Hello ? Can you hear me ?....Hello ? , Hello ? ah yes I can hear you now ! ... Hello ?...... I know there is a lot of opinion as to the dangers of 'phone use in cars and I can't help but agree with most of it. I guess if I could "dis-invent" one thing it would be the technology which allows in-car 'phone use !
However, I spend most of my working life behind the wheel and as I am self-employed and also happen to make up the entire workforce I therefore have little choice but to use the infernal thing.
So here is my question - What do others recommend as the best after market and most importantly, portable, hands-free solutions ? I have tried bluetooth "stick it in your ear" things - verdict useless. Bluetooth "clip it on the visor" things..... also rubbish. The only thing which seems to consistantly ( sort of ) work is the old-fashioned earpiece-speaker-on-a-wire which jackplugs into the phone which I have mounted on a dash cradle. I know there are options to have built in systems but as I also travel abroad quite a lot and need to hire cars I would prefer one system which does everything.
Any suggestions ?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/11/2007 at 13:42
|
A colleague of mine has a top end solution in his Merc which involves putting a sim card somewhere into the ICE system and then using that as his 'phone'. Microphone somewhere and the sound coming from the car speakers. Built in, so not transferrable and probably very expensive!
|
A colleague of mine has a top end solution in his Merc which involves putting a sim card somewhere into the ICE system and then using that as his 'phone'. Microphone somewhere and the sound coming from the car speakers. Built in so not transferrable and probably very expensive!
I thought Mercs, Audis and BMWs couldn't have hands-free kits - all the cars I've ever seen, the drivers still hold their mobiles to their ears.
Funny how they can spend £50,000 on a car, but won't spend £99.95 at Halford to get a hands-free....................
Obviously, they're so well off, they can afford the fines, penalty points, and the employment of a chauffer to drive them to the hospital to visit the pedestrians or people in the other vehicle that they ran into when they were on the phone.........
|
|
|
|
|
Try a better phone or bluetooth unit. I've realized this is one item that it is worth spending money on. The cheap ones are indeed crap, but I recently got a £50 Motorola unit that has absolutely crystal clear sound. Very small and light too, so that on a long ride I can wear it and not notice it.
|
|
|
I have a Nokia bluetooth headset (model is HS-4W) that fits behind the ear, sound quality is very good. It supports voice dialling and you can answer a call by pressing a button on the headset. I've never had any trouble with it, apart from when I forget to charge it for a week...
Cheers,
L
|
|
|
The jawbone bluetooth headset is supposed to be the best one around. It has noise cancelling in it so it is supposed to make it much easier to use in noisy environments. The gadget show were quite impressed with it.
teabelly
|
When Which? tested Bluetooth earpieces, they said that Jabra 250BT was the best.
In my own experience I find that it depends which phone it is attached to -
with my Nokia 6230i excellent reception
with my Nokia 6300 - rubbish; but the 6300 works superbly with Nokia's wired headset, so you pays yer money...........
I have the 6230i in a cradle on the driver's air vent grille thing, with the Jabra sitting on the dash on one of HJ's GripPad things (see bottom of this page) they really do work, quite strange. When the phone rings I can see who is calling, pick up the earpiece from the GripPad and stick it on my ear - set to automatic answer - talk away - job done.
|
|
the speaker/mic in handsfree mode on my sony-ericsson is so good I don't need a wired headset even at motorway noise levels. it's just as good as the fully wired in car-phone I used to have when I had a company car with a mic on the a-pillar and speaker in the passenger footwell.
|
|
Does anyone have opinions on using Tomtoms as a hands free? This looked a possible solution for me.
|
|
Hi Brit - re Tom-Tom as a phone .... I have tried this as well. Usually end up leaning forward and bellowing at it to get the other party to hear. Once had an unfortunate experience where another driver mistook this behaviour for me shouting at him !
|
|
|
Does anyone have opinions on using Tomtoms as a hands free? This looked a possible solution for me.
This works OK for a friend of mine who has TT910 that is wired into the stereo and has the external microphone.
I have the same unit without the mic etc and it's pretty useless at any kind of speed.
Cheers,
Lou
|
|
|
|
|
I use a Nokia 6310i (very outdated now) and Plantronics M3000 Bluetooth headset. Entirely satisfactory at 70+ mph or less in the Citroen C8. The point being that one can get a satisfactory Bluetooth earpiece.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
I have a fully installed Nokia CK-7W Bluetooth car kit in my BMW 530i. When a call comes in, it mutes the stereo, displays 'Phone' on the stereo display, and routes the call through my speakers in crystal clarity.
The kit and the leads came to less than 100 quid and it was dead easy to install. It autopairs with my phone the moment I turn the key.
With stuff like this available why waste your time messing about with daft in-ear headsets?
|
|
lets all become students then we can afford this kit too...
|
|
|
I have a fully installed Nokia CK-7W Bluetooth car kit ...
Depends on the phone. Mine works well with a Nokia, but is terrible with a Blackberry.
|
|
|
and routes the call through my speakers in crystal clarity. >> With stuff like this available why waste your time messing about with daft in-ear headsets?
>>
Everybody in the car with you can hear both sides of every conversation - in 'chrystal clarity'.
It can't just be me - can it? There are times when I don't want other people in the car with me to hear both sides of the conversation - that's why I 'mess about with daft in-ear headsets'
|
There are times when I don't want other people in the car with me to hear both sides of the conversation - that's why I 'mess about with daft in-ear headsets'
Yes, you want people to be puzzled when you say 'OK Tony, be at the club at 2a.m. and bring the vig plus twenny', don't you?
;o}
|
|
Ok - thanks everyone ..some really useful suggestions which I shall investigate further. Just to be clear tho', in case anyone has a final flash of inspiration, it's a portable solution I want. This is because I seem to use a number of different cars EG my own, my wife's, hired etc. on a regular basis. Will report back in due course. Or maybe turn the horrible thing off and let it take messages !
|
|
|
|
|
With stuff like this available why waste your time messing about with daft in-ear headsets?
I also use my headset for dialling into conference calls for work, plus I can take it with me when I go abroad to meet customers.
I'd agree that a well fitted car system is best for in car use, but the headsets have other advantages.
Lou
|
Cheap ones aren't always crap.
I bought one from Argos (can't recall the make) for £13 just 2 months back. Use it everyday for 1.5 hours, sound quality isn't bad. And still running with same AAA battery.
|
|
Just followed up on Teabelly's suggestion and checked out "Jawbone" on 'tinterweb. Looks mighty impressive. Could be ideal if it really works. Anyone got experience of actually using one ?
|
|
I found turning the phone off in the car works a treat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
