Best Car Dock App

[I_Am_Incredible]

Hey guys,

Looking for a really good Car Dock app which is something stock Android should have had forever ago. I know HTC has a pretty good one and Samsung has one (Haven't seen videos of the GS3 car dock app yet though)

Does anyone use a Car Dock app? I've seen a couple in the play store but I'm just wondering what a really good one is....

Also I know I can just get a launcher and have my entire screen in landscape but I'm not really a fan of the homescreen redraws that tends to happen.

thanks

 

[lonewolf217]

i like
Car Home Ultra | AppBrain Android Market

 

[captain_dl]

i like
Car Home Ultra | AppBrain Android Market

+1 - I have used Car Home Ultra since I first got into Android. It is so customizable and keeps getting better. I like the fact that I can configure it to turn off my wifi, verify my GPS is on, changes the screen brightness between day and night levels and even set my volume to a predetermined level when I start the app. Well worth the price of admission if you buy the full version. Especially since the GNex doesn't have a built in car dock (that I can find).

 

[Buffalo]

+1 - I have used Car Home Ultra since I first got into Android. It is so customizable and keeps getting better. I like the fact that I can configure it to turn off my wifi, verify my GPS is on, changes the screen brightness between day and night levels and even set my volume to a predetermined level when I start the app. Well worth the price of admission if you buy the full version. Especially since the GNex doesn't have a built in car dock (that I can find).

I have also used CarHome Ultra for awhile, and find it to be a great APP. I use it constantly in my vehicle. It is well worth the $1.99 fee.

It is extremely customizable, and the developer is very responsive with any questions or suggestions.

I wish Samsung and or Verizon would get their act together and come out with a workable dock with software for this now 6 month old phone!

Good luck.

 

[draftpeppin]

Just installed Car Home Ultra yesterday after reading this post. I like it so far. Previously on my GNex, the only way to keep the screen on was the check box under Developer Mode. But it would still dim all the time and I've had to tap my screen every few minutes.

When I launched the Maps app from Car Home Ultra, then screen still dimmed and eventually turned off. Does it only keep the screen on and bright when the actual app is in the foreground, or is it supposed to also keep the things it launches open? It seems to me that a proper dock would keep everything it launches open.

I see there are a number of settings on this app and not all of them are clear to me. Guess I may have to test them all since I don't see a Help button.

Steve

 

[loraque]

If you get the dock (the GSM one works with slight modification), it engages car mode, and it keeps the screen on. If you are not using a dock that enables car mode, you need to do this another way. I previously did with a Tasker script that would change the screen timeout to one hour when it was connected to car BT.

If you open up NAvigation, that will keep the screen on... but yes, that is a challenge without the actual car dock.

 

[captain_dl]

When I launched the Maps app from Car Home Ultra, then screen still dimmed and eventually turned off. Does it only keep the screen on and bright when the actual app is in the foreground, or is it supposed to also keep the things it launches open? It seems to me that a proper dock would keep everything it launches open.

I see there are a number of settings on this app and not all of them are clear to me. Guess I may have to test them all since I don't see a Help button.

Steve

Google Maps has a setting that dims the screen by default. You have to go uncheck that setting. But yes, Car Home Ultra only keeps the screen on for itself. It kills me when I get a call while Car Home Ultra is active and the screen will dim and eventually go to sleep. I am thinking that should be a suggestion to send to the developers.

As far as the settings in Car Home Ultra, I had to play around with them to figure them out. I eventually discovered that the description line under the setting tells what mode the setting is currently in. That helped allot once I figured that out.

 

[draftpeppin]

Actually, I just discovered that if you go into the app's settings and put a check mark next to "Start/Stop Car mode", you get the little steering wheel icon up at the top of the phone. And if you open another app like Maps or the Phone from Car Home Ultra, the steering wheel remains there. And if you hit the "home" button at the bottom of your screen, it takes you back to Car Home Ultra rather than your Android's main home screen. So, checking that box does seem to make it behave as though it is in a dock. I haven't had time to test extensively on a long drive, but it does seem to prevent dimming.

 

[n8nagel]

I have DL'd "car home ultra" and it is working well so far (after an hour or so of testing.) However I'm not finding some functionality that I'd like. When docking, I would like to start Car Home Ultra automatically (that works) *and*

- turn on Bluetooth, if it is not on.
- turn on GPS, if it is not on.
- turn on 4G, if it is not on.
- turn OFF wi-fi.

