Playing and Listening to Music Hands-Free?

I just purchased a 2007 Toyota Prius to serve as a commuter for me when I go to college and work. I have at least an hour commute both to school, and driving back home. In my previous car, I purchased a FM Transmitter that also had Bluetooth capabilities, and buttons that allowed me to answer/decline calls, skip/rewind/pause music, all these buttons were in the reach of my fingertips, requiring no movement, or effort to keep my eyes away from the road.

My problem now is, my new Prius does have an AUX cable, and it plays music just fine from there, but when I want to skip music or even answer an call, I have to fiddle through the phone. This is very distracting, and completely unsafe, I really don't like this idea whatsoever.

Are there options that exist to give me some form of handsfree options when driving? I have an Android phone, and play my music through Spotify, I am looking for a very cheap solution (I just bought a new car and am a college student, ). Are there AUX cables that would work better? Are there other alternatives such as a remote? What do you guys do? I want to avoid any possibility of opening the car up for a simple task like this.

I know there are Bluetooth adapters that exist, but the problem is that I want these buttons to be in my reach, and having the AUX cable underneath the armrest is kind of a pain, as the whole point is to keep my eyes on the road at all times.

I'd love anything you guys have to share!

 

I realize there is already an appropriate section for posting about audio.. can someone possibly move this thread over there? I apologize for not realizing this earlier!

 

I really want to revisit this, in the meantime, I am using a bluetooth remote to switch songs/answer calls while I am driving, but I really want to get down to a permanent solution.

At this point, I am considering a very cheap DIN single layer din to mount on the car (it has a 6-CD changer in the middle where the door props open, I am thinking I can just replace it there). Any people on here who have achieved so? I was also wondering how possible is it to change songs through the steering wheel?

 

Do you mind listing the parts you used? I also am looking for something super cheap, something $80<. I know my price range is absurd, but I am not looking for something fancy, just want the ability to stream music and answer calls wirelessly (thus Bluetooth) and change songs via the steering wheel buttons.

 

Hey thanks for the original reply.

After much thought, I am going to just stick with the Bluetooth remote method and connecting the AUX port, it just seemed too much of a hassle for me to mess the assembly, while it makes my life easier by doing so, it just seems like a messy operation IMO.

Appreciate the detailed response!