[subie_socal]

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

Also, you could have used the hotspot feature instead of WiFi Direct, couldn't you ?

I don't think mirroring will work with Hotspot.

[Joe367]

Thanks for sharing. It seems Google simply doesn't want us to use phone as headunit, they have banned such applications from Play Store in the past.

Although using cheap secondary phone is good for most scenarios, it come with downsides as well - like having separate sim/having to keep hotspot ON in our primary phone, offline maps takes a lot of time to show accurate location, we have to sign in to services like Spotify in both phones, in most cheap phones compass sensor might be missing or GPS won't be as accurate and if we need to open links from WhatsApp we need to send the link to other device etc.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Sachin_Nair

I happened to stumble upon this video yesterday while researching this exact topic.

I have been using this for about a year. Very useful since I have 2 bikes and it's easy to swap around without any major wiring needs, I have rigged up power unit to SAE connector as well as device to USB wire for flexibility. Sometimes I use it on my old Suzuki Grand Vitara for long trips. I use mostly the Samsung (secondary phone) on wireless mode kept inside my tank bank to connect and have managed to get all day battery support with this device on phone. Max a small top up during a break is what was needed once.

Apple car play is definitely more stable connection though, coz I have had occasions where Android auto hung or restarted suddenly.

Downside:

1 - Both android and apple streams only car route and not bike routes. Work around is adding in between points on the route manually and force the routing.

2 - My cheap Chinese bluetooth somehow does not connect to the unit, but the Sena and Packtalks of the world does not face an issue. Another reason why the secondary phone is left connected to this device, while primary apple phone connects to the bikes bluetooth and then to my helmet on the BMW as well as the KTM 390 Adventure.

Purchased it from Aliexpress and had shipped it to USA, and fellow mod Moralfiber helped with hand carrying it back to India. Costed under 13,000 INR then. I believe there is a dealer who will now sell you the unit here in India and there are better units with bigger screen as well as dual camera set up for recordings for about 18000 INR.

[Sebring]

Very handy device and a 'phone saver'. I bought the Carpuride unit for bikes at a very low price in US. Yet to install it on the Himalayan.

[souvik_daz]

Originally Posted by RYP

Why not simply turn on Wi-Fi hot spot from your main phone and tether the secondary phone to it and use Google maps (or any app for that matter) as is? I feel the native Google maps UI is good enough/ better to be used as a daily driver than the Android Auto UI. You can also use Bluetooth tethering instead of Wi-Fi hotspot and save a lot of battery too.

That would heat up the primary phone and significantly impact its battery life as well. Regarding Google maps UI, it is the same as what is available natively on the phone. The image you see in the original post (when the phone is mounted on the bike) is Waze and not Google Maps.

Having said that, the intention of the post was not to glorify any particular method of navigation. I have rider friends who still prefer using their primary phones as their navigation device. So, to each their own, I guess. Thanks for the critique nonetheless. Cheers!

[souvik_daz]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Detailed review please I've heard only good things about this setup.
Do you take it on & off when you head away from your motorcycle?

This link maybe helpful.

https://youtu.be/Fb0Xaf-kvqU?si=uUCPdB83wqPQmPrU

Actually, I went through a ton of these reviews and was on the verge of ordering one, but found the 2 phone casting solution easier on the pocket, while being equally convenient. Having said that, you should choose whatever works best for you.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Do you take it on & off when you head away from your motorcycle?

So there is a quick release for just the device/tablet part, just undo the lock screw behind and flip the clip to release the device from the cradle. Works brilliant for stops and overnight parking.

[shyamg28]

Originally Posted by souvik_daz

This link maybe helpful...

Actually, I went through a ton of these reviews and was on the verge of ordering one, but found the 2 phone casting solution easier on the pocket, while being equally convenient. Having said that, you should choose whatever works best for you.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

So there is a quick release for just the device/tablet part, just undo the lock screw behind and flip the clip to release the device from the cradle. Works brilliant for stops and overnight parking.

Thank you both!

