How to Use Your Phone for Music in Your Car

Smartphones have become an essential item for so many millions of people around the world. Many are completely lost without their trusted phone in their hand.

It is anticipated that by December 2013 there will be over 1.4 million smartphones being used around the world, which means that one in every five people will own one of these phones.

Smartphones have become so popular because they're multi-functional, a phone, sound system, navigational system and computer in one. For many their phones are worthless once they step into their vehicles. Driving and using a phone requires a Bluetooth headset and you can't use your phone to listen to music through the car speakers unless you have car MP3 players.

There are many ways people use their smartphones in their vehicles from FM transmitters, which never really work and constantly experience interference to cassette tape adapters, depending on the age of the vehicles sound system.

The FM transmitters increased in popularity for a while because they offered the convenience of being able to listen to music while driving through the vehicle speakers. These units plug into the lighter adapter of the vehicle and the phone plugs straight into the unit, you then spend a lot of time trying to sync the unit to a frequency on your car sound system, the music then plays through the speakers.

The biggest problem with the FM transmitters is that they lose signal and you will experience a lot of interference. Another problem is that not all vehicles come with a lighter socket anymore, which means that these transmitters are not a suitable option for all vehicles.

Those with older sound systems which took a cassette tape could use the cassette adapters. These adapters were car MP3 players for a while and are still in use by some vehicle owners.

With the cassette adapters, a cassette is placed in the sound system which has a headphone jack attached which is then plugged into the smartphone headphone socket. The music is then played through the car sound system. While this seems a practical choice, these options also came with a number of problems including static interference.

With the new car sound systems being introduced car MP3 players are readily available. The car head unit will have a headphone jack or USB port, enabling the vehicle owner to plug their smartphones straight into the car audio system and listen to their favorite MP3 songs through their car speakers.

The advantage to the car MP3 players is that there is no interference and the owner gets to enjoy all their favorite songs while on the move.

As previously mentioned we use our smartphones for just about everything these days, including keeping play lists of our favorite music. Being able to listen to our music through our car MP3 players is a huge advantage which reduces expenditure in the long run.

We pay to download songs to our phones, but then we have to purchase CD's for the vehicle, this means many car owners are purchasing the same song more than once.

Investing in car MP3 players can reduce the amount of money spent on purchasing music, while offering the convenience of having all the music on one device whether you're driving, walking the street or at home.

Many of the car systems these days also offer Bluetooth functionality, this enables the owner to listen to music, make and receive calls directly from their car sound system, using the speakers to hear the voice. A microphone is attached to the vehicle, offering crisp and clear music and phone calls while on the move.

Car Entertainment Systems: Smart, Powerful, Evolving

With the rapid advancements in technology come amazing opportunities to customize your car's sound system and other features. There are many folks out there fascinated and downright obsessed with supplementing their mechanical masterpieces with cutting-edge custom entertainment systems. While the sheer number of options and customizations available allow for an enduring pastime, many milder enthusiasts just want their car to help them stay organized, entertained and "wired in" while on the go.

Beefed-up car audio and smartphone integration are becoming staple features in new model cars, but many find the factory versions of these options to be rigid, impersonal, inconvenient, or they simply don't generate the output they're looking for. This is where customization enters the picture. Many consumers just forego the stock bells and whistles when buying a new car and spring for aftermarket options, which can actually save money due to inflated dealer markups. At the same time, you get superior products for your cash!

Aftermarket Audio And Video

When it comes to in-car entertainment, arguably the most important part for most is the audio system. Music can make a drive considerably more enjoyable, but again, stock sound systems often just won't do.

Custom speakers are often the first audio component installed in lieu of the factory variants. With literally dozens of manufacturers, shapes, styles and wattages available, your imagination is the only limitation. If it floats your boat, you can even have custom work done on your car's interior to have speakers installed where they weren't before. An installation expert can seamlessly do all the interior work, wiring and aesthetics.

A new deck or display also adds major juice and personality to your system. Some can be installed flush into your dashboard, where others can slide out and fold upwards. Many displays also support DVD, MP4, tablets and more, allowing movies to be "sent" to any video displays throughout the car. Bluetooth is very quickly becoming the standard wireless gateway to media for both audio and video so should play a major role in your entertainment package.

