Wired Car Kit

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beehappy

104 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 16

#106670 29-Jul-2012 07:51

Hi
With the loss of the CDMA network I need car kit to replace my Sanyo 5600.

Can anyone suggest a phone and Car kit ($3-400) ideally hard wired as always on and always charged etc. I would prefer a telecom phone as they have the best coverage here in the Boonies but can use vodafone if thats the only option.

I have been told there is a $1500 option but this is a backup phone (in case I forget my main one)

any help greatfully received Peter

Technofreak

6656 posts

Uber Geek
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Trusted

#663589 29-Jul-2012 13:29

Car kits that are for specific phones seem to have lost their popularity I'm not sure what's around. I know Nokia used to do one or two for their phones but have never seen any locally

I have a Parrot Mki9100 car kit which I am very happy with. I think there are later versions than this one now. It connects automatically via bluetooth to my phone every time I get into my car. It's very seamless, no need to turn anything on or plug anything in. I don't need to do anything, the phone can stay in my pocket.

You can pair several phones to the Parrot so other people using the vehicle can use the Parrot as well. However you can only use one of the phones if there happened to be more than one paired phone in the vehicle at any one time.

So far as charging the phone goes, I don't usually bother, except on a long trip. For this I use a cigarette USB supply and a USB cord to the phone. I have a windscreen holder for the phone but only because I use the turn by turn navigation and want to get good GPS coverage other wise the phone can be anywhere.

The portable handsfree kits also work well and are a bit cheaper. They have one big draw back for me. That is they are usually powered up all the time as they are independent of the vehicle power supply so any time the paired phone is in range, the phone is working through the handsfree kit.

You could be inside with your phone and the car in thee garage or just outside the building when a call comes in, it will ring on the handsfree kit and not your phone. This is very frustrating. The way to stop this is to either turn off the kit or the bluetooth function on the phone each time you leave the vehicle but that ruins the seamless operation.

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scuwp

3927 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2510

#663617 29-Jul-2012 14:52

We dumped all our work car kits ages ago and am not sure you can even buy them now. Newer cars have Bluetooth fitted (or can be purchased as an optional plug n play extra) and there are a multitude of cradles and charges depending on your handset. Saves the costs of having 2 connections and the second you sit in the car it connects.

If you want a 'backup' phone I am sure there would be some basic handset/cradles around and you could put in a divert function through your provider if one isn't answered.

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