I've gone through a fair few reviews actually.
What I'm looking for really, is behaviour and usage pattern. Basically, how do you use it

Do you remove it when stopping for chai or lunch? When the bike is no longer in sight? Do you remove it at night?

Personally I like this solution as it is right now. Ideally, I'd like it even more if I could just leave the damn thing on the bike. Regardless of where it's parked basically. Like in cars.
I guess it's all relative.

[souvik_daz]

Mod note: Back to back post, please use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead of this. Thanks.

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Thank you both!

I've gone through a fair few reviews actually.
What I'm looking for really, is behaviour and usage pattern. Basically, how do you use it

Do you remove it when stopping for chai or lunch? When the bike is no longer in sight? Do you remove it at night?

Personally I like this solution as it is right now. Ideally, I'd like it even more if I could just leave the damn thing on the bike. Regardless of where it's parked basically. Like in cars.
I guess it's all relative.

Basis what I could gather from the various videos, the screen will have to be removed when you are away. It is held in place by a thumb screw at the back of the device. Not very different to how we use phones. If your bike is out of sight, it is very easy to unscrew the thumb screw and take the screen off. There are other models which are fixed on the bike, but those increase the chances of your bike being tampered with during pit stops or when parked at night, so I personally would prefer the removable type (if I wasn't already using the 2 phone android auto solution ).

Originally Posted by Joe367

Thanks for sharing. It seems Google simply doesn't want us to use phone as headunit, they have banned such applications from Play Store in the past.

Although using cheap secondary phone is good for most scenarios, it come with downsides as well - like having separate sim/having to keep hotspot ON in our primary phone, offline maps takes a lot of time to show accurate location, we have to sign in to services like Spotify in both phones, in most cheap phones compass sensor might be missing or GPS won't be as accurate and if we need to open links from WhatsApp we need to send the link to other device etc.

Valid point, but once the apps are installed on the respective phones, there is no way Google will be able to uninstall the apps. Worst case scenario, the apps will no longer get updates/support once they are removed from the Play Store.

Other scenario is an update to Android Auto that breaks the entire Ecosystem. Even if that happens, I lose the ₹430 I paid for HUR. In that case, I will cough up the required amount for the Chinese screens. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Peace!

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Do you remove it when stopping for chai or lunch? When the bike is no longer in sight? Do you remove it at night?

I had already replied, yes I do take the device away when parked out of sight and overnight I remove the whole thing from the ball mount (again very convenient). Even fixed stuff are tampered with, in a country like India. Why take a chance? Edit: There is a provision to mount the cradle permanently to OE GS/GSA GPS holder, I have not used it.

[Kelly66]

Originally Posted by souvik_daz

That would heat up the primary phone and significantly impact its battery life as well. Regarding Google maps UI, it is the same as what is available natively on the phone. The image you see in the original post (when the phone is mounted on the bike) is Waze and not Google Maps.

Hotspot doesn't drain battery significantly. I lose around 6-7% of battery per hour (with screen off) on my S21FE. I use Google maps or Realdash maps on my tablet via hotspot while in my car. You can even automate to connect to hotspot whenever near the phone, so no manual intervention.

I just checked the HUR software description. They seem to have a hotspot mode under Wifi. You could test the battery drain, if needed. I think Wifi direct needs to be enabled each time, right? If yes, hotspot automation (via Bixby or Macrodroid) makes sense.

[ProLearner]

If you already have a secondary phone, the better option would be to use it with its own SIM and data. You could get a BSNL SIM, as they still have the cheapest plans, recharge as per usage.

[RYP]

Originally Posted by souvik_daz

That would heat up the primary phone and significantly impact its battery life as well

Ahem Ahem.. Android Auto too runs through Wi-direct which is also a hotspot. Actually in addition, it has to use more resourses to run Android Auto than simply acting as a hotspot. Hence the battery life impact would be more or less the same in either way. This is where Bluetooth tethering comes in!

[ramubwoyy]

In my opinion, what you are trying sounds like a more difficult way to get things done. I was super reluctant to get a secondary phone for rides, but once I did get one, there has been no looking back. The benefits of owning a secondary phone outweigh any "hassle" you may feel with having one more sim card.