Smart To Include Your Smartphone

Face it and embrace it: Smartphones are becoming many people's link to the outside world, and in no place is that more true than in your car. Custom smartphone integration has become almost another passenger in your vehicle. Hands-free mounts and sleek earpieces are no longer the most innovative phone integration available, as car voice control and Bluetooth integration are becoming eerily intelligent.

Music, social media, hands-free or touch screen navigation, weather, traffic advisories, E-mail, phone calls, reminders, and text messages can be completely controlled without lifting a finger. Android and Apple platforms also support applications for many brands of audio systems that transform them into a system remote control.

So you see, car components exist that can satisfy anyone's needs, from the casual technology wave-rider, to the connected entrepreneur, to the dedicated hobbyist. When it's time to buy, think high quality, performance, and select the features that improve the quality of time you spend in our vehicle.

Subwoofer Car Audio Selection - What Features Are Important

If you love listening to music in your car then you'll need a really good subwoofer car audio first. While most people think that a subwoofer is only needed to produce lots of sound, it is actually necessary because it helps produce low notes necessary for music to be perfect. There are a few things to be considered when selecting this particular piece of audio equipment:

1. What kind of sound do you require? If you wish to have a very deep sound in your car then you should certainly splurge on the most expensive subwoofer car audio available. However, you should be aware that the size of your car will be a significant limitation since you have limited areas where the speaker can be installed. While 8" subwoofers are generally the least powerful ones, many people buy them not just for their compactness and cost effectiveness but because they help enhance the bass sound.

2. Size doesn't always matter - If yours is an average sized car then it's unlikely that you need a very large sub. In fact, a 15" subwoofer car audio speaker will not provide clear sound in a car of this size. 10" or 12" will work best.

3. Does your subwoofer match the amplifier in the car? If you try to match a powerful sub with a weak amplifier then the sound output will not be satisfactory. However, a sensitive subwoofer (which can be expensive) should be the easiest way of dealing with the issue.

4. What is your budget? Audio equipment can be quite costly. Therefore, you need to spend money on it in proportion to how much you value listening to music. Be sure to enquire whether the cost includes a warranty so that you can get it repaired or replaced as the case may be.

It is very important to do plenty of research before doing subwoofer car audio selection. As a matter of fact, it is preferable to check out various combinations of sound systems in your car, or at least a vehicle that is the same size as yours.

Once you have bought the right subwoofer car audio speaker for your car then you should get it installed correctly. This has a big role to play in the quality of sound it creates. If you are not comfortable with installing the sound system in your car then you should get a professional to do it for you.

Pros and Cons of Non Audio and Audio Capacitors

What Are Capacitors?

Capacitors, or condensers, can be defined as a electrical components which are used for storing charge in an electrical field. In professional terms, this is a device which simulates the functions of battery at micro level in an electrical circuit.

How Capacitors works?

In basic terms, the common audio capacitor manufactures produces components which works on the concepts of potential difference. When there is difference in electrical potential of two conductors, the electric field develops. Due to this, the positive charge deposits on one conductor, leaving negative charge on another. This makes it to store energy which is utilized in various ways in electrical & electronic circuits.

Types of Common Conductors

The commonly used capacitors are described here briefly along with pros & cons.

Metalized Film Capacitor

In Metalized Film Capacitor, thin metal film is used as the capacitor through which current is passed.

Pros - These are smaller in size as thin film is used in place of conducting plates.
Cons - Thin films reduces current carrying capacity to a remarkable extend, thus limiting its capabilities.

Aluminium Electrolytic Capacitor

Bi-Polar Aluminium Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturers produce capacitors with aluminum electrolyte in order to improve efficiency.

Pros - Durable, stable electrical parameters, Lower ESR
Cons - Low Voltage & Limited transient, lower reverse voltage tolerance, can burst in extreme parameters

Non Polar Electrolytic Capacitor

None Polar Electrolytic Capacitor Suppliers often adds special chemical to improve performance of capacitors. However, they still suffer from certain major disadvantages.

Pros - Size is smaller, good for long term use, stable on voltage fluctuations
Cons - can't tolerate extreme voltage, current carrying capacity is limited, can explode upon excessive heating

Audio Capacitor

Audio Capacitor is not a special category of division. Instead, it is a commercial name for those capacitors which are used for audio circuits. One can fit any suitable capacitor as per the needs & purpose of circuit.

