A car mount vs. a smart car console

Many cars are now equipped with a touch-screen on the console that essentially mirrors your smartphone screen. Android phone users get to use Android Auto, and iPhone users hook into CarPlay.

These smart car systems are designed to seamlessly work with your smartphone. Plugging in an iPhone, for example, loads a screen of apps like Apple Maps, Apple Music and Apple’s podcast app, which you can then control on the console or with Siri instead of fiddling with your smartphone screen.

The problem with this concept is there are a limited number of apps that work with these smart infotainment systems. For example, if on CarPlay you prefer to use Google Maps or Waze, you’re out of luck and are stuck with Apple Maps.

In addition, if your smart car system needs a major software update, some car brands are lagging in allowing you to download and install the updates yourself. Instead, they require you to bring the car to the dealer and pay for the updates to be installed there. General Motors, for example, has for years declined to offer so-called over-the-air updates and will only say it plans to support them before 2020.

Using a phone mount is a cheap and simple solution that is far less frustrating. You just attach the mount to the dash, a CD player slot or an air conditioning vent, mount your phone and plug it into a power charger via the accessories port.

Voilà, your phone has become your infotainment system, capable of running your favorite navigation and music apps and using voice controls to place calls over speakerphone. The screen is large enough to clearly read maps, and you can update the operating system on your own. What more do you need?

An alarm clock vs. Amazon Echo Spot

Amazon recently introduced the Echo Spot, a smart alarm clock with a touch-screen and the Alexa virtual assistant. A less desirable feature is a built-in camera for placing video calls.