Accessories Bluetooth Handsfree speakerphone

[reinbeau]

Any suggestions for the best handsfree bluetooth for the car? I'm looking at the visor mounted types, Blueant, Motorola MOTOROKR FM Transmitter or the Parrot Minikit Slim. I don't want one that clips on my ear. Any suggestions?

 

[peachpuff]

I got the blueant supertooth 3, the speaker is really loud and clear, you can copy your contacts to it and it'll say the name when it calls, connects by itself when you enter the car(the sound of the door closing triggers pairing), can't find any faults with it yet.

 

[reinbeau]

I got the blueant supertooth 3, the speaker is really loud and clear, you can copy your contacts to it and it'll say the name when it calls, connects by itself when you enter the car(the sound of the door closing triggers pairing), can't find any faults with it yet.

Thank you! That's what I am leaning towards, however, I'm a bit confused. There's a 'kit' offered on Amazon, that has three components - what I'm confused about is why do I need two speakerphones? Why would they sell this as a 'bundle'?:
BlueAnt S4 Bluetooth Car Speakerphone Kit

BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free Speakerphone (Black)

PREMIUM USB Adapter Power Kit for BlueAnt S4 Phone! Includes : (1) A Days Tech Charging USB Data Cable, (1) USB Car Charger Adapter (1) USB Folding Blade Wall Charger Adapter.


Any help with that would be appreciated!

 

[peachpuff]

Dont worry about that, either get the supertooth 3 or the s4, they already come with a car charger.

 

[avatar42]

Unfortunately I'm sending my BlueAnt S4 back after having trouble getting it to connect to my Captivate on a regular basis. It also says call from tech support no matter who is calling and often drops the call when I try and answer it. Still its better than the Motorola which hung the phone every time a call came in. Though the Motorola did everything else better including making a flawless connection every time the phone was in range. The search continues for a viable option to play podcasts, read IMs AND handle phone calls.

 

[BookLover]

Unfortunately I'm sending my BlueAnt S4 back after having trouble getting it to connect to my Captivate on a regular basis. It also says call from tech support no matter who is calling and often drops the call when I try and answer it. Still its better than the Motorola which hung the phone every time a call came in. Though the Motorola did everything else better including making a flawless connection every time the phone was in range. The search continues for a viable option to play podcasts, read IMs AND handle phone calls.

I use my FM transmitter to play media thru my car speakers. A slight PITA to connect it manually whenever I want to do that. However, everything sound so much better thru my car speakers.

You can then use vlingo for voice commands to make calls and read/send texts and even emails.

If you use Tasker you can probably program your phone to auto-answer calls, too, when you're driving, so you don't even have to touch the screen to accept calls.

 

[avatar42]

Yeah the FM transmitter aspect of the Motorola was nice though it did tend to sound a bit boxy. If it did not totally lock up my phone to the point I needed to remove the battery to recover I'd call it perfect. The main issue for me with the BlueAnt was having to turn it off and on a few times to get it to connect every time I got back in the car. Even if it had been turned off to start with. I only bought the JamBox yesterday so I have not tried everything with it yet but so far so good. I would prefer it had a FM option and an app to read IMs. Especially seeing as how it is double the price of the other 2. From what I'm seeing at least some of my issues might be related to being on 2.1. (There were major changes to the bluetooth API in 2.2) If AT&T does not release 2.2 for Captivate soon (they keep pushing the date) I might need to bite the bullet and hack an upgrade myself.

 

[SGS2]

i am with you.

i refuse an ear piece as i do not want to stick anything in my ears and get my ear lice, ear fleas, ear pus, ear wax, ear vermin, and/or ear mites on it.

i have spent hours, sadly, on google, and finally found a motorola 3/three watt visor bluetooth spekerphone; the MOTOROLA ROADSTER.

motorola usa roadster link and specs: Motorola Roadster Handsfree Bluetooth In-car Speakerphone - Overview - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA

i have NOT ordered the new motorola ROADSTER, but the roadster has one more watt, 3 total, than my current motorola t505, which has 2 watts. the t505 is pretty good.

motorola has a smaller visor spekerphone, i think it is the t305, but it is lousy, and only has 1/one watt. don't EVER waste your money ever on a 1/one watt visor spekerphone like i did. i tried the t305, which at the time, was the best out there.

for me, i want a super loud speakerphone for driving on the LA freeways with the windows down. i wish there was a 100 watt visor bluetooth speakerphone. i want a speakerphone to make my ears bleed, rupture my ear drums and shatter my windshield.

i am a huge fan of motorola, and have purchased a new phone every few years since i bought my first cingular phone in 1997. of all the phones i bought with cingular/at&t; nokia, erickson, motorola has always been the best built and strongest construction, a nice quality, good looking and quality feeling plastic housing, and also has the best made OEM rapid chargers for home, and car chargers, with a much tighter fit, unlike aftermarket crap or samsung crap which is very loose in my micro usb charging port. the nice thing about motorola products/accessories, is if you drop it, it will not break, in my experience.

i only recently purchased my first samsung, the captivate, but samsung also has super durable and high quality phone set construction also, which i feel is as good as motorola.

HAS ANYONE PURCHASED THE 3/THREE WATT MOTOROLA ROADSTER BLUETOOTH VISOR SPEAKERPHONE???????????????

 

[avatar42]

I finally gave up on my Captivate and broke down and got an Atrix. If you are still on Android 2.1 or less just do not bother with a bluetooth speaker phone. Best case you might get it working a little bit. Now if you have 2.2 or better and need a speaker phone / media player then I would suggest the Roadster. It has fairly good volume but will switch to FM mode if you really need to crank it. My second choice (for loudness) was the JamBox but it was barely loud enough stuck up on the dash at highway speeds even with the fan off and windows closed. Plus it is twice the price and has no real features. The Q4 was OK but I found it hard to hear. It has basiaclly the same features as the Roadster EXCEPT the FM transmitter is is generally the same price. Note I have found multiple issues with all these running apps that try to grab / pause the audio. Often you see problems like an IM comes in and even though you have the IM app reader off the notification ding will cause apps like Audible's book reader to crash. Also you will probably find the FM transmitter is not strong enough to work from the visor if you do not have an in windshield antenna. I clip mine to the vents. Buy local and be sure and thoroughly try any combos that you think are important before your return by date expires.

 

[mnemonicj]

I know that you are looking for something more portable, but if you have the means, get an aftermarket car stereo with Bluetooth. I have a Pioneer one that I wouldn't recommend because it can be tedious going through the menus, but it works. My brother got a Pioneer and got fed up with it. Now he has a Sony and he is very happy with it.

Often, the stereos with Bluetooth come with a microphone that you wire around and to your sun visor. Everyone says I always sound very clear. Then, the audio goes through your front speakers and is very clear.

I had a Motorola Bluetooth speaker that you hooked on to your visor for a while, but it was annoying to have to charge it, leave it off until you got a phone call and then turn it on, and the speakers always sound so tinny. I like that when I get into my car and turn it on, my phone in my pocket automatically connects to my stereo and I don't have to do anything that I wouldn't normally do. When I turn the car off, it disconnects. Installation can be complicated, but the benefits are numerous.

 

[2manyPHONES]

i use a plantronics k100, works great and the sound is good on it. i have been using it with my inspire and captivate. the speakerphone on my inspire is junk so i had to find something. I also use it to listen to pandora in the house or backyard sometimes. very easy to use as well.

 

[spile]

The Supertooth Buddy works well with my Android (Desire) but doesn't support A2DP which means it is for phone calls only and no GPS directions via the speaker.