Podcast, auto aux, Bluetooth, and phone calls

[wynand32]

Alrighty, so, I was listening to a podcast in my car via Google Listen, through the aux connection. My (brand new) Epic is paired to the car's Bluetooth handsfree connection. I got a call, and the handsfree picked it up. However, I couldn't hear the caller on Bluetooth until I unplugged from the aux connection. Also, Listen didn't actually stop playing the podcast.

The way it works on my Palm Pre is that the podcast app pauses when the phone rings, the call proceeds via handsfree without issue, and then the podcast app picks back up and continues playing when the call ends. That seems like the right (and expected) behavior, and works for all webOS audio apps (at least, the ones I've tried).

Is this a function of Listen, i.e., more functional podcast and media players are capable of intelligently managing that process? Or is it a limitation of Android itself? I did a search but couldn't find an actual answer.

 

[takeshi]

Probably the app. The music app I listen to pauses as needed.

 

[wynand32]

Probably the app. The music app I listen to pauses as needed.

Okay, perhaps I have an issue then with my installation of Listen (or Listen has the problem). I'll try another podcasting app today.

Now, anybody have any thoughts about the Bluetooth handsfree vs. headphone jack issue? I'm reading some things that make me think that if something's plugged into the headphone jack, then that keeps control of the audio and doesn't turn it over to Bluetooth. That would be a huge disappointment.

Edit: In case anyone else is bothered by this behavior, it's a known bug: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=11372.

 

[Hardcase]

You can manually pair your bluetooth to a phone headset/car stereo, but not link the the media audio. That should allow you to use the headphone jack for media and the bluetooth for phone. Not sure if there is a way to set this by default.

As for media pausing, that is the media player and not the phone or headset. Google, while a great concept, does not always build in the latest or best features into their company apps -- for instance, Reader doesn't use SD storage and is a huge memory hog.

 

[wynand32]

That sounds interesting. How do I accomplish that? I'm looking in the Bluetooth settings and I'm not seeing where I would choose to not like the media audio as you indicate. Is that a setting somewhere else?

Thanks!

 

[Hardcase]

In the bluetooth settings, long click on the headset with which you want to pair. In the options, make sure that phone is checked and media is NOT. That will pair for phone but not media.

 

[wynand32]

Wow, I didn't know anything about those settings, thanks. And now it would appear that my problem is obvious: "Phone (use for phone audio)" isn't checked at all, and there's no option on this device for media. So, I'm guessing, but will have to check, that if I check "Phone" then it will, indeed, use the handsfree device for phone audio.

Thanks! If this works, you'll have solved one of my biggest issues with this phone.

 

[wynand32]

Okay, silly me: indeed, there's only one option for the Bluetooth handsfree device, and that's to use it for phone audio. And, it is indeed selected when the device is actually connected.

So, unfortunately, that's not my issue and this remains a serious bug. But, thanks again anyways for the idea.