enabled settings for the dock, choose settings. Cannot confirm they work as I dont have a dock).
Alarm
Gallery
Music
Has night time mode
Screensaver
Cons
Less options
AOSP without a doubt.!
I have a dock. I don't use the audio out function, so I prefer the options of the AOSP clock if I had to choose between those two. I don't think the AOSP clock would work with audio out, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
What would I really use? The Alarm Clock Plus V2 app from the Market, which is generally the AOSP clock on crack.
There are audio settings I added to Settings for the dock in Superclean. So it may work with audio out. I've no way of testing.
I have a desck dock and much prefer AOSP over the stock samsung clock. If you need me to test or do anything with it I will do my best to help contribute.
adrynalyne said:
There are audio settings I added to Settings for the dock in Superclean. So it may work with audio out. I've no way of testing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on 2.7 SC and have my phone in the dock at the moment. If I try to look at the dock settings I see the Audio menu you are talking about, it is grayed out though. Tried with and without the output jack hooked up.
Audio
"Audio settings while docked"
FDro said:
I'm on 2.7 SC and have my phone in the dock at the moment. If I try to look at the dock settings I see the Audio menu you are talking about, it is grayed out though. Tried with and without the output jack hooked up.
Audio
"Audio settings while docked"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the same results as well. The toggle for docking sounds works.
I have both the car and desk docks so audio out is a must. One thing that people may not be aware of though is that the Samsung music player has it's own audio out button that works very well independently of the dock. Surprisingly, I have found that I really like the Samsung music player...I use it in my car instead of Power Amp Pro. The things I like about it are that the Album art is full screen, giving plenty of real estate to swipe through songs. It also has EQ presets, plus a custom setting, plus 5.1 stereo mode for headphone usage. Since the music app has it's own audio out button, I really don't have any use for the standard dock apps. Also, as a side note...one of the things I've done for a long time is use Launcher Pro Plus and Tasker to make a "pseudo" car dock app. Tasker has LPP support in that it will take you to a predefined homescreen page when it is connected to the dock you assign in Tasker. I typically set up a page (like page 7) that I never use for anything else and put my music widget and commonly used "car" apps on that page.
FDro said:
I'm on 2.7 SC and have my phone in the dock at the moment. If I try to look at the dock settings I see the Audio menu you are talking about, it is grayed out though. Tried with and without the output jack hooked up.
Audio
"Audio settings while docked"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I'm on 2.9.1 and I have the same problem... Audio setting while docked is grayed out... I've installed the patch for PowerAmp and still no luck... does anyone have a fix?
Thanks,
Kevin
AOSP without a doubt.!
Open source wins. Samsung clearly doesn't understand that concept.
voted for samsung clock
The Samsung clock has a stopwatch built in, which requires one less app if you need that functionality (I do, and I already use the Samsung music player with puzzle lock, so I vote for Samsung)
apk for Samsung Clock?
I love the SuperClean ROM.. great job! I do miss being able to dock my phone at work and play Pandora through the speakers in my office. How can I get that reinstalled and keep Super Clean?

CarHome Ultra

I downloaded the 30-day trial of the app CarHome Ultra. This app is excellent and it functions automatically when using the Motorola Car Dock.
The main reason I have chosen this over the built-in car dock is the way it shows the speed, location, compass, and weather from the main screen. These items display in a green font on a black background.
With the built-in car dock app, you have to select the map icon, and then it only shows speed and direction in an overlay on the map. The overlay is hard to read because the font is very light gray over the whitish background of the map.
I have decided to purchase the full app for $1.99. There are also a ton of customization options. Finally, it has performed flawlessly for me and seems to start up faster than the built-in option.
Has anyone else tried this app out?
Thanks for the review!
I've purchased it as well but recently uninstalled it. Go Contacts didn't support landscape mode and I'm a stickler for aesthetics (aka a big whiney ***** LOL). But now they've updated it and I thought about installing it again.
The developer is great too. I don't have a bluetooth device to use but I asked that he put in an option for automatic speaker phone mode when CarHome Ultra is in use. He added it within a couple of days and has always been very good with supporting the program.
It does look a little ugly but I'm actually going to reinstall it today. Travelling to the US again and it'll definitely come in handy. I like that you can set the GPS intervals and other very handy options as well!
thanks for the info, looks nice, much better than stock. I hate looking at all those stupid stars lol.

