This is exactly how the factory Bluetooth audio interface works on my 2011 E550. I like it so much, that I didn't renew Sirius.

 

Correct - it is designed to give users of slightly older vehicles, or slightly less equipped vehicles the same experience as the latest and greatest.

On the Sirius note: I too have done that on one car, but do you drive much out of town on long highway stretches? I love the Sirius app in town, but in more rural areas with 2G only, or maybe no service at all sometimes - it drives me crazy!

 

That is definitely a drawback. I don't drive this car out of town much - so it isn't an issue for me. In fact, I have only put 3500 miles on it in the last 9 months.

 

I just recently purchased a 2009 C350, and bluetooth streaming was the only thing that I feel is "missing" as an option.

I'm ordering one of those AnyStream units from Cartronics. If that works well I'll be very, very happy.

 

Got my AnyStream.

Works VERY well. I was able to stream podcasts via Stitcher on the iPhone.

Volume is a little low, but I think I saw a post on another forum that said there's a Command software update for that.

 

Great thread, and great little product, thanks! Did I miss the sale? Looks like it is back at $79.... http://www.cartronics.com/iTronic.html

 

I have an older iPod that I leave attached and connected all the time. Is there a cable or extension that would allow me to use both? Something of a Y-splitter?

 

We have a Y splitter, but do not know if it would work in this application. My gut tells me it won't due to the addressing nature of the Mercedes system.

 

I have a question how this works. You plug the anystream an iPod/IPhone connection? From the photo on your website it looks like its an iPhone cable from the glovebox? What if you only have a headphone type aux input cable? I looked at your website for any sort of documentation/instructions on how it works and cannot find anything.

 

It has a dock connector on it, like the bottom of an iPod. It is designed to plug into ANY ipod cable or speaker dock, or ??? that has an place to hook up an iPod. Then you can stream from ANY device that has bluetooth capability (including, or instead of, Apple products)
If you only have a 3.5mm headphone jack, that won't work. You would need something like our iTronic Audio, or a factory iPod kit from Mercedes. Either would work.

 

OK, now I am confused. The AnyStream is listed on teh 1999-2004 W203.

The only Aux in option on this car, is the headphone style input that is in the glove box. With this being said, since it would need to connect to a ipod connector to work, why do you all have it listed as being an option for this model car?

Sure this is pretty easy to setup and use once you get it, but before you get it, it would be nice to know of ANY requirements to use it BEFORE you buy it. Heck, I was thinking about buying it for my car, glad I did not waste my money on the item, then play your $13 shipping to have it shipped to me, then pay my $5 (non inflated shipping charges) to ship it back to and be out almost $20 on an item that is not compatible with my car.

Now that I have that off my chest. Would something like this allow this to work, or does it rely on internal electronics that are just not available on my car?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=AFKH6OU9WWNFS

And if this wont work, PLEASE remove it as an option from this link.

http://www.cartronics.com/MBD2B.html

 

No, there is an iPod option for your car...the iPod Gateway (listed on the same page for your car) The AnyStream is designed to work with that product (or if you had an a different aftermarket stereo even). The AnyStream page states:

"AnyStream is a revolutionary Bluetooth device allowing any Bluetooth mobile phone or other device with Bluetooth A2DP compatibility to stream audio to any car, speaker system or device that is intended for use with an Apple iPod. Today many cars offer a dock connector that links an Apple iPod to the audio system. With the AnyStream you can connect any mobile phone or music player with suitable Bluetooth capabilities. Now they can be connected wirelessly as an audio source (ex. iPhone/iPod/iPad/Android/Zune). AnyStream also enables iPod docking accessories like HiFi stations or iPod speakers to receive audio streams from any Bluetooth source like mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAs or PCs."

So IF you already have a dock connector in the car (already installed our iPod Gateway for instance in some year past), then an AnyStream would add new functionality to your car.

No, that item will not work for any sort of streaming product. That simply converts the dock connector to a headphone connector (kinda stupid product, since the ipod or iphone already has a headphone connector). A real dock connector has data lines, power lines (for charging the ipod or powering the AnyStream), etc.

About shipping. We use UPS and the charges are actual UPS charges plus $1.25 for packaging and UPS fuel surcharge. So they are not inflated a all. We COULD use USPS, but rarely do, as in Atlanta they have a fine reputation for losing items. In the last 8 years UPS has lost exactly 1 package out of 26,000. We would rather clients get the merchandise in a timely manner and intact, than save 5 or 6 bucks on shipping.

 

I think you could make it a little more clear on your website on what the device will and will not work with, and make it clear that you need built in ipod functionality either OEM, or third party such as your iPod gateway product. When it comes to letting people know what it will work with and not, you can never give them too much information to prevent them from buying something that wont work.

My apologies, I dont ship many items and had no clue that shipping a package ground cost that much, I just went on UPS's website and saw how much ground shipping really is.

I do not blame you for not using the USPS, I dont have much faith in them either.

Items such as these give me sticker shock, I had a VW before my benz and to integrate the iPod/iPhone into that car was under $100, your option ( and there are not many options out there) costs 4x as much. If I wanted to install bluetooth and ipod integration it would be over $1000.

Thank you for your quick response.

 

No problem.... yes, many of the European cars (including the newer VW's) give people sticker shock. The more modern fiber optics that these cars employ take a lot more electronics to make things work smoothly. However, you get a lot of hidden benefits too. So it does cost more, but you generally are getting more too (but not always of course).

