Embattled by angry musicians pulling their catalogs and angry fans canceling their subscriptions, Spotify has announced it is launching a new phone that is not a phone but a remote control to command the phone you already have.
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It’s called “Car Thing” — that’s really it’s name — and it’s a new device created and sold by Spotify itself. “Car Thing” clamps on to your dashboard and responds, Siri-like, to hands-free voice commands beginning with “Hey Spotify…” and instructions to play or shuffle songs.
Spotify executives launch a new product marketed mainly at people like Spotify executives.
Spotify’s examples of commands include:
“Play rock”
“Play my favorites”
“Play more like this”
“Show this album”
“Show similar artists”
“Shuffle Today’s Top Hits”
It also looks like an older generation iPhone, with the exception of a large knob on the front which can be used to “browse, select, play, pause and discover.” You can also program “four preset buttons” — probably fewer than there are on an existing car stereo — with shortcuts.
If that is sounding a lot like a car radio, that’s basically what it is, except this one can only play Spotify. It also may have the form factor of an iPhone 4, but without the ability to make calls, tell you the weather, look up directions, or traffic reports, or anything else. It does, however, require an actual phone to be connected to it to use your existing phone’s data connection.
“At least when Amazon and Facebook tried making their own branded phones, they were actually phones,” blogger John Gruber commented. “Who wants a phone-sized remote control for their phone?”
Gruber is overlooking the Sharper Image factor, though: it’s a limited use product with more engineering put into marketing than design. It’s meant for your wealthy dad who already has a “vacuum broom” and a “digital barbecue fork” and won’t suffer much by leaving a $90 product in the box until he buys a new car and throws it away.
Essentially: Spotify executives created a product that mainly appeals as throwaway gadgets for rich people, like Spotify executives themselves.
