Well with all the talk about buttons and touch screens and all the bashing of the MB NAV system, I was becoming doubtful about the system in my S430. My first MB with NAV. I have not used it that much so it was really not one of my concerns.

Well today I had the Hands Free System with Voice Control installed and put in my cell phone and cradle. It works great. After I picked up the car at the Service area I stopped at the showroom and asked one of the Sales Assistants to run through the operation with me. Claudia came out to the car and proceeded to check me out on the phone. Very easy and great quality of sound.

I then asked her about the NAV and what could be controlled verbally...and she quickly replied..."everything." We opened the NAV verbally, put in the town, address and house number and then started Route Guidance...all verbally. Did not touch a button anywhere. The map came up and she said that's it. Tonight after eating out I said NAV, entered my home address verbally and said route guidance and it took me home. No buttons, no touch screens, no looking at some fancy screen display...I just listened and it directed me to the front door.

So all you Acura, Toyota, Lexus NAV lovers...I am sure you like your NAV system but don't tell me about the out of date and incompetent MB system. It can't get any better in my eyes. If I know that a route to a location is the shortest and the NAV takes me another longer way with no alternatives...what the hell do you need the NAV for. In a strange area the route that gets me to the destination is all that I am interested in.

Excuse my rant in places but I am pleased no end with this setup.

Some picture tomorrow.

 

I think the voice activated control is a very good execution on the part of Mercedes Benz. I love it, too. People do get amazed by it.

 

I would like to see them interface it all to the cars electrical system, so you can command windows down, truck to open, lights on/off etc... oh well, maybe the next generation of MB's..

but nevertheless, it's nice to have what little control I have now, hands free!

 

Right on Jack..... My feelings exactly.
B.T.W....This E is my first car with a nav also and really like it too....So called short comings and all.....

 

I don't think that is to far off Sam...

 

We agree on a lot of things...must be the high level of intelligence...LOL

 

That sounds nice, I wish I had that.

 

Jack, Sounds great! Can I have something like that installed in my old S? (It came w/ NAV, phone, voice recognition, etc...) I followed your lead w/ the burlwood steering wheel and shift knob. Guess you are a real trend-setter.

 

I don't know about the older models. Go to http://www.wireless4mb.com/ and either send them an email or call the 800# on the site. Auto Wireless Service (AWS) is the MB outlet for cell phones and are up to speed on what will and what will not work. I talked with Bret who was well versed on the system. If you have NAV, the phone and voice recognition then it would appear that you are in business except that the older harness or NAV system might not be compatible.

Good luck...

 

This is the new install showing the non-branded Moto V557 installed and the cradle acquired from AWS.

 

Ramp, see the thread at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/foru...sp?tid=1193674 for updating the VCM.

 

Looking good, and a good idea to put the phone in the cup holders. One question tho, what kind of leather cleaner do you use to keep your seat clean?

 

So where are you're cup holders? :p

 

aagghh! The dreaded cup holders! NOOOOO!!

 

The phone is installed in the center console space desgined for the phone. The cup holder is in front of this area and does not come into play with the phone install. What were you referring to exactly?

I have some Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner I use. I use it when the seats begin to show some discoloration...it does a nice job.

 

I think he was referring to the cup holder flip-up that is on the passenger-side of the center console in our older S's...

 

Thats what i meant. Thx Ramp

 

I take it then this was not a good location for the cup holder on the earlier models...:-)

 

Not sure why the changed it. I like it there. There is only one, tiny, problem w/ it: A large drink container will make it difficult to lift the console lid next to it, but that hardly ever happens. Where is your change holder, if the cups go in front of the center console?

 

The change holder is somewhat diminished over the earlier models; it is at the front of the larger top part of the console, to the left of the phone. It doesn't hold as many coins (a minor annoyance for me recently on the Florida Turnpike). The coins are inserted on edge and are held vertically, fairly close together.

The cup holders are better, but occupy space that was available for storage.

All minor stuff.

 

Frankly I did not know there is a coin holder...never carry any change. There is a small covered storage area in front of the shift console. The cup holder is in back of the shift console and "pops-up" when you press on it. I also took the ashtray receptacle out and use that for my glasses.

 

Hey Skylaw...now I know what those slots are for...I had no idea they were for coins. Learn something everyday on this forum.

Finally put the phone thing to rest and am pleased with the result and setup.

 

Hi, Jack - thanks for your info on the non-MB cradle from AWS. I have a service appointment next week, and will try to see about the BT installation for the '05 and later S500s. Right now I use the MB/Verizon V710, which I plug into a matching MHI cradle. Your installation looks great (which they always do).

My concerns with BT have been over the owner's manual warning not to use a phone inside the car without it being plugged into an external antenna. Some of the most recent BT technologies actually have cell phone components in place in the car, connected to the car's external antenna, and they download your phone's SIM Access Profile (SAP) over BT. Once that is done, the cell phone is actually not used - the car's components are. Not all BT systems work that way, by a long shot - but I want to find out just what the MB BT mods do.

It shouldn't be difficult to design that into a Mercedes- the Tele-Aid components are actually a cell phone with limited user-accessible dialing capability, built into the car. Using those components and feeding the BT-downloaded SAP into it should be a fairly simple design proposition.

Meantime, I'll keep using the V710, plugged in - and likely, keep forgetting it in the car. However, I'd like to move on to the Verizon CDMA RAZR V3c, which is strictly BT.

I read a post recently that says the MB BT systems are made by Peiker, a German outfit. My wife's '05 Lincoln Town Car has a Peiker BT system that she uses with a Verizon LG 8100 phone. The sound quality is very poor over BT in that installation; it is much better when she just uses the phone direct. I hope it's just a compatibility issue with that phone or her particular installation (we have had extraordinarily bad service with the Lincoln-Mercury dealer nearest to us in Arlington), and not indicative of what we can expect with the MB BT installations.

 

I really don't think the dealer will have much information on the BT module. Call Bret at AWS and ask him about it or go to the site and email him. They are the MB source for these things and he is up to date on the installs and when things can be expected to be available. He did tell me that with the BT there will be no phone charging and the addressbook will not download to the system...can't remember the rest of the details.

I don't fool with taking the phone out of the cradle when I leave the car...I added a RAZR to an additional line for $9.95 a month and share my minutes between the two phones under the same Cingular plan.

 

Thanks, Jack - and the Peiker info is at http://forums.mbnz.org/forums/forums...sp?tid=1226148 (Thanks, Wolfgang!).

Your two-phone solution may be a good one, especially if you can forward calls after no answer, from one (especially the one left in the car) to the other that you carry.