Motorola Car Dock App from GB

Does anyone still have the apk for the Motorola Car Dock App from the Gingerbread-Stock ROMs? It seems that it's no longer in the ICS Stock Rom included.
Thx in advance
Install any cut from play, new shortcut, activities, there will be 10 vehicle docks to choose from, try number 8, if the list looks blank, scroll down, but it might take a few tries to find right vehicle dock shortcut.
Also the Rotate app licenced works great if your using universal car dock.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
ElHive said:
Does anyone still have the apk for the Motorola Car Dock App from the Gingerbread-Stock ROMs? It seems that it's no longer in the ICS Stock Rom included.
Thx in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying there's no vehicle dock app in the ICS stock rom or do you just prefer the GB one? There's absolutely a vehicle dock app with ICS - I use it every day - and IMO its alot better than the GB version: a full screen of customizeable short cuts, more flexible calling options, etc. Are you missing that all together?
jeff_roey said:
Are you saying there's no vehicle dock app in the ICS stock rom or do you just prefer the GB one? There's absolutely a vehicle dock app with ICS - I use it every day - and IMO its alot better than the GB version: a full screen of customizeable short cuts, more flexible calling options, etc. Are you missing that all together?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im missing that too.
i know its installed, but i cant set it in Smart Actions.
how are u using yours?
R3dbeaver said:
im missing that too.
i know its installed, but i cant set it in Smart Actions.
how are u using yours?
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Click to collapse
I'm not doing anything special to utilize the doc app. When I snap my phone in to the dock, the phone immediately recognizes it and launches the dock app home screen. I do have a smart action built to launch once it senses the dock:
Triggers: Vehicle Nav Dock and Charging
Actions: Brightness 100%, GPS On: BT On
The two services that run when I'm snapped into my Nav Dock are Motorola Dock Service and a Motorola Dock Helper Service.
Go to /system/app/ and look for: DockService.apk/odex and MotoDockHelperService.apk/odex. Are they missing?
jeff_roey said:
I'm not doing anything special to utilize the doc app. When I snap my phone in to the dock, the phone immediately recognizes it and launches the dock app home screen. I do have a smart action built to launch once it senses the dock:
Triggers: Vehicle Nav Dock and Charging
Actions: Brightness 100%, GPS On: BT On
The two services that run when I'm snapped into my Nav Dock are Motorola Dock Service and a Motorola Dock Helper Service.
Go to /system/app/ and look for: DockService.apk/odex and MotoDockHelperService.apk/odex. Are they missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah you use the Motorola car dock?
I don't have the dock. I only have a plastic GPS-holder-thingie that holds it in the car.
Back in GB, I have a Smart action rule that uses:
Trigger: BlueTooth connected to - my car
Actions: Launch: CarDock app, GPS on, WiFi off, etc....
Now I don't see the CarDock as an option of an app to launch. And yes, I do have those 2 apk/odex in my /app folders. And TiBackup also shows I have Cardock app installed as a system app.
I guess in ICS, u need the actual cardock to launch the cardock app? that's too bad :crying:
I'm following now
Maybe the solution is to use a 3rd party dock app from Google Play. I fooled around with a few of these while on GB because of the limitations that came with the Moto car dock before the ICS version. I remember liking Car Home Ultra the best.
Maybe installing one of them and then in Smart Actions you can add an action to launch the program? Good luck!
In nova launcher you can set an activity widget that launches the stock car dock app.
Skickat från min XT910 via Tapatalk 2
HELP
If anyone has the apk for the stock razr car app please post it. that would really be awesome
motorola car dock
i have just received the original motorola car dock last week and when i snap my phone into it the car dock comes up but having to unlock the phone is annoying.
i have ICS 4.0.4 installed and the car dock works fine apart from it does not stay active the screen times out which i find odd so i use the "keep screen" app to keep the screen alive when i have the car dock running.
now to the point!!! i also have a smart action rule set up for when the car dock is working. it sets the brightness, volume ring and other things so smart actions can be used with the stock car dock app.
the only other thing i find annoying is the navigation, the map shows upside down and after using sat navs in my work van its real annoying to get in my car and the map show upside down...