 

Thinking about getting this so I can listen to Pandora and some of the other great music apps on my Iphone, perhaps just cancel my sirius and save some money on the other end.
Is it worth it? Thoughts??
Thanks for your any input you may have.

 

my 2 cents on the cartronics anystream:

2012 e coupe so very new firmware. I used the ipod connector cable which i verified as being the one 'supported' by cartonics (Mercedes part number A 001 827 82 04) http://www.cartronics.com/POM.html

My phone, htc desire hd running android 2.3, connects fine to the anystream and the led on the anystream flashes once every 6 seconds suggesting the connection phone<--->anystream is fine.

However the media interface on the car is stuck at 'activating device' and nothing else happens.

For the record, I called anystream and they took my call and were very polite. However the suggested 'solution' is to go and buy a composite av cable with authentication chip from apple to connect the anystream via usb - this costs very close to the price i paid for the anystream. With this in mind I may have opted for a different solution (like the motorolla gateway). I am also in Cyprus so sending it back is not really an option/feasible/cost effective. Thus I'm left with a $80 square of plastic. I may eventually go buy the composite cable but at this point i'm weary of spending more money on something that may or may not work. Caveat emptor.

 

However, as we explained to e_coup, elsewhere in these forums, several reviewers with the EXACT same car... it is working perfectly. This highlights the problem with some cars like a Mercedes Benz. Mercedes has continually come out with new part numbers AND software updates for the iPod systems in the cars... why? Because they are not always Apple compliant. If you will visit Mercedes Benz factory website, you will find many updates available for the cars. This is why we give several solutions to this problem. The Anystream is 100% compliant. e_coup, If you went and purchased a $800 iPad, it would not work in your car either without the updates or cables mentioned. So it is caveat emptor, but not for the reasons you mentioned. It is because your car needs the updates or proper cables to work. One must be willing to take the steps necessary to bring the car into compliance with Apples specifications if you wish to use an iPad, Anystream, or future iOS5 device (as the new Apple iPhone operating system coming out next month won't work in your car either).
Within the cable kit part number we give on our site listed above is a USB cable. When used with the USB cable and any iPod cable that contains the AAC (Apple Authentication Chip), it forces a non Apple compliant system to be compliant. It is a simple solution to a compatibility problem.
However, like we said before, other reviewers on this site have the same car, same year, same cable, and it works fine. It is because they have different software in the car, and it is compliant. It can be a complicated matter to understand, but there are easy solutions to the problem.
PLUS, the Anystream does come with a 100% money back guarantee should you decide to try it and not want to take the steps necessary should it not work. Even in Cyprus, the ANystream only weighs 1 ounce (28 grams), and can be put in a normal letter and mailed back for very little cost. You can recover your investment should you want to. For the record, only 3 Anystreams have ever been returned (with a little over 500 sold so far) - and 98% of those have been sold in the US where they can be returned for under 50 cents.

 

I tried to edit the original post but cant so I have to quote instead.

NOTE: fwiw cartronics.com are "good people" - even after my negative review and after some back/forth with them - they are still responding to my questions. I believe their 100% money back guarantee. I understand that many people have had success with this product. I'm in the process of trying to source an apple usb cable 'with authentication chip' (the apple store won't deliver to my country and not sure that the ones on ebay/amazon have the 'apple authentication chip' built in which is what I need). If I get my hands on one and try it out I'll post back here.

 

just got it. plopped it into the ipod cable of my 2009 CL63...works GREAT. instantly. I had doubts it would work when I ordered it (seems too good to be true). it does, works great. i can't believe this tech isn't more well known...my mercedes dealer was dumbfounded when I showed it to them (They dont even know the command-plus accessory exists for newer models). god people are idiots. anyway, if you have a model that doesn't work with the command-plus (pre-2010 i believe), this anystream thingy is a must buy

 

I'm interested in buying Anystream. However, it shows $79. When is it going on sale again

 

Not sure if anyone is checking this stream anymore. I have this and need to make it discoverable so I can sync my Blackberry. Does anyone know how I do this? When cartronics was still in business, one of their tec guy walked me through it with my then android phone, which still works with it. Thanks in advance for any help.

All good things

Peace

 

There is a new device called a CoolStream Bluetooth Receiver that will work on your car. You can get it on Amazon for $39.99 and it is so easy, you just connect it to your ipod wire and pair it with your smart phone. It doesn't even have to be an iphone, any smart phone with bluetooth capabilities will work. Check out their website www.CoolStream.Co. No adapters or mechanics needed.

 

have you tried this out? Looking for something like this to stream my Spotify service. Will Android phones stream any music source (i.e. Spotify, Pandora, etc) via Bluetooth?

 

I use a windows 7 phone and it works great. When I got my MB I saw the iphone cable and started looking for an adapter or something compatable with windows 7. This was a perfect solution to having to buy a new phone on top of the new car. My friend Jim tried it with his Android and it paired right up. As long as the source you want to stream is on your phone it should work great.

 

Does this turn on automatically when you turn the car on or do you have to turn it on separately?

[Update] just found the answer to my question on the Amazon product page:
Question
Does this receiver auto connect to a paired device after it has lost power? I want to use it in my car and auto connect when it powers up again.
Heidi L. asked on July 22, 2012

Once you have turned off your car, the CoolStream Bluetooth receiver will power off. When you start the car again, you will have to push the power button on the CoolStream device to start it up. It will remember the last device it was paired to and will repair to that device automatically. Coolstream rep answered on July 24, 2012