Controlling music with BT?

[qoncept]

I've been using my phone to stream music to my car via A2DP since I got my original Droid, but I find I don't bother connecting the majority of the time. I want to replace my head unit with something more robust. Is there a head unit that will connect via BT and not just stream but actually CONTROL my phone? What is this feature called?

 

[qoncept]

Oh, well, it looks like AVRCP is what I'm looking for. But I haven't found anything that will tell me whether I can actually do it with my Thunderbolt and whether it actually SHOWS my library on the HU or just lets me skip, ffw, etc..?

 

[icculusX]

I know this isnt quite what your looking for but for myself I got THIS BLUETOOTH because I mostly use it for listening to music. It is a small reciever that works for about 10 hours play time and hooks to regular 1/8 headphones. It has functions to play, pause, ff, rw, skip track, back track, and even has a phone button for answering calls and using voice apps (little microphon built in). I also use it in my car.

Doesnt quite tell you track names or show a library, i dono if theres one out there that does, but its amazing for the price. I listen to music all over my house while my phones in my room charging... and i skip tracks i dont like...

 

[qoncept]

Thanks for the info but that's not really what I'm looking for. With my current setup I can get in the car, BT automatically connects and it can launch whatever app I want, then I need to push play. I can use the music app normally, but I'm holding a phone in my hand instead of working with a fixed car stereo. Then, when I get out, I have to close the music app.

I need to have all that functionality or I'm taking a step back. It's pretty pathetic that this isn't all happening. iPod integration with car stereos is getting close to where it should be but I don't understand why A2DP/AVRCP are such a niche market.

 

[rustydogg]

I'm also very interested in doing with my car. I'm about to replace my head unit with a new one. I believe that using a head unit with a USB port might work.
I'm not sure if you will be able to choose an specific music folder or if all the songs are going to played. However as long as it plays MP3s there should not be much worry.
My buddy sells Steros and I'll ask him about it and try it on his car.

 

[qoncept]

There are plenty of HUs with USB that can use your Thunderbolt as just a storage device. The potential problems:
- the interface usually isn't very good and choosing songs is a pain
- indexing can take forever with some units, and some will do it every time you turn the thing on, some will only reindex when you unplug the storage (which you'd do every time with a phone) and some act like you'd hope
- some won't resume play in the middle of a song (the one I have now does this)

There's no telling which HUs have which of these problems without trying them. There's some anecdotal evidence in forums, but reviews never touch on it and good luck compiling any useful information. Better off just buying 20 different HUs and trying them.

Anyway, I don't want to take the time to plug it in (as in, I won't do it for short trips). If I were to go that route I'd buy an HU with an SD card slot and a 32gb card.