Aftermarket Bluetooth

I'm in Charlotte, and the dealer has an after-market b/t unit that replaced the eyeglass holder by the dome lights. Service dept. installed it for me. It works great! Complete hands free operation, voice activation, and speaker quality is no different (I've asked folks I'm on the phone with) than with the handset. If you or your dealer can't locate a similar unit, I'll get you the name,etc. It's not integrated into the screen like the regular b/t, but for $400 or so, I'm not complaining. By the way, if you're interested in getting a portable GPS, some of them now come with B/t as well...."killing 2 birds with one stone" if you're interested in both.

 

I have the Motorola IFH 1000 installed in another car (not my Prius). It's not the same as the factory installed Blue Tooth but it's pretty reliable and easy to use. Since you're in southern California you can call MCC Wireless (888) 806-0444. They provide installation with the units they sell. I've dealt with them for years and they're a great company to work with.

 

I wish I had Bluetooth also, didn't know how much I'd like it until my wife got it in her car. Nush, please let us know what unit you had installed. Anyone else have recommendations, or which of the GPS units work well with the BT?

 

If an installation-free solution is acceptable, take a look at the BlueAnt Supertooth II hands-free kit.



It clips to your sunvisor, and to turn it on you just swing down the microphone. Battery lasts about 200hrs between charges. Sound quality is equal to that of the Prius built-in system. They're cheap enough (~$80) that you can leave one in each of your cars that doesn't have factory Bluetooth.

http://www.blueant.com.au/supertooth2.htm

 

OK...the unit is made by autointelligence in Muncie, In. It's called "BlueConnect". Website is autointelligence.com , phone is 1 800 406 7132. I didn't deal with them at all though. My dealer (Town and Country Toyota in Charlotte) had the unit advertised in his showroom. I guess you can have your dealer contact my dealer ( sounds like a quote form the Sopranos) re. installation , questions, etc. They just pop out the eyeglass unit and this fits perfectly in that spot...looks 100% like made in the factory with the car. Come in the 2 interior colors Prius has so specify which color you need. Good luck...

 

It uses its own speakers and there is not remotely any problem with it in terms of hearing...either for the guy on the other end or for me in terms of hearing perfectly. And I'm deaf in one ear! Sorry, i have no pictures, but imagine the cover of your eyeglass holder instead having a few buttons and "grid" for speakers. It fits that perfectly..contoured exactly to the shape of that cover and matches color perfectly. That's the best I can do ging you a picture w/o a picture.

 

From priusenvy..."If an installation-free solution is acceptable, take a look at the BlueAnt Supertooth II hands-free kit." (quote didn't work this time!!!)

I just got this unit and it's working great, easy pairing, very good sound quality (even with the windows and sunroof open!) I would prefer to have bluetooth wired to the car so the radio would auto-mute, but otherwise it's great, especially for the price.

 

I have this in my BMW. It works great.
http://direct.motorola.com/ens/carkits/learn-T305.html (or its prior gen model)

Here is what I do.
I set my cell phone V3xx to vibrate-then-ring.
The T305 is usually off. (no consuming any battery power).
When I feel the vibration from phone call (while listening to music?), I turn on the T305, and it connects within 2-3 seconds.
My cell phone automatically transfers call to BT after two ringings (set so from menu) if connected. I mute the music.
By the time (2-3 seconds later) T305 turns on, the voice is transfered to it.
I can choose to turn if off myself, or, it will shut off in 30 minutes.
The unit supports BT 2.0. I can even send music from my cell phone to it (though only 1 channel )

The best part is that it costs around $40 only at Frys. The sound quality is great if the volumn is
set lower, otherwise, the echo can be annoying.

 

That Blueconnect unit is very nice and has very good voice recognition software. Daytona Toyota in Daytona Beach installs them.