Mobile Phone, GPS, and Bluetooth.
Submitted: Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 07:44
ThreadID:
65161
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7
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Wayne (NSW)
I am looking at changing my mobile phone to Next G and have found a lack of "in car kits" available for the phones that suit my requirements.
I have been using an in car kit that will allow a call to be answered after the 3rd ring with out touching the phone. Real hands free, but despite all the hype of using a phone while driving a similar car kit is hard, if not impossible to find.
Even the sat phone I use has an "in car kit" and is hands free.
I have been told that using Bluetooth and a compatible in car navigator (GPS) that this could be a way around the problem.
Has anybody used this system, does it work, have you had any problems, and what brand of GPS are you using?
Wayne
Reply By: RV Powerstream P/L - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 07:55
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 07:55
I have the Tom Tom 500 and the Telstra Next G ZTE and I find it better than getting booked at $238 NSW .
I pleaded over three decades of incident free driving and they told me due to the seriousness of the offence they could not give me any consideration for being a good driver.
It was just when the NSW pollies gave themslves a rise.
I do have some problems hearing it as the volume changes and I dont know why.
My wife tells me that my selective deafness is getting worse so maybe it only happens when she calls me so I might
check that aspect out.
Ian
AnswerID:
344553
Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:09
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:09
Ian,
Thanks for the input.
I would have thought by now that mobile phone retailers would have jumped on the "in car kit" as a must have part of the phone. Instead you just about have to beg them to find out if any are available and then for them to order one in.
Wayne
FollowupID:
612501
Reply By: Boobook2 - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:08
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:08
I had a similar problem with two extra issues. Had to be Nokia ( I have gone from Nokia several times and regretted it every time) and external antenna.
I ended up with a Nokia 6120 with a "force cradle" that has an inductive antenna connection for 850Mhz ( next G in the country).
It has a decent hands free but I use blue tooth. As you say a Navigator would be fine or a Blueant hands free speakerphone is pretty good. I am pretty sure it has auto answer too.
AnswerID:
344555
Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:18
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:18
From what I have seen with the Blueant or the Bluetooth stand alone system is when making a call. From what I have been told is that you still have to pick up the phone to dial a number.
Why I was looking at a Navigator, is the use of the touch screen for dialing numbers.
Wayne
FollowupID:
612504
Follow Up By: Boobook2 - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:28
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:28
http://www.blueant.com.au/s3_handsfree.htm
This has auto answer with number speech and voice dial ( according to the website. I had an older version.
I am not sure what the price is but it could be that a GPS bluetooth is not much more.
FollowupID:
612510
Reply By: Ozhumvee - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:23
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:23
Wayne
I've been using a Nokia 6120 Next G phone in a Force cradle which charges the phone and inductively connects the antenna.
I had it when we met at Craigs hut the other week. It works really
well and it always surprises me where I have reception even with the little windscreen antenna.
I know what you mean with the handsfree kits my Kyocera CDMA phone had the full deal, voice recognition, proper handsfree operation. It seems though that these days proper in car gear is nigh on impossible to get even from the big manufacturers.
I've got an ebay GPS which has bluetooth capabilities but I find the volume lacking, but functionally it works
well, you can make and receive calls all by using the screen on the GPS, no need to touch the phone at all.
The best bluetooth handsfree I've found is the Blue Ant Supertooth units, very long battery life (typically a couple of months between recharges using it all day every day), works
well in noisy environments (I drive a school bus nuf said), clear reception and connects and disconnects automatically when you flip the arm up and down when entering and leaving the vehicle.
I have the earlier unit but another driver has the latest version and it works just as
well. It just mounts by built in magnets to a clip on the sunvisor or any metal surface.
Peter
AnswerID:
344557
Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:51
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:51
Pete,
My wife hated the Supertooth for one of the exact features you mention.
If you don't close off the microphone, the bluetooth connection stays active and with a range of 10 meters or more, she was missing calls at
home, as she couldn't hear the Supertooth speaker from the loungeroom. (car parked in the carport)
I prefer the auto connection/disconnection of my Nokia car kit which is operated via the ignition. Uses bluetooth to connect to the phone and I also have the force cradle to power/charge the phone and provide an external aerial connection.
My wife had her problem solved when she changed her lease vehicle.
The new Commodore comes with its own built-in bluetooth car kit, also controlled by the ignition.
Bill.
FollowupID:
612517
Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:54
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 08:54
Peter,
I will have another look at the Blue Ant and Bluetooth system again. When I asked about them before the salesman was only interested in selling the phone.
There is a new phone tower near the
Billy Goat Bluff track, and some of the campers, when we were in
Talbotville, were able to phone
home from there. I am back in that area in February and if I have the phone sorted by then I will also phone
home.
Good to put a face to the name and vehicle, and a great place to meet.
Image Could Not Be Found
Wayne
FollowupID:
612519
Follow Up By: Stu-k - Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 09:50
Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 09:50
If you use the phone alot forget blue ant the sound quality if crap.
The built in speaker is to small.
FollowupID:
612696
Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 10:28
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 10:28
If u buy a Nokia 6120,the force cradle and the RFI multi band aerial you should get what you want.
The 6120 has voice dialling. You can just say the name in your directory and it wil dial it.
I use this with a Motorola 710 bluetooth earpiece and it works
well.
My bro in law has a blueant but the volume on it isnt great. Maybe its just that one.
The 710 has fast hookup and when phone rings you can just open it and talk. ( It folds to close)
Prices Cradle $75 RFI Aerial $109 at one Telstra
shop $179 at another same thing exactly.
Motorola $139
AnswerID:
344582
Reply By: Rangiephil - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 12:29
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 12:29
I have a ZTE flip phone which has a wired in car kit with a hard connection to an external antenna.
You have to press a large button on the cradle to answer calls and it is a bit fiddly when you insert the phone as you have to connect a mini USB for power, but overall the performance is good.
I had a 7Db antenna but smashed it on an overhead obstruction, so now switched to a 4Db which is only 80mm tall , and uses the roof as a ground plane. I found I rarely remembered to swing the 7DB up as it was about a metre long.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID:
344595
Reply By: Member - Howard (ACT) - Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 21:24
Friday, Jan 16, 2009 at 21:24
Wayne,
i use a Logic Gear GPS model 488 for the above function
has blue tooth which allows auto answer.can also use larger touch pad on gps to dial as against small phone buttons.
I use it with a cheap samsung 411 next g phone that lays on centre console permantly plugged into cigarette lighter as when out of range battery wont last due to phone always searching for reception.
the samsung normally gets far superior reception than SHMBO 's top of the line Nokia.Quite often I have signal when she has nothing.
I also am able to run oziexplorer on the gps unit .run ozi and maps on separate sd card.
unit is available from kmart and office works for about $350 .
cheers
Howard
AnswerID:
344699
Reply By: Dunco (NSW) - Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 10:41
Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 10:41
My LC100 has a bluetooth built into the Radio and my phone "connects" to it as soon as I start the car up. I have 5 numbers set up on the radio, so all I do is press a button on the radio which turns radio off and phone connection on...press another button for who I want to call and that's it...no getting booked.
AnswerID:
344746