I refuse to buy a new car right now, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly frustrated at the technological limitations of my 14 year-old Altima. She has bluetooth audio for phone calls but, music? Forget out it! My dashboard is textured and I’ve had some difficulty finding a phone holder - and I’d still have to look at it anyway, distracting me from concentrating on the road and making driving riskier.
I had considered upgrading my car stereo but didn’t really want the expense or the hassle, especially if I will eventually break down and buy a new vehicle anyway. I didn’t expect a huge tech leap with the LAMTTO device because of the price but it promised a lot so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try. Simply, I’m impressed! I was able to use my existing phone holder that is already installed - I just swapped out the ball joint with the one included with the receiver.
The screen was a bit heavier than I expected, perhaps due to the built-in dash cam. Because of the placement of my holder, I’m not able to take full advantage of the camera but the times I’ve played around with it, I’ve found that it works pretty well, without additional wiring or installation requirements.
The CarPlay works wonderfully and I’m able to play music from phone with the combination of bluetooth and the FM transmitter. The touchscreen of the device is responsive and I’ve had no issues with lag. Call audio isn’t quite as great as my built-in bluetooth but it’s not hard to switch it over when needed.
CAUTION: ⚠️ Don’t be like me and leave the device plugged in for long periods of time with your car off. Since I could turn the screen off, I figured it was OFF. What I didn’t know, when my phone was occasionally connecting to the screen while I was inside my house, was that it was completely draining my car battery. Luckily, my husband was home when I came out to a dead car so he could give me a jump. I’m now hyper-vigilant about making sure I unplug when I arrive at work or home for the night.
Overall, I’m very happy with the capabilities of the car stereo upgrade. My husband’s CarPlay port in his truck is now malfunctioning so we may buy another one, as it’s cheaper than repairing at the dealership!