jimm

I - and others - have asked about the MB/Bluetooth hook-up.

Mostly regarding .. can you leave the phone in your pocket
and have automatic connection when you get in the car.
Well, in “re-reading” the brochure, it clearly says:

“You can make calls and access most phone books without
ever taking your phone out of your pocket. Once the Bluetooth
interface is initialized with the phone, the system will
automatically recognize your phone each time you enter the
vehicle.”

Now, isn’t that a good thing?

jimm

==========

On Order: 08 E350 Sport, P2, Black/black,
Parktronic, Voice, Bluetooth, Burl Walnut,
Split rear seat, Rear mud flaps

FormerC32Owner

Yup - my Palm Treo 700p pairs up just fine - with it in my pocket or briefcase. I've had no reception problems at all. The people I call (or who call me) say that they can hear me clearly.

Benz-O-Rama

Not only will it recognize your phone in your pocket, but I've actually left my phone in my golf bag in my trunk, and the phone connects and works flawlessly from there too. My wife just keeps her phone in her purse and makes all calls through the COMAND or steering wheel. Gotta love bluetooth!

BudC

I'm planning to get the MB BT cradle for our V3 RAZR since it works via Blue Tooth and can also be docked. I called AWS about the BT capability and was told it supported the same phones that the BT puck supports but they couldn't tell me if the BT function in the cradle had been updated to the latest level of the BT puck.

Even if we eventually get an additional or different phone that is BT compatible, we can use it as well.

It looks like a win, win situation to me. Am I missing something?

cyclerider

Nope.

Diesel Benz

Considering the options available today, I guess not. But there always is some sort of a compromise, if the puck supported BT SAP too, you would have the option to keep your phone in the pocket AND use the external car antenna for a good signal, and not draining the phone battery. Would be nice if MB had a puck that supported both BT SAP and HF.

sgaar

The MB solution only supports SAP. It does not support the Hands Free profile. That is the problem for many users. Using the cars antenna depends on the BT puck you have in the car. Most MB/BT owners - from what I read here - only have the option which allows for integration.

On another note; BT has a about 10 feet range and solid objects - like seats etc - doesn't impact sound quality. The only thing that can impact sound quality is if the phone is on the opposite side of your body relative to the BT puck. BT is microwave and the body absorbs microwaves much like a microwave oven does and you will hear a noticeable difference.

jimm

Bud, you mentioned that you want to use the cradle (which I don’t exactly
know what that is.)

Why would you want a cradle when you can just leave it in your pocket?
Maybe for charging? I have a little cig. lighter plug-in that I use for fast
charging.

jimm

BudC

Jim, Here's the scenario I envision. When we're around home we'll use the BT connection. Most of the time it will be my wife driving the car and she'll have the phone in her purse. However, we take long driving vacations and when we are on the road, I'll dock the phone in the cradle so it will be charged and so we can take advantage of the car's antenna.

The V3 RAZR cradle allows us to do both but better yet, if we ever get a second phone that is supported by MB's BT support, we can use that as well. In other words, even if we eventually give up the RAZR, all is not lost. Since the V3 RAZR cradle costs about the same as the BT puck, it seems to be a no-brainer for our situation.

Here's a link to the device I'm talking about. Click on Connectivity Options and then look at the manual for the RAZR cradle to get an idea about what it's all about. http://www.wireless4mb.com/

Alan Smithee

Actually, the system will automatically recognize your phone from about 30 feet away from the vehicle...which is a PITA if you're engaged in a conversation while walking up to the car.

Dema

Does call waiting feature work? I have a problem when I get another call I can't switch between them

Benz-O-Rama

+1 on this. Also, if you're having a conversation while driving and reach your destination, you have to stay in the car until you're done talking. It takes a couple of minutes for the bluetooth connection to timeout.

jimm

But ... once you’ve set the phone up with BT, even if the
phone is in your pocket, isn’t it still transmitting through
the car’s antenna?

jimm

cyclerider

Bluetooth NEVER USES THE CAR ANTENNA. Bluetooth ALWAYS USES THE PHONE ANTENNA. The only way to use the car antenna in the USA cars is to DOCK THE PHONE IN A CRADLE.

sgaar

jallison12

I got my BT puck installed by Auto Addiction in Lindenhurst NY, and was able to successfully pair my personal phone (Motorola Q) and my work BB (8700g). I now figure if anyone calls me on either phone, I just pick up using the steering wheel controls.

But, I pressed the phone book button and got to see the list. Now the question is, am I seeing a merge of both phones contents, or perhaps just the first one that paired? Also, when I am initiating a call, which phone would it use to make the call?

Does anyone have a experience with this, or (even better) a PDF or something that I could read through? I'll also check with Jay at Auto Addiction and see if he knows. I'll update here if I find out anything.

jim

weinschela

My understanding is that you can only have one paired at a time. If you want to ustilize two phone (I sometimes do), youc an forward one number to the one that is paird. But you'll get either (not both) directory.

jallison12

Really? I thought I read it could pair up to 4 phones at the same time? I'll go surf around and see what I can find out.
jim

Diesel Benz

The latest BT pucks should pair with multiple phones. I assume weinschela actually meant "one can only use one phone at a time". The system would use the first phone it sees from those that have been previously paired.

If multiple phones are on at the time the car is started, BT devices usually pick up the one that was last paired with it.

AutoAddiction

From what i was told and have seen... you can pair as many phones as you like...

BUT - only one phone can be linked (active) at a time on the Bluetooth link....

So lets say you are entering the car with your spouce that also has had their phone paired previously... when starting the car the dongle will start looking for known devices.... now it should link up with the last used device... having 2 previously paired devices in the car at the same time can be confusing to the dongle... it should goto the last used but sometimes its a crap shoot....

Also depends on your phone... some phones are always looking for a bluetooth connection... where alot of others (like motorolas) stay "discoverable" for 15-30 seconds when you goto the connect feature....

paired = introduce phone and dongle
linked = active current connection

lol.... hope this hepls....

Diesel Benz

You can pair as many as you want, but the BT puck would not "remember" all of those. Of course it would not have any infinite memory, it really should be only 4 last phones that were paired.

I did not check myself but are you sure about the order when multiple phones a at reach at the same time, that the puck would first pick up the one used last time? I guess I can find the manual from AWS and can check there.

Edited: had a look at the manual. The max number of phones paired is 4. But it is the last one used that the MB puck would reconnect first if multiple phones were available (unlike most BT headsets etc.).

AutoAddiction

well there are 2 pucks and a dongle...... which are we talking about... lol

emilner

You can use call waiting but from your phone, not the car's controls.

I also use the cradle, most times my phone is on the passenger seat, but when I am in a low reception area I put the phone in the cradle for added boost.

I do find you cannot leave the phone in your back pocket, signal strength drops dramatically when I leave my razr in my back pocket. Maybe I'm just too fat

Diesel Benz

Could be clarified. There are more pucks than that, if you count the Euro ones. From my earlier post you can see that I referred to the latest device.

001kz

when i dont switch the bluetooth off on my cell and i am in the house and when i answer calls it goes straight to the car (i have to then transfer the call to the cell) it drives me nuts sometimes.