Cars are getting a lot of attention at CES this year, and for good reason too. When people buy a new car these days, they expect it to be able to talk to their phone. What was once a luxury feature is now being demanded by the masses. Google’s response to this was to create the Open Android Automotive Alliance, a group that’s basically there to make sure this car integration stuff doesn’t get too complicated. But say you already have a car, you don’t want to buy a new one, and you want to make it smart. What do you do?
Sony thinks you should buy their $250 XSP-N1BT double DIN car stereo. The stereo itself doesn’t run Android, but instead it’ll let you dock a Sony smartphone into it. Right now the Z, Z1, and Z1 Compact are supported, but that list will likely grow. Now if you’re thinking that your Sony phone is connecting to this stereo via a hard connection, you’d be mistaken. Instead, all this magic takes place over Bluetooth. While that’s obviously going to degrade the signal a bit, at least you’ll be able to stream over your Spotify playlists. Is this stereo a good idea? That really depends on the type of car you drive. Modern cars have fully integrated center columns that make swapping out stereos impossible. That being said, modern cars almost always have an option to integrate some sort of Bluetooth audio or at least physical 3.5 mm port so you can connect devices you already have to the car. While not elegant, that’s probably what most people will end up using.