One major problem with connecting your primary phone to anything is that it is not very reliable. Don't take my word for it, check out the many videos of glitchy android autos and carplays on the net. I personally have used both in my cars and have had it be a hit-or-miss experience 6/10 times. In addition to that, I personally buy very costly primary phones and like preserving their battery as long as I can. Connecting for android auto/carplay can severely drain and damage your primary phone's battery in the long run. Even motorcycles that come with pairing features (Himalayan 450 to name one) are plagued with bugs. Which means you will spend copious amounts of time on a ride fidgeting with the gizmo, when you could be riding your wonderful machine. Sure, companies will say they will fix it, but I don't like waiting around for them to fix things.

I had an iPhone 11 which was my primary phone that I also used as a navigation device and it's battery health dropped from 91% to 82% in just 3 months of regular morning breakfast rides. Needless to say, the phone did not have great battery when it was brand-new and I had to eventually give it off owing to abysmal battery life.

As for communication issues, I have informed all my close friends and family about the secondary phone and have even asked them to save it with a contact name "My name- Bike" so that they associate the number with me being on the bike and not being able to pick up instantly. All communication and navigation has been buttery smooth ever since I got the secondary phone.

I am also a runner and cyclist and the secondary phone helps there too as it tracks all my activities through GPS. I also don't have to feel guilty about killing the battery because the phone costs only 6.5K and has a huge battery of 5000 mah. It easily lasts through most rides and other endurance activities. Would sincerely suggest you embrace the second phone better and avoid unnecessarily complicated mechanisms.

[PetaWatt]

After my iPhone camera lost its Optical Image Stabiliser on my CBR650R fork stem mount, I decided to invest in a dedicated hardware for the purpose. I saw a lot of options online, but noticed that the container box and device were exactly same even when the brand names were different.

Anyway, I bought the similar device with branding "LEXXSON Q5S CRADLE" from my trusted Orion Motors(Bangalore) around 10 days back. I tested the device next day in my car and I loved it. Getting the Apple car play was the goal, but then I found that it can play the songs from the SD card, awesome! And it reduces the song volume whenever any notification comes from the phone. I copied 10 hrs of songs on the SD card, as I have never ridden more than 8 hours in a day.

Finally, I got some time yesterday and installed it on my motorcycle. Took a short city ride to make sure device orientation is correct. Today morning I went for the breakfast ride, around 70 km from my home. I already had fallen in love with the new device.



While returning I found my favourite stretch of the road a bit deserted, so I did red line shifts(13k+ RPM) till 3rd gear and then came back to my normal cruising speed (under 6k RPM)after noticing the traffic ahead. Sometime later, I decrease my speed further for the known speed breaker, I noticed that the device display was showing white screen with couple of vertical rainbows. As I was already on the outskirts, I just switched off the device using the button and continued the ride. On reaching home, I tried restarting the device several time, even disconnected and connected all the ports again but the display was still showing the rainbow.




I shared the photos and detail with Orion Motors and they promptly asked me come for an inspection. They told me this is the first time they have seen such an issue with the device. They kept the device and will get it checked and notify me with-in a week. But I am thinking, even if they repair or replace the device, what is the guarantee that the device wont fail again? Or this is just a case of 1 faulty device?

Originally Posted by falcon.adv390

I had tried this on my pixel 4a and it was hit and miss. I bit the bullet and bought the ottocast c5 . connectivity is seamless.

Ottacast C5 and the unit I bought are identical. I believe, Bullet vibration is intense but vibration frequency is far less than that of a 4 cylinder engine running at 13k RPM. Your thoughts?

Originally Posted by Jaggu

So there is a quick release for just the device/tablet part, just undo the lock screw behind and flip the clip to release the device from the cradle. Works brilliant for stops and overnight parking.

Jaggu, which motorcycle do you ride? and till what RPM have you ridden with the device. Also, where have you fixed the device, on the handle-bar or somewhere else?