If you saw our first “Windows Mobile vs. Your Car” video, you may be wondering how the same phone based voice recognition, media player, and GPS navigation integration might work on a stereo with integrated Bluetooth handsfree and advanced audio distribution profiles. Today we show you how a Windows Phone would work with the Clarion FB275BT car stereo head unit.
Pros
– AV Remote Control Profile lets you control the media player using hardware buttons that you can feel with your fingers (especially useful for touch-screen phones since you don’t have to take your eyes off the road)
– No wires and Bluetooth connectivity means you can leave your phone in your pocket
– Voice prompting navigation
– Navigate to contacts as synced from Exchange or Outlook
– Plan trips without sitting in the car
– Voice recognition control of music library (via Artist, Album, Genre, or everything)
– Voice recognition for dialing contacts
– Text to Speech announcements of incoming caller names, text messages, emails, and appointments
– Voice recognition can be activated from Bluetooth headset
– Download and listen to Podcasts & Video Podcasts while in the car
Cons
– You’ll still have to plug a battery charger into your phone for long trips
– No voice control for setting navigation destination addresses
– Music library limited to phone’s storage capacity (which is expandable in many cases)
– The Clarion FB275BT’s microphone tends to be less accurate with Voice Command than an in-ear headset with noise cancellation
– The Clarion FB275BT only auto-connects to the phone’s handsfree profile, not the wireless stereo (A2DP) profile. This requires manual activation of wireless stereo every time you turn the car on
While I really like having hardware buttons to control the media player via the Bluetooth A/V Remote Control Profile, it becomes very annoying having to set the car stereo as the wireless stereo output device every time I get into the car. If it automatically connected as many Bluetooth stereo headphones do, then it would be much more useful. There’s also the problem with having to plug a charger into the phone thus negating the point of using a wireless stereo. Having a single jack to plug in that does both charging and audio output (as in my first video) requires far fewer steps.
If anybody knows of a Bluetooth car stereo headunit that automatically connects to a phone’s A2DP profile when powered on, let me know.
Originally published on Pocketnow on February 23, 2009. More Thought articles from the Pocketnow archive.