Then, when undocking, I would like all of those settings to revert to their previous state. This way, when I get in the car, all I have to do is set the phone in the dock and put my headset on. (when I get a new company car, hopefully I won't even have to do that, as it'll have Ford Sync.) Then when I get out, usually the way I have my phone set is that so no antennas are on other than wifi to conserve battery life.

Is that possible? or a suggestion to the developers?

Another thing - would it be possible to also automatically launch Trapster (or another app, or set of apps) when Car Home Ultra starts?

This is on a Motorola Photon on Sprint, BTW.

 

[anon(186320)]

Hey guys,

Looking for a really good Car Dock app which is something stock Android should have had forever ago. I know HTC has a pretty good one and Samsung has one (Haven't seen videos of the GS3 car dock app yet though)

Does anyone use a Car Dock app? I've seen a couple in the play store but I'm just wondering what a really good one is....

Also I know I can just get a launcher and have my entire screen in landscape but I'm not really a fan of the homescreen redraws that tends to happen.

thanks

I've been using Google's car home application. The one that we can't download via the Play Store. I might be able to get you the apk if you'd like.

Sent from my Unicornified, LK'ed-out, 4.0.4-driven LTE GNex

 

[MyD0j0]

Seems to me that a lot of the questions about launching a car dock app automatically when docked, turning off screen dimming/timeout, and turning on/off wifi and BT when used in terms of any car dock app, that Locale and several of its plugins would answer the call to all these concerns.

BTW, maybe it its specific to the phone model, but plain old android will no longer allow apps to manipulate GPS--doing so was an android bug. If you want to use GPS, turn it on and keep it on. The ONLY time it gets used is when an app requires it, such as navigator. When you see the GPS icon in your status bar, it is on and in use, when the icon is not in your status bar, it is not on or in use. Of course, the fixed GPS bug would depend on whether your android system has been updated...

 

[pine]

Hello, you should try CarHome Ultra. It has a 30 day free trial so there is plenty of time to try it out.

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2d8Hbbk-Hc[/YT]

 

[pismojim]

Car Home Ultra, Tasker and a NFC sticker on a cheap vent mounted phone holder is working great for me.

Still have to plug in the power and aux audio cords but it's an old car with basic car stereo anyway.

Mileage Logbook app works well with it all too if you need to keep a trip log.

Cheers

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[cclambie]

Gday from down under,
I have the Motorola, and I really like their Car Dock app - I am trying to find a way to DL the apk, so I can put it on another phone, any ideas?

The key thing is the Nav function, it has built in over Google Maps, so makes it a lot more friendly (big buttons) for when you are driving...
Cheers

 

[tlaswell]

I just upgraded to the Optimus G from a Motorola Atrix 4G. I agree, the motorola cardock app is the standard from my point of view. A few big buttons customizable to launch a program of my choice with a swipe to a 2nd home was perfect. Made it real easy to switch between Ingress and PocketCast while stopped at a light.
I'm going to give Car Home Ultra (or V3 or V2) a try.

@PISMOJIM - I too have a car before built in bluetooth but it does have an aux in. I was spoiled with the Motorola dock had an aux out. Slap the phone in the dock and you have charger and aux connected. There is no such thing for this LG but a NFC sticker should do the trick. HTC and BlackBerry have bluetooth gateways. Look on ebay for "A2DP AUX" and you can find an asian knockoff for 1/2 the price. The Car Home installed on the LG will autolaunch when connecting a selected bluetooth device. If that Car Home had customizable buttons it would be a winner with a bluetooth gateway.

 

[Buffalo]

This app (car home ultra) no longer works well. Something in Android 4.2.2 has made it virtually unusable, even with a patch provided by the developer.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Tyndaleon]

I was looking into app options myself as I currently have a Moto phone with the above mentioned built-in solution that I've really, really liked, but I'm considering getting a GS5 soon and was trying to find out if there were any viable options. One of the first apps I ran across was this one which, to me, would actually expand upon the Moto solution as far as app shortcuts and furthermore make alot of things handsfree. I haven't tried it yet but I like what I see:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appsontoast.ultimatecardockfull (Be sure and watch the video)

 

[jennyfur]

I really miss the original android Car Home app and find it rather annoying that I've had to sideload the apk on my last two phones. It did the job with out all the unnecessary fluff of Car Home Ultra. Why on earth hasn't Google updated it to work on newer phones?