eddieo45

OK, I'm admittedly a snob in many areas, and I've worked in the cellular industry since the analog days of 3 watt booster kits, but am I the only one that is mystified by drivers of Bluetooth-enabled cars holding their smartphones to their head while driving??

The other day I'm behind W205 that's debadged, like my wife's, which is not that common among the ever-growing number of them on the roads here. At a light I pull up alongside and see the driver, alone, with her iPhone 6 to her head. While I understand that not everyone embraces every last bit of technology available out there but to have a $40,000 car that comes standard with Bluetooth and NOT use it just smacks of ignorance, no?

Mike5215

My wife hates it. She gets all discombobulated when she tries to make or answer a call and the car "interferes". I've given up.

MASSC450

Don't underestimate the ignorance of the public, for instance...look how far Trump has made it in this election year.



Until car manufacturers come up with a system that automatically syncs a persons cell phone to the car right from the get go, the public will continue to find the process too difficult. What I'd REALLY like to see in the near future is a some sort of system that does NOT allow hand-held operation of a cell phone by the driver when the vehicle is in motion. This alone would force owners to Bluetooth their phones.

What does it take to sync a phone, like under a minute?

ManiacGT

My other half won't even drive the car at all, too much confusing technology... I have to agree at times, I mean why a button to pickup and another to put down a call? No other car I've ever had has that, one button to answer or hang up is enough. COMAND makes life harder in the C at times too when you just want to change music tracks and it's on Nav, change back to media and lose the map or find it on the binnacle display or fumble around the controller for that tiny middle button to get the shortcut up. What a ball ache. Add in cruise control stalk with a lamp that tells you if you're in cruise or speed limit that's hidden by the steering wheel, that was the last straw when he 'resumed' cruise and the car slammed on the brakes down from 70 to 40mph on the motorway because it was in speed limit mode with little indication it was, a tiny change to the limit icon on the binnacle that doesn't show until you resume and a stalk lamp hidden behind the steering wheel. Some very ill thought through things on the car.

pjw1967

With all the hoopla about texting and driving, failing to use BT in the car is appalling. If the police would start pulling people over for failure to use their turn signals when changing lanes or turning, you would see the end of texting and holding the phone. It is almost impossible to use the turn signals with a phone in your hand......(sigh)....

Kartergreg

Funny thing happened yesterday. My wife was driving and was playing her music from her iphone thru BT. I was the passenger. Her phone started ringing as someone was calling her. She hit the button on the steering wheel to answer the call but nothing happened. Tried a couple of time but the music kept playing. Had to manually pick up the phone to answer, but by the time we figured it out the caller hung up. Never had that happen before.

People around us were probably wondering why she wasn't using BT to answer the phone!

eddieo45

when you DON'T want to accept an incoming call, you click END. in your other cars, you take the call or let it ring till it stops??

Kartergreg

Interesting. I have never had a car or a cell phone that did not have 2 buttons to pickup and end a phone call.

huyuci

At the risk of sounding like advertising, I've developed an app that would automatically turn on your phone's bluetooth and sync with your car whenever you make a call or receive a call. That way, when you're driving and somebody calls you, your car will get ring even your phone's bluetooth wasn't even on. Don't believe me? Try it out for yourself.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...omationmanager

ManiacGT

On my BMW you can decline a call via the dash/idrive if you want to, but a single button for phone and single for voice commands (MB has two buttons for each service on the steering wheel, which could have been used as track select for example).

this means you get volume controls, track controls, speech, phone, climate and media select all on 8 buttons.

GerritKw

In my previous car (Ford Mondeo) I had one button for the phone but if the phone or the system was a bit slow in taking the call and thinking you didn't press the button correctly a 2nd push resulted in hanging up the phone again.
I love the 2 separate buttons.

Xtrema

Not her car. /thread.

Or more likely that saleman paired her last iphone and she's too dumb to do up the new one.

tivoboy

It's not only or so much about ignorance (and I'm not talking about Trump here even though that is clearly evident) as much as it is about incompetence.

As much as an adult human has evolved over their life to date, adding NEW behaviors and learning (or changing up) new behaviors is VERY difficult for the 0-2 standard deviations from the mean.

This would fall into that category

Biggreenogg

WOW
Living in 3 sigma land