Best Bluetooth Car Kits
Kinivo BTC450 Bluetooth car kit. Provides audio through your 3.5mm input in Car Stereo when playing music and answering phone calls.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought the product to use in my car with an iPhone 5. My car already has Bluetooth, but it only supports HFP and not A2DP for music. Although the BTC450 HFP works better than my car's stock bluetooth, I would rather use my car's bluetooth because it displays the caller's name on the navigation screen. The quality of the call outperforms my car's stock bluetooth. I read reviews of bluetooth devices not being able to communicate with siri because of microphone quality. Unfortunately, you can only use one device at a time and it only auto connects to the last paired device. Fortunately, over the last two days my iphone, the BTC450, and my car's bluetooth have been all working flawlessly together. If music is streaming I can receive or place a call with my car's bluetooth, and when the call is done music will resume playing. I can place a call with siri and transfer it to my car's bluetooth with no problem while music is playing. I read a review in which you could connect two devices simultaneously using different profiles, but after consulting with Kinivo support and trying haplessly myself I could not get it to work. The only other product I found that can do this is Parrot's Mki9100 and 9200 devices. As stated before, I was having problems using my car's bluetooth and the BTC450 with my iPhone 5 at the same time. Even after I removed the second device from the equation, for a couple of days it was not working, but over the last two days it has been working great."
"The device has a forward and backward track buttons on the top and comes with 2 adhesive pads to mount it to your dash (1 is an extra). The only minor problem with this device is that only one device can be paired with it at a time. Pros: - Forward/Backward track buttons on top. - Easy set up. - Very litter effort to connect to the device each time. - Good Microphone phone. - Excellent Quality and no skipping. - Cheaper than alternative. - Ability to charge your phone and the device at same time. - Relatively small and non-intrusive to add to dash. Cons: - Can only pair one device at a time. Update 12/4/13: I've been using one in my car and one in my wife's for almost a year now and they are both still working fine."
"I plugged the device into my car, told me Samsung Galaxy S4 to connect to it and it was working instantly without needing a manual."
"(having to unplug the device every time). Also this doesn't have a magnetic base, it permanently adheres to the dashboard and is not removable like others. (The new 480 model has a 2.1 amp charger). The good news: Super easy to connect. Comparing the built in stock radio Sirius/XM to the S/XM app on my phone using this adapter and the sound quality is excellent."
How to Use: 1.Power on/off Power on: Press the multifunction button about 3 seconds until the blue and red indicator lights start flashing alternately. 3.Pairing: (1)Before using the receiver first time, please be sure to have it fully charged. (2)Connect Mpow with your car stereo. (3)Press the multifunction button about 3 seconds until the blue and red indicator lights start flashing alternately. (4)Turn on the Bluetooth function of your phone. (5)Search for the Bluetooth devices and select “MPOW”. (6)If there is needs a code, please enter “0000”. (7)If pairing is successful, the blue indicator light would flash slowly. DUAL-LINK CONNECTION & WIDE COMPATIBILITY : Mpow could connect two Bluetooth devices at once and the Bluetooth range up to 30 feet in open space without obstacles.And it also could compatible with most Bluetooth enabled devices like smartphone, MP3, tablet, etc, ideal for home or vehicle audio systems.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Your music will be a little quieter and not as bassy as it is when you use an auxiliary cable to connect directly to your device. Even so, this device is an ideal solution for the target demographic - folks that just want to eliminate that auxiliary cord and stream audio to their radio via bluetooth without breaking the bank. Update 12/29/2014: I had previously rated this as a 4-star device - because of the loss of audio volume/fidelity...but after an 8 hour road trip and the device lasting the ENTIRE trip and then some...I'm bumping my rating up to 5-stars."
"You'll need to power it off or disconnect bluetooth when you leave vehicle or you'll miss calls or continue streaming media. I might add this, for I found audibility as an issue in a different review; The sound is LOUDER than using an auxiliary cord or just listening to the radio! Just make sure you long press (hold the + button) the volume all the way up until it beeps, then turn your device all the way up and adjust as needed with your radio controls."
