In car bluetooth handsfree

[Silly Car]

I am looking for some feedback on the various in car bluetooth kits that are available in the marketplace, ie the fully installed kits rather than the in ear jobbies.

I have a Pioneer head unit that offers bluetooth headset features however due to a design fault it is fecking useless, ie the mobile phone can't be within a metre of the head unit unless you are prepared for the caller to put up with terrible interference.

Admittedly for a normal phone this would be of a lesser issue as there is the facility to store numbers on the headset, but as I use a XDA Exec with TomTom, I need the pda where I can see it

I have used an in ear device in the past, but it is bloody annoying.

I have looked at the various Parrot kits, the 3000, 3100 and 3200 all of which would do the job, but I don't know how they fair in reality.

I have used a Nokia bluetooth kit, IIRC CK1W or was it CK 7W that appeared to be a litle flaky when trying to connect to the exec.

Whilst browsing eBay, I have come across these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIEMENS-BLUETOOTH-HANDSFREE-CAR-KIT-HKW-600-UK-STOCK_W0QQitemZ180069122516QQihZ008QQcategoryZ4241 9QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem ,http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLUETOOTH-HANDSFREE-CAR-KIT_W0QQitemZ190067791807QQihZ009QQcategoryZ80085Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MOTOROLA-BLUETOOTH-HANDSFREE-CAR-KIT-HF850-for-L7-V3x-Q_W0QQitemZ280064098543QQihZ018QQcategoryZ35190QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem

So does anyone use any of the above and does anyone have any recommendations?

Cheers and Happy New Year

[dsen]

I have been using a Sony head unit with handsfree, A2DV and AVRCP. Its been pretty good and I have no problems recommending it.

[3waygeek]

I have been using a Sony head unit with handsfree, A2DV and AVRCP. Its been pretty good and I have no problems recommending it.
Would that be the MEX-BT5000? I'm considering getting it for use with my Wizard.

[dsen]

Yes, thats the one.

http://www.sony.com.au/xplod/catalog/product.jsp?categoryId=22000

[GavinN]

Hi all,

Seems the most appropriate place to post this.

I recently upgraded my headunit to the Sony MEX-BT5000. It plays CD's, MP3 CD disks, has a good tuner and and AUX in. It also supports bluetooth profiles A2DP, AVRCP, Hands-Free (HFP) and Object Push Profile (OPP - for contacts) and as is supports A2DP and AVRCP (basicically A2DP but the remote control features) you can also play music from your MP3 player, phone or whatever through the stereo. It works fine with my M3100.

The handsfree calling is good and pauses the music when in call but there are bad points which I've not managed to solve yet such as inability to initiate voice dialing from the unit, the call button brings up a Sony phone menu. It also can only store 50 contacts and doesn't automatically sync with the M3100 like my Parrot CK3100 would. This means you need to decide which 50 you want to have on there. You can assign 6 speed dials to the 6 preset buttons on the front.

The sound from this stereo is far better than my previous Sony MP3 stereo and on this alone I would recommend it to anyone. It also comes with an infrared remote which allows you to digit dial, andswer and hang-up etc alongside all the basic stereo functions.

Hope this might help someone looking to buy something similar.

http://www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=MEX-BT5000&site=odw_en_GB&pageType=Overview&category=ICA+CD+Tuners

Gavin.

[3waygeek]

I've had the BT5000 since January, and use it with my Wizard. Its BT performance is the best I've ever seen -- it's the best speakerphone I've ever used.

Sony also has a new MEX-BT2500 unit that's about half the price of the 5000, with all the same BT functionality plus an aux jack on the front panel.

[Laubscherc]

I am using Parrot, both the ck3100 without the LCD and with the LCD, and since upgrading to Radio 1.15/1.18 have had no issues switching between them and my Jabra X10 BT Headset.

[Optika]

I am using this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230142025172&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:VRI
Works good for me...

[SiliconS]

I am using Parrot, both the ck3100 without the LCD and with the LCD, and since upgrading to Radio 1.15/1.18 have had no issues switching between them and my Jabra X10 BT Headset.
When I experimented with a friend's Parrot unit I discovered that it didn't retrieve the contacts from my Exec, and I couldn't do voice-dialling with it. It worked OK as a hands-free speakerphone but that's about it.

Was your experience better than this? If so, is this because you upgraded your Universal's radio stack?

[Laubscherc]

When I experimented with a friend's Parrot unit I discovered that it didn't retrieve the contacts from my Exec, and I couldn't do voice-dialling with it. It worked OK as a hands-free speakerphone but that's about it.

Was your experience better than this? If so, is this because you upgraded your Universal's radio stack?

Sorry for the late reply.


Check the Firmware version on the Parrot. You can download the BT updater from their site, and use it to upgrade the firmware of the BT Car Kit. I had the same issue, but after upgrading to the new FW, the issue was fixed.

[marcDVDer]

I have this car radio too.
Works like a champ on my iMate JasJar.