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Monday, April 6, 2015

AutoMate Brings The Android Auto Interface To Your Smartphone


Android Auto has been available for a few weeks now but its adoption has been slow. Firstly, it only works with a compatible smartphone running Android 5.0 Lollipop, which means, unless your provider/manufacturer has rolled out the update, you won't be able to use Android Auto.

Secondly, you will need a compatible aftermarket head unit. Currently, only Pioneer Electronics' second generation NEX receivers are Android Auto capable. But those start at around $500.

A relatively inexpensive alternative could be AutoMate, an app being developed which will bring the Android Auto interface to your smartphone. Read along for more details.

AutoMate is currently still in beta, in fact the first beta was released for testing just yesterday. The app is far from ready for primetime but it is a good start. It works similar to what the iOS jailbreak app Ignition or CarPlay iOS works, by bringing the in-car interface to your smartphone. When all the bugs have been crushed, you will be able to mount your Android smartphone on your dashboard and use AutoMate off of it.

Currently, the app crashes a lot and functions like Maps and Music do not yet work within the app. These work by launching the respective apps individually. Phone functions aren't quite there yet either.

To get on-board with AutoMate a become a beta tester you can visit the AutoMate for Android Beta community on Google+ and request an invite. The community is growing and valuable feedback is being received which will help tweak the app towards a fully-functional, less expensive Android Auto alternative.

Thanks to Steve Davis for this news tip.

Source: AutoMate
News source: Steve Davis via Lifehacker

1 comment :

  1. I paid for this last week as I was so impressed... it's amazing.

    The crashes are all but gone after last Saturdays update. Love it!

    ReplyDelete

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