[Q] Switching between 4 apps in the car and other environments

What is the fastest and easiest way way to switch between four apps in the car. For example Google Nav, Poweramp, Trapster, and a speedometer app. A wave of the hand would be nice. I have looked at several and used a few. Smart Task Switcher, a reviewer said “Was warned about this app due to access to contacts permissions which dev says is used in China for advertising”. AppSwipe only does two ( the last opened). The “car apps” say nothing about task switching or is it shown in the Youtube videos. It would be nicer if an app would isolate and load these four programs from one key push then allow fast switching. A snap of the fingers would be another way to switch between these four apps. Also, a slideshow type thing of these four apps with the option to stay on the current one showing might be an idea. Or, one app that puts to the front the needed app, like the media player about the first and last 5 seconds of a song, trapster like app that would popup during notifications, navigation about 10 seconds before and after turns, and the speedometer the rest of the time. I'm just thinking out loud. Holding down the home key is not a good fit. Bottom line is I need a better task switcher (not killer) for the auto. An app that would allow me to map a steering wheel button in my 2011 Ford Fusion SEL for task switching would be golden! A friend's suggestion was to get four phones, so that one is already out there.
I tried Car Dock Home v3. It works by using a launcher that uses the back key to return to it's home screen, then another task can be selected via a shortcut. Unfortunately it cancels Google Navigation when the back key is hit to go to CDHv3 home screen. This would have been a better solution as it takes two key presses. It would be the best solution to perform one action to cycle through the desired programs. I installed Smart Task Switcher and that was good in theory but I could not find how to configure correctly and the floating button is far too small and often requires several taps, and that is sitting at the desk. There is a paid version where some of this is supposedly settable but from my experience with this app I don't think this is a solution.
The car was the first place that came to mind. But the need to quickly and efficiently switch task is useful in several environments.
I have hit a dead end and any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hey man,Im surprised you expect a phone to act as a tomtom,mp3 player and christ knows what else simultaneously.
theunderling said:
Hey man,Im surprised you expect a phone to act as a tomtom,mp3 player and christ knows what else simultaneously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S2 runs everything just fine, there is just not an efficient way to switch between them.

Post your favourite/cool apps (non root)

I'm always looking for new apps or mods as it's fun to tinker your phone to just how you like it
Navbar animations:
Plays a little animation when you hit the home button and there's loads of options to choose from.
Rocker locker:
Makes it so when you hit the volume keys it changes the media volume instead of ringer on default.
Quick keyboard Viet:
After coming from iPhone I really missed being able to swipe along the keyboard for cursor control. This app allows that
I know Google keyboard allows spacebar for that but I'm super picky haha!
Feel free to add anything
Join by Joapps
Slide for Reddit
Moonreader+
nova launcher prime
+
Sesame shortcuts
Locus Map Pro- the best offline topo maps for outdoor activities.
Tasker is by far my favourite app as I have a ton of profiles to do a bunch of different things for me to make my life easier
I have lots of the AutoApps plugins to go with Tasker as well!
Wunderlist..... It is nice to have when going shopping or have a "honey do"list. It also comes with a nice widget that you can work from without opening the app.
Kurtyyyyyy1 said:
I'm always looking for new apps or mods as it's fun to tinker your phone to just how you like it
Navbar animations:
Plays a little animation when you hit the home button and there's loads of options to choose from.
Rocker locker:
Makes it so when you hit the volume keys it changes the media volume instead of ringer on default.
Quick keyboard Viet:
After coming from iPhone I really missed being able to swipe along the keyboard for cursor control. This app allows that
I know Google keyboard allows spacebar for that but I'm super picky haha!
Feel free to add anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heads up, Rocker Locker plays a low volume white noise constantly keeping your device awake and draining the battery. This tricks the phone into thinking music is playing so you always control media.
dubt17 said:
Heads up, Rocker Locker plays a low volume white noise constantly keeping your device awake and draining the battery. This tricks the phone into thinking music is playing so you always control media.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh damn, really?! Thanks for that!
What's some good launchers that have themes? Cm launcher looks pretty customized...any one have some recommendations would be appreciated...less ads the better obviously TIA
aaronrw said:
What's some good launchers that have themes? Cm launcher looks pretty customized...any one have some recommendations would be appreciated...less ads the better obviously TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are a list of good custom launchers:
Nova Launcher
Lawnchair Launcher
Action Launcher
ADW 2
Pear Launcher
Lean Launcher
Unfortunately now of them work as well as stock pixel Launcher. But they are way more customizable ?
Fingerprint Swipes: I've configured swipe up to switch between apps, swipe down for recent apps and swipe left for back
Navbar Apps: changes the color of the navbar. I've set it to change based on the app open (tbh I installed it to reduce burn in but it's nice to see the navbar change color)
Nwsty: Shows you the top 5-6 news for the day. Not too much detail. It doesn't let you expand on the news in the app. You'd have to google them yourselves. Great app if you just want to see what the top news is about.
Fleksy keyboard: gesture based keyboard. Super fast for typing. I believe the fastest message(or something) was recorded on this keyboard..
kaped31 said:
Fingerprint Swipes: I've configured swipe up to switch between apps, swipe down for recent apps and swipe left for back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this post. This app is great!
I love Swiftly Switch.. Best shortcut launcher app.
Kurtyyyyyy1 said:
Thanks for this post. This app is great!
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Click to collapse
+1
Can't believe how convenient this is; I've only had it for about 12 hours but I'm already asking myself how I went this long without it lol

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