"I am ALWAYS listening to music in my car (I have a 2008 chevy) and have always used an auxiliary cord to connect my phone (iPhone 6plus) to my stereo. Turned on the Bluetooth option on my iPhone 6plus held the multifunction button down for 3 seconds and selected MPOW under my Bluetooth settings in my phone and plugged the little guy in!"
"My audiophile friends told me it was a stupid idea to buy this to make my Audio-Technica m50x headphones wireless."
Premium Sound Quality: Mpow Bluetooth Music Streambot uses updated wireless technology to adapt audio systems with Bluetooth capability. Turn Non-Bluetooth Headphones to Bluetooth-Enabled: Turn your non-Bluetooth headphones to Bluetooth-enabled,just connect the Mpow Bluetooth adapter with your non-Bluetooth headphones through the 3.5mm audio cable,then to enjoy your lovely music from your phone with the headphones. Play All Day: Mpow Bluetooth 4.1 Adapter with A2DP technology can not only a crystal clear sound, but also ensure low battery consumption, thus allowing you to enjoy up to 10 hours non-stop music! AUTOMATICALLY RECONNECT: Just turn on the Bluetooth of your cell phone first,and then turn on the Bluetooth receiver, the Mpow Bluetooth Receiver can be automatically paired.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Plus the cord was annoying and ugly, especially since the port is behind the center console (basically in the back seat)."
"This receiver keeps audio in tact and is very stealthy looking."
"The hands free feature when receiving or making calls is super simple, just push the power button on the side to answer/hang up. Sound quality in the car is excellent, on the receiving end it is acceptable, but I imagine it would be better if the unit was not in the center console, but it still works."
"If your vehicle is an older model that did NOT come with Bluetooth for your phone (my car's bluetooth works on my smartphone for phone calls but not music) and has the audio jack port, this device is perfect!"
"Works well with android phone."
"The only thing that would make it better would be an audio input so I could use it for BT phone calls with my headset on, but that's something that I haven't found on anything yet."
"- this would be useful so you don't have to turn it on when you get in the car."
"I am always listening to pod casts on my commute and this will allow me to easily play them through the car stereo."
Best Car Audio Amplifiers
TX/RX Mode Easily switch between transmitter and receiver mode by flipping a switch. What is In the Box: 1 x TaoTronics Bluetooth 4.1 2-in-1 Adapter (Model: TT-BA07) 1 x 3.5mm Audio Cable 1 x 3.5mm Female to 2 RCA Male Cable 1 x USB Charging Cable 1 x User Guide. LOW DELAY: aptX Low Latency for High-fidelity Stereo Sound, lag-free content streaming in transmitter mode. MAKE IT TWO: Upgraded 2-in-1 Bluetooth V4.1 transmitter can be paired with two Bluetooth receivers (like headphones + speakers) simultaneously.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Then got my BT headphones and cleared any old pairing I had done to them (although you may not need to if you haven't paired with anything before) I turned the adapter on and gave 2 quick taps to start pairing mode on the adapter, then got the headphones and started pairing on them."
"Before I purchased this transmitter, I was basically stuck using closed captions (fine for shows like The Walking Dead, where there's surprisingly little dialog, not great for the NFL Network or ESPN, where the closed captions are often incorrect and lag far behind). (2) Put the transmitter into pairing mode (hold down the power button to turn it on, then double-tap so it starts flashing red and blue). (3) Put your other device into pairing mode and hold it close to - but not touching - the transmitter."
"It arrived with a well written instruction book, USB charging cable, RCA male to 3.5 mm male cable, and a 3.5 mm male to 3.5 mm male cable. Item looks well made with the power button on the side of the unit.The red and blue LED lights surround the power button and are easy to see. I currently have it paired with an Auvio brand wireless Headphone that list having Bluetooth version 4.0."
