Yesterday, I received one of these: Car Aux Audio Output Cable USB Charger Cable for Sam Sung S3 i9300 i9220 I9100 | eBay .
The cable is supposed to tell the phone it's docked, and launch car mode apps if you configure them properly. And, if you check the Audio Output Mode option
it is supposed to direct sound to the 3.5mm cable output instead of the headphone jack. This might be a solution for those who can't seem to get the headphone jack and Bluetooth to work at the same time.
So this morning I gave it a try on my way to work. It does, indeed, tell the phone it's docked. In fact, even if the USB end isn't plugged into a charger, just plugging the micro-USB plug into the phone triggers car mode. And it does route audio out the USB port. So far, so good.
The downside, however, is the audio output contains a great deal of noise. Not hiss, but strange, random squeeks, whistles, and so on. I don't know if it's the cable, the phone, or maybe the other apps I had running. I'll play around with it some more over the next few days and see what's what.
The upside is that if you already have a car cradle of some sort, and want to make it work as a dock, this will do that, and do it cheap. $7.15 shipped to the U.S. compares pretty favorably to a $40 dock. And yes, it does charge the phone, too (as long as you plug the USB end into a charger.
)
If I can figure out the audio issues, this thing is a steal. Even without the audio function, I think it's worth the money just to put it the phone in dock mode.
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Edit: I've done some more testing, in a couple of different cars, using two different USB chargers, three different accessory sockets, and one car's built-in USB jack.
The noise is coming from the car's own electrical system. If I use the dock cable without plugging it into a charger (or built-in USB socket) it works fine, with no noise in the audio output. Unfortunately, if you're using the phone in car dock mode, you're probably going to want it charging. It appears that the cheap cable just isn't shielded well enough, and noise from the DC line bleeds into the audio line.For less than $8, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.
Still for some purposes, it may still be fine. If you crank the volume on the phone up to max, and turn the volume in your car stereo down some, the noise in the audio output isn't as noticeable, and it's not as distracting when using it for GPS voice instructions as it is with music. Oh, if your choice in music tends towards rock and pop without much in the way of quiet passages, you might not notice the noise at all, except between songs.
The cable is supposed to tell the phone it's docked, and launch car mode apps if you configure them properly. And, if you check the Audio Output Mode option
it is supposed to direct sound to the 3.5mm cable output instead of the headphone jack. This might be a solution for those who can't seem to get the headphone jack and Bluetooth to work at the same time.
So this morning I gave it a try on my way to work. It does, indeed, tell the phone it's docked. In fact, even if the USB end isn't plugged into a charger, just plugging the micro-USB plug into the phone triggers car mode. And it does route audio out the USB port. So far, so good.
The downside, however, is the audio output contains a great deal of noise. Not hiss, but strange, random squeeks, whistles, and so on. I don't know if it's the cable, the phone, or maybe the other apps I had running. I'll play around with it some more over the next few days and see what's what.
The upside is that if you already have a car cradle of some sort, and want to make it work as a dock, this will do that, and do it cheap. $7.15 shipped to the U.S. compares pretty favorably to a $40 dock. And yes, it does charge the phone, too (as long as you plug the USB end into a charger.
)If I can figure out the audio issues, this thing is a steal. Even without the audio function, I think it's worth the money just to put it the phone in dock mode.
**************
Edit: I've done some more testing, in a couple of different cars, using two different USB chargers, three different accessory sockets, and one car's built-in USB jack.
The noise is coming from the car's own electrical system. If I use the dock cable without plugging it into a charger (or built-in USB socket) it works fine, with no noise in the audio output. Unfortunately, if you're using the phone in car dock mode, you're probably going to want it charging. It appears that the cheap cable just isn't shielded well enough, and noise from the DC line bleeds into the audio line.For less than $8, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.
Still for some purposes, it may still be fine. If you crank the volume on the phone up to max, and turn the volume in your car stereo down some, the noise in the audio output isn't as noticeable, and it's not as distracting when using it for GPS voice instructions as it is with music. Oh, if your choice in music tends towards rock and pop without much in the way of quiet passages, you might not notice the noise at all, except between songs.
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