Film Capacitor

Film Capacitor is a special type in which thin film is used to replace solid conductor plates of traditional style capacitors. This makes size extremely portable & increases the durability as well. However, certain drawbacks are still attached with it.

Pros - size is small, fit for micro size circuits, predictable & stable behavior in various cases
Cons - self hearting, overheating on high voltage, limited current carrying ability

Electrolytic Capacitors

In broad terms, electrolyte capacitor plays a vital role. This is used as the standard to test other capacitors. Also, it is basic level capacitor which is commonly used in labs for elementary experiments.

Pros - Large voltage carrying capacity, reliable results, stable behavior, cost effective
Cons - Leakage in most cases, require care & maintenance, overheating on wrong polarization, failure on wrong use

Speaker Capacitor

Speaker Capacitor is more an application than being a specific type. So, no specific pros & cons can be talked about. However, they are limited in their action of current carrying. Applying excessive voltage may lead to failure.

Car Dashboard Cameras - Four Reasons To Install A Dash Cam

You may have noticed that dash cams are becoming more and more popular in Western countries. Until a short while ago, only police cars would have a dashboard camera installed. But then the unthinkable happened and a meteor struck a remote town somewhere in Siberia, Russia -- and to everyone's surprise, dozens of live videos of the event instantly popped up on YouTube!

That's because in Russia, dash cams have become quite popular due to the country's rampant corruption and insurance fraud issues. Russian drivers use them for various reasons: One, dash cameras enable them to provide video evidence in case they get involved in an accident through no fault of their own. Two, they provide protection against corrupt police officers that have been known to fine drivers that hadn't done anything wrong. Three, and this may seem unbelievable if you haven't seen it, but there are actually videos of pedestrians suddenly jumping out onto a driving car, in order to claim money from the driver's insurance!

Now guess what? Dash cams are useful for these precise reasons in your country, too. You may be fortunate enough to live in a location where corruption is less widespread, but there is still a chance that you might run into a black sheep one day. And even though I hope that this will never be the case, how could I say that I will never, ever become involved in a traffic accident?

Invaluable to prove your innocence in a court of law, dash cam footage can be used to clear yourself once and for all of any false accusations that you might be charged with. But that's not all. While dash cams are great in case of an accident, most people will never need the footage to actually defend themselves in court (even though it's great to know that you could, if you needed to).

Reason four - why more and more people are deciding to get a dash cam: They're fun!

Did you ever drive through a beautiful landscape, and just enjoy the view as you drive along? Imagine recording these magical moments, sharing them with your friends and family later at home, or even adding some background music and uploading a nice video on YouTube. Rare wildlife grazing alongside the road, or that odd celebrity crossing the street just in front of you? Now you'll be able to back up the stories from your road trip with a high definition video!

Dash cams are always on while you drive. They start recording when you turn the ignition key, so you won't have to worry about remembering to turn your camera on. And while memory cards do have limited capacity, modern dashboard cameras allow you to record over 4 hours of footage at top video quality.

Also, they use a technique called "cyclic recording", meaning that once your memory card is full, they will automatically overwrite the oldest footage, so there is no way you can ever run out of "disk space".

Of course, you will be able to mark those parts of your video footage that you want to keep, so they will be excluded from overwriting until you copy them over to your personal computer. Additionally, most modern car cameras have a G-sensor which in case of an impact, marks the recording for safekeeping automatically (so it can't get accidentally overwritten).

Remote Car Alarms: A Necessity For Your Car?

Protecting what you own, whether it is your house, your car, or even your personal effects, is becoming more and more difficult these days. A lot of unscrupulous individuals go out of their way to obtain what is not rightfully theirs. In fact, it has been noted that every 20 seconds, one car is actually broken into in the US alone. This is a very startling statistic and to avoid becoming a victim of such an occurrence, you need to increase security measures. One of the things you might want to consider when it comes to protecting your car is a remote car alarm.

What exactly is a remote car alarm and what does it do? Why is it considered a necessity for cars these days? As earlier mentioned, protecting your assets is a necessary measure these days due to the ever increasing possibility of theft. A remote car alarm is basically an alarm that activated and deactivate with the use of a remote control device. This device is usually battery operated and comes in the form of a keychain, which can be conveniently attached to your car keys.