"I upgraded my Bose noise cancelling headphones to wireless by attaching this set on rx (receiver) mode to the left earpiece with a piece of hook and loop tape. It does require that the connection to the almost-proprietary headphone jack be seated just-so in order to get stereo but once it is, it stays that way and the sound is great."
Best Wireless Audio Receivers & Adapters
The SONOS CONNECT brings streaming music to your stereo or home theater. Wirelessly stream services like Prime Music Unlimited, Pandora, Spotify and Apple music on the equipment you already own.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"So while I certainly want a good sounding setup, I'm not obsessed with it and am happy with "mid-level" sound quality. That being said, the Sonos:Connect was a delight in terms of setup and ease of use (5 stars for these areas alone), but a real disappointment in terms of sound quality (2 stars). I bought a Sonos:Connect to plug into my home stereo, and a Sonos Bridge to wirelessly stream the music on my computer to it. So you won't see album artwork on your controller unless you bought the files from the iTunes or another online store that embeds the artwork, or go through a process to copy the artwork into the files themselves via iTunes (Sonos has a good description of how to do this on their support website).]. Once I connected everything and streamed my first song, I noticed that the sound quality was off. I plugged the Connect into the DAC via the optical connecter, plugged the DAC into my stereo ... and problem solved. At any rate, I now have both great sound and the great ease of use that comes with the Sonos."
"Like all Sonos it is a great quality product but expensive."
"Another nice benefit of this product is that it has internet radio built in so you can control it from any and all of your devices or computers. I have since bought a Sonos Play 3 wireless speaker to replace a second stereo receiver in my bedroom."
"This sonos connect is actually my third- I had started with one to control music in my living room, and another outside in my backyard, and now this for my kitchen."
"I've hooked it up to our existing in house speakers and whole house intercom system to play music inside and also to Sonos speakers to play music outside."
"I've only had it for a week, this thing has fixed my home house stereo system."
"I plugged the Sonos Connect in as a source and now I can control all of my music through my phone."
"This unit is super easy to setup and works great."
Best Cell Phone Car Kits
DUAL-LINK CONNECTION & WIDE COMPATIBILITY : Mpow could connect two Bluetooth devices at once and the Bluetooth range up to 30 feet in open space without obstacles.And it also could compatible with most Bluetooth enabled devices like smartphone, MP3, tablet, etc, ideal for home or vehicle audio systems.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Your music will be a little quieter and not as bassy as it is when you use an auxiliary cable to connect directly to your device. Even so, this device is an ideal solution for the target demographic - folks that just want to eliminate that auxiliary cord and stream audio to their radio via bluetooth without breaking the bank. Update 12/29/2014: I had previously rated this as a 4-star device - because of the loss of audio volume/fidelity...but after an 8 hour road trip and the device lasting the ENTIRE trip and then some...I'm bumping my rating up to 5-stars."
"You'll need to power it off or disconnect bluetooth when you leave vehicle or you'll miss calls or continue streaming media. I might add this, for I found audibility as an issue in a different review; The sound is LOUDER than using an auxiliary cord or just listening to the radio! Just make sure you long press (hold the + button) the volume all the way up until it beeps, then turn your device all the way up and adjust as needed with your radio controls."
"I am ALWAYS listening to music in my car (I have a 2008 chevy) and have always used an auxiliary cord to connect my phone (iPhone 6plus) to my stereo. Turned on the Bluetooth option on my iPhone 6plus held the multifunction button down for 3 seconds and selected MPOW under my Bluetooth settings in my phone and plugged the little guy in!"
"My audiophile friends told me it was a stupid idea to buy this to make my Audio-Technica m50x headphones wireless."
"When comparing a direct aux cable's sound quality to this bkue tooth device, there was only a difference of about 2-4 levels in volume. In otherwords, when the direct aux cable is at volume 39, this device will sound similar at maybe 42/43-ish."
