My E500 has the phone cradle for the V60. How can i use an alternate phone? I've got a blackberry pearl and it has that Usb 2.0 connection(i think its called that, its the tiny D shaped usb port), Bluetooth, basically everything.

I want to avoid the retardation of the MB phone setup, but i dont want to spend hundreds or thousands on wiring new crap into the car.

...Fantastic, apparently i have to spend 300+ on a MB V60.
I might as well buy MB socks, shoes, pants, shirts, sweaters, jackets, nail clippers, contact lenses, blankets, pillows, televisions, tiles, sinks, and maybe another extremely outdated, critically denounced phone.
Anyone have this superb phone for sale?

 

Instead of purchasing an obsolete phone consider going the Bluetooth route (which may or may not meet your needs):

http://www.wireless4mb.com

Click on connectivity options, then scroll down to the "v60 Bluetooth Cradle Adapter".

 

I bought a 2004 CLK55A that had the phone cradle, but no V60 phone. (I have an old V60 but was told that wouldn't work since it wasn't a MB issued phone... something about the firmware not being compatible.)

Anyway, I use a BlackBerry 8700g & have a Nokia 8801. My option is to buy that MB/Motorola bluetooth "Puck" which sits into position in the cradle. This will then allow me to use my phone "hands-free."

Plan on picking it up next week. Good luck.

 

With the bluetooth mumbo jumbo phone info will show up in the command properly? it seems as if doing BT would have 2 drawbacks
1. poor sound quality due to 3rd party BT and no actual BT system in the car
2. weak compatibility with Comand, so numbers, info etc. wont show properly
the wireless website also showed that only the razor and v60 would work with the BT adapter...and that really sucks.

 

Using the Bluetooth set up you will still be using the phone's antenna in your pocket. Using an MB V60 you will be using the rooftop antenna. Just get the V60 & leave it permanently in the console. Use the phone of your choice when out of the vehicle.

The V60 way is expensive compared to other car manufacturers set ups, but the integration is flawless, and a truly enjoyable experience.

 

that's what i was thinking, it seems buying a mb v60 would make the most sense and just get another sim card to pop in it and leave it in the car...but if bluetooth does have problem-less integration than thats an option

 

No Sim Card in a V60. Its at least a 6 year old phone design that Motorola updates & keeps around for specialty uses by 2nd & 3rd party users. Its a rock solid, small, simple phone that does no tricks except make & receive phone calls.

There are enough hassles in owning/using an MB E class as it is. This system is bullet proof in the car. I used to own a V60 for pocket use when they were Motorola's top of the line phone years ago, but that was a very long time ago. No newer phone model does what a cell phone is supposed to do (call in & out, simply & correctly, without any other features) as well. I wouldn't (and don't) carry a V60 to use as a cell phone any more, but to buy one & install (mount) one in a console to use thru COMAND only while in the car, I can tell you IT WORKS. Perfectly... all the time. Which is more than you can say for any other part or accessory of the E Class.

Don't think of it as a personal phone. Think of it as the built-in phone buried somewhere in the wireing of the car. MB offers Blue Tooh integration now, and its NOT perfect... some peoples phones are answered by the car while people are already in the house... the phone's reception is governed by how good the phone's antenna placement is within the car, on your person. The V60's antenna is outside the car on the roof. All I can tell you is that I have an '07 on order, again with a new V60 (the old one's no longer network compatible) mounted in the console.

 

I just tested my gf's pearl.It works fine with the BT adaptor..in the v50 cradle..phonebookdownload etc.

 

I appreciate everyone's input into the situation.

Likewise, I bought an E-500 that has the phone setup but does not have the V60.

If I heard correctly, are you saying go get the V60, and then pay an additional $50/month in phone service for it (and only use it in the car)?

 

With Verizon for $ 9.95/mo I added what they call the "Family Share Plan" to my account whereby I get a new number for the V60 in the car, and that phone and the one in my pocket share the same 450 minutes/month regardless of which phone makes the calls. So, no... its not a separate $39.95/mo account & bill for the car phone, but it is $9.95 more a month than it would otherwise be.

That's the cost to me for flawless integration & reception. For me its worth it. I can use all of my plans minutes while talking on the car phone, or on my "fancy schmancy, latest & greatest, newest" camera/music player/pda/impress the guys/pocket phone when I'm walking around at work. Verizon doesn't care. In the grand scheme of things, at $39.95 + $9.95 more/month for family share, I'm probably well below what others spend on cellular service monthly. Analyze your useage, maybe you have too many unused minutes leftover every month that you're paying for & you can reduce your contractual minutes & add Family Share & still pay the same monthly amount & have 2 phones.

 

If you have the v60 cradle in the butterfly armrest, but don't have the phone, I say go with the Bluetooth puck.

Spend (invest?) the US$350 on Bluetooth instead of the obsolete phone. You'd then have a larger range of phone options that would integrate with the COMAND and steering wheel controls, via Bluetooth, including your Blackberry.

The only benefits that [I] see for going the v60 route are:

1. Better voice quality, since it integrates directly to the car and uses the car's antenna
2. Don't have to worry about charging since it charges while it sits in the cradle

I have the v60 phone. Haven't gone the Bluetooth route yet simply because of the cost: US$350 for the puck + cost of a new phone.. Barry's right though, the v60 does it's job - make and receive phone calls - and it does it well.

Now, if you don't have the cradle, well, that's a different scenario all together.

My $.02

 

Good point Barry. I do indeed have the family share plan as well on Verizon. I guess another downfall would be that the number you have on the cradle V60 is different from your "fancy shmamcy" pocket phone....so if someone calls you on your pocket phone, it doesn't transfer to the cradle phone.

You've really convinced me that the seamless integration has great benefits with sound quality and usage. However, I would hate to introduce another phone number to the mix.

 

Don't give out the car phone except to family. Get a call on your pocket phone & call them right back on the car phone... impresses the hell out of people how fast you return "missed" calls. My voice mail message on the car phone is something to the effect that I don't pick up messages on this number & to please call me on my regular number. So that if someone keeps the car phone number, when they call it & I'm out of the car, they know not to call it again since I'll never get the message to call them back. Your family knows your routine & will know which phone to call you on... or you just call them back.

 

Barry above is giving you great advice. It's not an obsolete phone, but one that flawlessly integrates with the car's system. You can't beat the roof antenna signal strength. MB phones are on ebay all of the time and are cheap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/MINT-MOTOROLA-V6...QQcmdZViewItem

 

I spent the bucks to add the phone setup when I bought the car along with the V60. Deactivated it in 2005 for some stupid reason. In 2006 I tried to reactivate it at verizon and they said they couldn' because it did not have 911 with GPS. Are you guys saying that someone out there will reactivate it?

 

There a couple of v60 releases available. The "newest" release v60 does have GPS integration for 911 and Verizon will activate that model.

 

Yup. Check with wireless4mb.com They have the new phone. All of the non911 compliant phones have to be off all networks by the end of 2008. Carriers are free to choose their own date before then.