2004 E500: MB V60BT adapter works fine with Blackberry 8700c
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: San Francisco, California
2004 MB E500
2004 E500: MB V60BT adapter works fine with Blackberry 8700c
Hi Folks,
I just bought the V60BT adapter from MB dealer & installed it in my 2004 E500. Although it has not been qualified for Blackberry 8700c, it connected with my Blackberry 8700c (Cingular) very well.
Surprise!! Most functions work :-).
What seems to work well: (indicated by "+" sign)
+ Receiving & Dialing out calls: Work with good clarity Voice control:
+ Works - voice tags as well as dials numbers using voice control. (I had installed the voice control kit myself - after buying it on eBay)
+ out & Received call log: It keeps its own log, but does not download from the phone. A new log is created (overwriting the old one) every time the phone syncs with the V60BT.
+ Phonebook: It does not download all the entries in my BB8700c. I believe that this may be because of the large number of contacts in my BB8700c. In particular, I had about 950 contacts, with each contact having multiple numbers. So the first time, the V60BT went upto entries with last names starting with "J" - only the first few entries with J were downloaded though. I then removed about 300 of contacts, after which the V60BT downloaded upto "N". This shows that perhaps this is limited by the vehicle's COMAND system.
+ It also tries downloading the SIM card list (when I push the green "call" button), but there's nothing on my SIM card for the Blackberry.
+ On my COMAND system, there is a soft button for "mic off" for muting the private conversations in the car. It works as well (so this is not "Argos" - only feature).
What does not seem to work well (indicated by "-" sign)
- Automated number dialing with pauses: This does not work very well. For example, I use an access number to make international calls. This requires putting pauses & that does not work well. In fact, the only way I can use the access number is if I let the phone system in the car dial out the access number & then I manually enter the destination tel number on the BB8700c (not on the car dial pad).
Few items that I am trying to find answers to are:
1. What is the maximum number of phone entries that the V60BT can download? What is the limitation for the COMAND system in my car?
2. How do I refresh the phonebook? For example, when I make changes on the BB8700c, once it connects to V60BT, it does not see these changes. How do I manually (or automatically) reflect these changes to the phonebook in the car? The crudest way is to un-pair and re-pair the BB8700c with again - then the newly edited phonebook is uploaded to COMAND. But I wonder if there's a better, graceful way?
I will continue to experiment & find out what works & what does not. However, fo the time being, I am happy that most functions work quite fine.
In the meanwhile, if anyone else has any data on using the V60BT with BB 8700c, please provide feedback.
- Mandrek
PS. My car originally did not have a phone adapter. I actually bought it on eBay & installed the cradle myself. I had to get MB dealership to "activate" the phone & it worked quite smooth. I had also installed the voice control kit myself & that works very well with the phone & other electronics in the car. The instructions for installation of the cradle & voice control are quite straight forward as given in the MB Star bulletin that I found online. Full credit goes to the forum, of course. Obviously, this would be an expensive solution if you need to get the Cradle installed by MB dealership - in which case Argos may work better, even at around $800. But for hands-on folks, if you are able to buy just the V60 cradle for your car on ebay (or somewhere else), it may be cheaper. As for me, it was a very satisfying (& stress relieving) experience!!!
I just bought the V60BT adapter from MB dealer & installed it in my 2004 E500. Although it has not been qualified for Blackberry 8700c, it connected with my Blackberry 8700c (Cingular) very well.
Surprise!! Most functions work :-).
What seems to work well: (indicated by "+" sign)
+ Receiving & Dialing out calls: Work with good clarity Voice control:
+ Works - voice tags as well as dials numbers using voice control. (I had installed the voice control kit myself - after buying it on eBay)
+ out & Received call log: It keeps its own log, but does not download from the phone. A new log is created (overwriting the old one) every time the phone syncs with the V60BT.
+ Phonebook: It does not download all the entries in my BB8700c. I believe that this may be because of the large number of contacts in my BB8700c. In particular, I had about 950 contacts, with each contact having multiple numbers. So the first time, the V60BT went upto entries with last names starting with "J" - only the first few entries with J were downloaded though. I then removed about 300 of contacts, after which the V60BT downloaded upto "N". This shows that perhaps this is limited by the vehicle's COMAND system.
+ It also tries downloading the SIM card list (when I push the green "call" button), but there's nothing on my SIM card for the Blackberry.
+ On my COMAND system, there is a soft button for "mic off" for muting the private conversations in the car. It works as well (so this is not "Argos" - only feature).
What does not seem to work well (indicated by "-" sign)
- Automated number dialing with pauses: This does not work very well. For example, I use an access number to make international calls. This requires putting pauses & that does not work well. In fact, the only way I can use the access number is if I let the phone system in the car dial out the access number & then I manually enter the destination tel number on the BB8700c (not on the car dial pad).
Few items that I am trying to find answers to are:
1. What is the maximum number of phone entries that the V60BT can download? What is the limitation for the COMAND system in my car?
2. How do I refresh the phonebook? For example, when I make changes on the BB8700c, once it connects to V60BT, it does not see these changes. How do I manually (or automatically) reflect these changes to the phonebook in the car? The crudest way is to un-pair and re-pair the BB8700c with again - then the newly edited phonebook is uploaded to COMAND. But I wonder if there's a better, graceful way?
I will continue to experiment & find out what works & what does not. However, fo the time being, I am happy that most functions work quite fine.
In the meanwhile, if anyone else has any data on using the V60BT with BB 8700c, please provide feedback.
- Mandrek
PS. My car originally did not have a phone adapter. I actually bought it on eBay & installed the cradle myself. I had to get MB dealership to "activate" the phone & it worked quite smooth. I had also installed the voice control kit myself & that works very well with the phone & other electronics in the car. The instructions for installation of the cradle & voice control are quite straight forward as given in the MB Star bulletin that I found online. Full credit goes to the forum, of course. Obviously, this would be an expensive solution if you need to get the Cradle installed by MB dealership - in which case Argos may work better, even at around $800. But for hands-on folks, if you are able to buy just the V60 cradle for your car on ebay (or somewhere else), it may be cheaper. As for me, it was a very satisfying (& stress relieving) experience!!!