Best Cell Phone Car Chargers
MultiProtect Safety System Surge protection, temperature control and more advanced safety features keep you and your devices safe. • Compatible with the new 12" MacBook, Apple and Android smartphones, tablets (including the Nexus 7) and other USB-charged devices except for the iPod nano, iPod Classic, iPod Shuffle, HP TouchPad and Asus tablets. Note: If a port isn't working properly, your device may have triggered the protective internal safety switch. The Anker Advantage: Join the 10 million+ powered by America's leading USB charging brand.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"UPDATE: Anker contacted me a couple days later and promised me a completely fixed unit. At 10v 3 amps the charger is equally hot (a good thing because the heat is actually getting out of the plastic case). Anker still hasn't failed me yet, words from a long time customer studying electrical engineering. I bought the charger and it came in a week, pretty ridiculous when i'm located in the same state as Anker's shipping dept. Drove around and my phone started to vibrate like crazy, after some searching around, I found out that the center spring was way too strong. The efficiency was 81.8%. The design and layout of the circuitry is not bad at all, although i couldn't find a datasheet on the main chip MPSF14/M5402M, everything else is quite high quality. Modifications I have done, Cut the center spring 2mm shorter, cover the whole inside with thermal pads, to actually get the heat out. Build quality is pretty nice, the inductor is siliconed, solder joints looks good."
"I had an amazon dual car charger that I was fairly happy with, but we needed a car charger for the back of our van, so I decided to move the amazon one to the back of the car and to get a smart-charger for the front of the car, since I use it a lot and wanted something that would possibly charge faster (not that I thought the amazon charger was slow or anything..I just wanted to upgrade)."
"I also have this Anker charger Anker Quick Charge 3.0 24W USB Car Charger, PowerDrive+ 1 for Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge / Plus, Note 5 / 4 and PowerIQ for iPhone X/ 8/7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro / Air 2 / mini, LG, Nexus, HTC and More and it only charges my QC 3.0 phone about 10% faster than this does. But most anyone would prefer softer lighting such as the red ring glowing or, even better, the USB jacks softly lit to make plugging something in at night easy. That gives them a much stronger incentive to make safe products that won't melt, catch on fire, or damage your device, interfere with other systems in your car (like TPMS), etc, like so many of the Chinese no-name chargers have."
Best Cell Phone Car Pads & Mats
Like its predecessors, the One Touch Universal & the One Touch XL, our new One Touch 2 is packed with standard features like the iOttie patented one touch locking feature as well as the iOttie super sticky gel pad. No matter if your phone is protected by a skin or a case, the iOttie Easy One Touch 2 Car Mount grips securely onto your device so you can drive with confidence. Super sticky gel pad sticks securely to most surfaces, yet is still easily removable (please note, most likely will not work on leather/ vinyl dashboards).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The reason I'm writing this review is this car mount holders ability to stay in the exact same mounted spot and hold my phone during a rollover accident I was just in earlier this week. After I unbuckled myself and turned the engine off I looked for my phone and no joke, it was exactly where is was before the roll...right there in the mount holder on the dash."
"Bought this and regrettably stuck it on the dash of my brand new car (the day after I bought it!)."
"I printed up the product description page here on Amazon, and have the instruction and info that came with this.The fact of the matter was that this has happened to 2 different makes of vehicles that I own and have the pictures to prove it. All they had to do was mention these vehicles in their product description that they know that this item will damage, and save a lot of people from the same problems myself and many others that have suffered. Notice in my post on 3-21-16 that I mentioned that it was listed to be safe on ALL surfaces, but a year later, and they have note way at the bottom, that it "may" cause damage to some vehicles, and they are not liable. They have no disclaimer or mention of anything about that this could happen to certain vehicles. Update 1-22-17. Here are the latest pictures of the other vehicle I have that this piece of junk has ruined, and before you think what idiot would buy this same product after what happened to them, is that I bought them both at the same time, it's just that I was using the worse of the two to get my point across. I now see that iOttie has put a disclaimer at the bottom of the description saying that they will not be responsible for any damages that could occur from this junk. If a company like that puts a disclaimer on their product page, then it's not a matter of if it could happen, it's more like it WILL happen on some certain vehicles."