What a car alarm can do for you is to alert you, and anyone within hearing range, that your vehicle is being tampered with or someone is trying to break into it. Depending on the kind of alarm system you get, you may find that some alarms go off when someone approaches your car and gets to a certain distance from it. Other alarm systems go off only when the vehicle is touched or when someone attempts to open any of the doors, the trunk or the hood.

Some alarm systems use door sensors to set these off. This is not a pretty reliable car alarm to get since these only activate when the doors to your car are opened. Anyone can actually steal your car without opening the doors by simply towing it away, or even by breaking windows, if this is the kind of alarm you have installed. It would be better to get more advanced systems than this.

One advanced remote car alarm to consider is one that uses shock sensors on them. Any movement near or on the car sets off the alarm, so anybody who tries to strike, tow or even leans on your vehicle, the alarm will go off. Some alarms sound off differently for the different levels of movement the vehicle experiences. The more pronounced the movement, the louder and more pronounced the alarm.

Some people find that, aside from using alarms that are activated by shock sensors, adding pressure sensors to a vehicle is also a good theft deterrent. Pressure sensors are activated when a change in the air pressure of the vehicle changes suddenly, either with the opening of a door or the breaking of a window. Others even add motion and tilt sensors and perimeter scanners to their remote car alarm systems to ensure that other methods of stealing the vehicle are covered.

In-Car Fuel Mileage Electronic Relay to the Cloud?

The other day, I was talking to an acquaintance who helps wire homes, specifically smart homes with broadband access. He puts the wires in the wall and makes everything work. Many of the homes the he wires up have been long-standing, some of them were built in the 1950s for instance. It's time for those residents to upgrade, and he puts in all of the new technology for them.

It's interesting these days as people's refrigerators are becoming smarter than they are, and the same is happening with our cars, soon they will be driving themselves. In fact our cars are going to be so smart, maybe they can take our tests in school from the parking lot, just kidding, you don't want to get caught cheating. Okay so let's talk a little bit about some of the latest cool in-car gadgetry.

There was an interesting article on March 28, 2013 in the Wall Street Journal titled; "Auto Makers Try to Tackle Inaccuracies Measuring MPG," which discussed how different drivers with different driving habits, different areas were reporting different mileage results, some more and some less than the actual MPG on the sticker when they bought their automobile. As you will recall there have been some rather high profile federal regulatory lawsuits over false advertising and MPG estimates by automakers.

Ford is asking APP makers to come up with something that will relay actual data to their cloud servers via smart phones according to that article. I think that is a wise idea, in fact, I'd like to have one, unfortunately, currently I do not own a Ford automobile, but I have had Ford cars and trucks in the past.

Just think if you were at the beach, and you needed to get some more pizza, beer, and snacks. Wouldn't it be nice to simply use your iPhone to call your car, put in the request by text message, and your car would drive to the store, contact the clerk inside, have all the goodies brought out and put in the car, and pay for it all just as you would with an iPhone payment app?

Now then, back to the story above, we all want to know what our true miles per gallon average is, and we need to be able to adjust our driving habits and behavior to optimize our fuel economy. By doing that we can save money, and at four dollars per gallon for gasoline, everyone is into that. Meanwhile, it will keep the automakers honest, and let us consumers know where we really stand. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it

Getting the Most From iPhone and Ford Sync

Getting the most out of your Ford Sync system sometimes means learning more about your smartphone and here are some tips on using your iPhone with the Ford Sync system.

Are you having trouble accessing your iPhone music?

If you have upgraded to a newer Apple iOS, then one of the options is to "back up" and store your music on the Cloud. This uses a process referred to as iTunes Match. Essentially you see the song titles and information on your iPhone - but the music is actually "parked" in the Cloud. The problem is that the Ford Sync system no longer can access this music since it has become part of the Apple proprietary system. If you go to your iPhone's Settings folder... scroll down to the iTunes & App Stores bar, then turn off the iTunes Match button.

This allows your Sync system to access music files. Turn the iTunes Match button back on to back up and store your music from time to time to keep your files current.

Has your streaming iPhone music stopped playing?

If you pushed the Voice button on the steering wheel to access music by saying "Bluetooth Audio" then you can stream music through your vehicle sound system. It streams music, but you don't have enough bandwidth to give voice commands to "Play Artist Bruno Mars."

