I have often told you about solutions that bring Android Auto and/or CarPlay wirelessly to your car's infotainment system, but today I'm going further because I'm going to tell you about my experience with the Ottocast P3 AI Box, a car box that allows you to view streaming multimedia content, including IPTV and much more, thanks to the ability to install any app, like a real smartphone. In fact, you can forget about your smartphone because it allows any operation without the help of your phone.
As usual, it is right to point out that this type of gadget needs to be connected to the car's USB port, provided that it offers data transfer, since the car's system will be fooled into believing that a smartphone has been connected via cable, or rather an iPhone. In fact, the second requirement is that the car supports the wired CarPlay system. In fact, once the P3 Ai Box is connected, the CarPlay icon will appear on the car's screen, from which you can access a completely free operating system without limitations, in which you can install practically all the applications in the Play Store. And when I say all, I really mean all, also because we also basically find the APKPure store from which you can find additional apps not present in the Google store.
There are several solutions similar to what Ottocast offers us, but in general all these products are united by a slowness in the execution of the apps, which often results in lag, reboots or other embarrassing situations, instead the P3 thanks to a well-placed hardware, does not suffer from this. My experience has been decidedly positive, benefiting from fluidity, reactivity and a lot of fun.
Ottocast P3 AI Box has circular dimensions, slightly larger than average (diameter 80 mm. thickness 20,5 mm), but still nothing dramatic. The more generous dimensions are also due to the fact that on the profile, protected by a silicone door, we find the SIM input and micro SD slot, while continuing on the circular profile we also have the Type-C input for powering the product and a mini HDMI input/output. You may wonder why? Well, we can also connect the AI Box to a TV and control it with a remote control, which you can buy separately or directly buy the bundle that also offers the right HDMI cable. Connected directly to the TV it can become an Android media-box.
English: For the connection to the car, the package includes 3 separate cables, one with a USB-A/USB-C connector, one with a double Type-C connector and a third Y-shaped cable that allows you to power the device from an external power supply, solutions that in fact offer the possibility of using and adapting the gadget to all vehicles. Another special feature is found on the upper surface, which is distinguished by a series of RGB LEDs, arranged in a circle plus a central one that lights up the brand's logo: you can customize the LEDs with different effects and colors, even in time with the music, or if necessary turn them off if, for example, they should disturb or distract you when driving at night. In this regard, if you feel the need to "turn off" the screen but your car does not support this function, at the software level the Ottocast P3 AI Box offers a function called Focus Drive, which will only show the time on the car's screen.
I mentioned before the possibility of expanding the device's memory via micro SD, which is actually more convenient for watching movies, videos, images or listening to music, local files, but with the appropriate apps you could for example view office documents or PDF files. But the real gem is being able to insert a SIM to make the device totally independent from the smartphone, which in reality it already is, because the Ottocast P3 Ai Box integrates a cloud SIM with a data package that can be renewed. I only point out that if you want to make the system totally independent from the smartphone, you must install a dialer dedicated to calls, because the Ottocast software basically only allows calls via Bluetooth, but in my case I installed the stock Google dialer and I got rid of it.
If you prefer an old-fashioned connection, you can always use the integrated WiFi (2.4/5.0 GHz) that will connect to any Hotspot created by your smartphone. But if you want to proceed with total independence, know that the P3 also integrates a GPS system, with excellent accuracy, precision and speed in fixing satellites. Naturally, you can use any navigator, not only Maps or Maps, but also Waze, all without having to use your smartphone and drain its battery, thanks to the presence of the 4G module.
The device is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 665 processor, flanked by 8 GB of RAM and a whopping 128 GB of storage space, which is why I said that you will use the micro SD rather for content and documents. This combination of hardware guarantees the fluidity I mentioned at the beginning of the review. Using the Ottocast P3 AI Box is simple and accessible to everyone as the experience is entirely plug & play. All you have to do is connect it to the car's USB and after a few moments the Ottocast system interface will appear on the car's screen. A clarification: at the first start the system will automatically calibrate the definition and resolution based on your car's screen, so if you notice a grainy or undefined image, don't worry, just as you shouldn't worry if you see the system immediately turn off and restart, because this will happen following the correct calibration of the display.
One thing I particularly liked about the P3 is the interface that is completely different from what I am used to seeing on other devices and then the complete customization, such as the ability to change the wallpaper, add widgets, reposition app icons on the home page, etc. Even if the box will elude the system by making it seem like an iPhone has been connected, in reality the P3 operating system is based on Android 12 customized by OttoDrive UI 2.0, a graphic interface developed by the brand that makes the entire user experience much more intuitive and more suitable for cars. You can also access a quick settings menu with which you can not only manage all the connectivity options, but you will have very useful information on the functioning of the device.
By default, we already find applications such as Youtube, Spotify, Netflix installed, but the presence of the Play Store and APKPure offer a very wide range of additional applications, such as Alexa or others for controlling home automation. You can install IPTV apps to watch TV programs in the car... in short, the only limit is your imagination and of course compliance with driving regulations. The entire user experience is perfectly fluid and free of annoying lags. Its processor then allows the device not only to play 4K videos or Flac audio without problems, but also to run many of the games available on the Play Store: via Bluetooth 5.0 you can pair any gamepad, and you can play in the car while watching the content on the infotainment display. Now you will no longer be bored while you are waiting for someone or if you want to entertain the children while you are traveling.
A defect, or rather two I found. The first is that if you listen to music via Bluetooth with files played locally from the smartphone, the title of the music track will not be displayed on the display while if you play files online, the title will be displayed this time but the Play / Pause button will only work once and then you will have to control everything from the smartphone. Let's hope for a future update to resolve this small problem. Yes, software update that in my case has already arrived, solving some minor bugs. The second defect, this one a bit more serious, is that (in my case) I was unable to connect the smartphone in Android Auto or CarPlay wireless mode which I have always been able to do with other products, so the problem does not depend on my smartphone (in this specific case a Motorola Edge 30 Neo and iPhone 11 Pro).
Aside from that, the Ottocast P3 AI Box is sublime: you can install WhatsApp, even Telegram, and listen to their voice messages. It's true that on some cars the steering wheel controls for calling up the digital assistant won't work, but you can just call it up with the classic Hey Google command or from the specific icon that identifies the assistant.
The selling price of the Ottocast P3 AI Box net of the EITECH coupon to be inserted in the cart of the brand's website, is 148,99 euros, a price that probably won't appeal to everyone, but for those who want to eliminate any restriction or limitation of a standard Android Auto or CarPlay system, this price is worth the expense. At this price, you can definitely think well, so the purchase can be considered by everyone. It is a product without too many frills that does what it promises, without too many hitches, thanks to a high-performance and complete hardware: we are talking about the best Android box for cars on the market.