"I literally can't believe it, but trying to wedge my finger between the adhesive and the glass, I lost all feeling from pushing so hard - and then pop.. See pictures below."
"Beware of this product; they have used overly strong glue on the rubber cup that is used to attach to your dashboard."
"Buyer beware."
Best Cell Phone Car Speakerphones
Beautiful carrying case to keep your tiny earbud,1magnetic USB chargers and 3 eartips safe and sound.Along with a user great gift choice for your friends and loved ones. 3.ENERGY CONSERVATION - Generally speaking, the battery can keep 3.5 hours life for all this similar products, but our products has a high capacity battery which 1.5 times than others.Premium quality lithium accumulator allows you listening audio on 30-40% volume about 7 hours and 6-8 hr talking time, 4.5 hr on full volume.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In the case of the Focuspower F10, I have literally worn it for several hours at a time with no problem at all. I have spent a small fortune on earpieces trying to find one I liked that had clear sound......did not make my ear sore......fit well.....and didn't break the bank. It includes a handy little zippered case and comes with its own unique magnetic charger."
"I needed a earphone that doesn't stop me from talking to people or stop people talking to me in the office."
"For my personal taste, I did not want one of those pods that sticks out oddly out of our ear like some of the JayBirds and other brands, this sits in your ear comfortably and minimalist."
"I really love both the gadget and the container, and highly recommend them."
"I'd still recommend it to buy, but don't expect for this to be a long time fix if you are a diehard Bluetooth lover."
"Simply stick the small charger in a USB port and the ear piece will stick to it magnetically."
"I really appreciate to have this mini Bluetooth earbud that makes my life more convenient because I always talk on the phone with my family and friends at night."
"How my desk is arranged people only see my empty ear, and do t realize I’m listening to music."
Best Cell Phone Car Cradles & Mounts
WizGear Universal Air Vent Magnetic phone Car Mount Vent Holder Black. WizGear Air Vent Car Mount for smartphones saves you the hassle of placing your smartphone securely to make sure it doesn’t fall just push it in the air vent! The user can just bring the phone near the mount and it will take it easily, so the user no longer has to fuss about with safekeeping their phone Instructions how to set up the Mount 1)Insert the mount in the Air Vent Mount in your car. The base of the mount remains fixed into the air vent of your car and does not move, no matter how much swiveling or rotation you do. EASY TO USE: This is an Magnetic Air vent universal smartphone magnetic car mount holder is 10 times easier to use than any other magnetic phone mount holder due to its simple and complementary design.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The stiff foam prongs that insert into the vent won't bend or break the air vanes, will fit any model, and create a firm, secure mount for the magnet. Unfortunately, installation of the plate on your phone can interfere with wireless charging, but there's an easy workaround (next paragraph.). A bit of an extra hassle (especially since I have a wireless charger at work too), but I think it is worth it for the convenience and stability of this mount in the car."
"I have an iPhone 6-Plus, and using both magnets (included in the shipment) between the case & the phone, it attaches onto the mount very firmly."
"I now remove the plate when I exit my car and leave it on the magnet and put it back in my case when I get back into my vehicle. The magnet that stays in the car has held up perfectly and I have had this mount in my vehicle for 6 months. I just leave the magnet in the same place."
"At first I didn't notice that the slots for the air vent slats were two different sizes."
"I reviewed the product as ineffective, and the company contacted me to sort out the issues."
"The magnet is incredibly strong and your device definitely stays secure while driving."
"The Soul on the other hand...I had to put it on the left side vent and it wasn't as convenient for quick glances and i have take my charging cable across the steering column."
"I wanted to like this and it had potential, but I've had this a week and the metal prongs are now exposed and it scratched up my air vent."