If you plug your iPhone into the USB port, then you'll have to push the Voice button and say "USB." The Sync system will index the music on your iPhone (or USB jump drive) and after a few minutes, push the Voice button again and when the Sync system says "USB, state your command" then say "Play All." The Sync system will begin playing your music. You can then push the Voice button and say "Play Artist Miranda Lambert" and it will find and play her music (if you have that in your collection).

So can I play music from Pandora?

If you have a Pandora account on your iPhone, then you can push the Voice button and say "Bluetooth Audio." The system will reply "Bluetooth Audio" and then go to your iPhone and tap the Pandora icon (or other streaming music App) and then as that App starts to play, your music will mute and the streaming music will play.

Once again, if you plug your iPhone into USB, then you have to give your system a voice command of "USB" for the system to change the content it is accessing.

Can I get voice-to-text text messages read to me?

If you have an iPhone 4s or an iPhone 5, go to your phone and push the Home button (the large button on the lower center of your phone). Hold the Home button for a few seconds and you will hear a tome on your phone (and the Sync system). Say, "Read Text Messages." Your iPhone's Siri will look for messages and read them to you. If you want to send a message, push the Home button and say "Send Text Message." Your Siri will ask who you want to send to and what you want to say. Just follow instructions. In fact, you can push the Home button and ask Siri any question. When you are finished with Siri, just push and hold the phone icon on your steering wheel and "hang up" on the call.

So how can I get voice-activated GPS instructions through the Sync system?

Let's say you want to use your iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 App, such as Google Maps, to get turn-by-turn instructions. Push the Voice button on the steering wheel and say "Bluetooth Audio." Then go to your iPhone and activate your GPS App. It will "speak" the instructions over the Sync system. Push and hold the phone icon on the steering wheel to hang up the voice instructions.

On-going support for your iPhone and Sync...

Complete power down your iPhone at least once a week. Keep the iPhone off for at least a few minutes. Then power it back up.

Go to your phone's main screen. Then push the Home button twice. The screen will slide up. You will see a group of App icons. Push and hold your finger on one of the Apps until a red circle with a white minus symbol appears. Then tap the red circle and the Apps will be turned off. Most people will find that every time they open an App that it stays on "in the background." This uses more power and drains your battery more quickly. By turning off your iPhone Music App you won't have the music starting to play automatically every time you start up your vehicle.

By the way, if you are playing Bluetooth or USB music then you can push one of the Audio buttons on your vehicle to change to AM/FM, CD, Aux or Sirius as a music source. Or, you can use the Media (or Source) buttons (if you have them on your vehicle) to access any of the Media available to your vehicle.

What Happens When Your AI Autonomous Car Gets Bored Anticipating Your Next Excursion?

In the future there is no doubt that we will have autonomous vehicles, cars that drive themselves, not only cars but buses, trucks, and perhaps even motorcycles. We already have trains, and aircraft which fly themselves, this will only become more common in those realms. Still, for autonomous vehicles to really do all that we perceive they will in the future, they will have to have more artificial intelligence, faster processing computers, and all of that will need to update itself from the cloud several times a day.

Of course, with all that information these computers will become self-actualized, they will feel as if they have a mind of their own, and much like the Internet they will appear to be thinking, adapting, and changing to the conditions in the real world in real time, even if most of their components were originally created for a virtual or augmented world. Now then, I have a question for you because artificial intelligence is scary for many people, it means that our computers, tools, equipment, and even our personal vehicles in the future will begin thinking on their own.

May I ask you what might happen when you're fully autonomous artificially intelligent car gets bored with you? What happens when he gets bored of driving straight and level, going the speed limit, and he just wants to go out and have some fun? What happens when your artificially intelligent car starts zigzagging in traffic, or taking turns extremely fast just for the fun of it? You may think that's a crazy notion, but haven't you ever just wanted to do that yourself, it's okay to admit it. I'm not going to hold against you. I'm sure you have gone around corners too fast, perhaps broken the speed limit now and again. Who knows, maybe you were bored?

Would you deny that same opportunity for another living and thinking being? You might say that an artificially intelligent autonomous car doesn't think, it can't reason, and it isn't alive? But if it perceives itself to be alive, even has a conscience, then it is alive. All higher-level thinking brains enjoy play, why wouldn't your fully autonomous artificially intelligent automobile?

What if it just starts up, opens the automatic garage door, and goes out for a spin all by itself? Yes, I guess this sounds like another Disney movie; "Cars IV in 4-D" and maybe it does, but my job here is to make you think, so I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.