Recommended Bluetooth car kit - phone and music?

[jantman]

I absolutely love my Droid, but using it in the car is a royal pain. I used to have a Parrot kit (the LS-CK3200 or something) for my old Treo, but it was awful (probably the fault of the phone).

I'm open to buying either a car kit or a full head unit that does all of the BlueTooth stuff builtin.

Specifically, I'm looking for something (either car kit or head unit) that does:
- Good quality stereo audio with full remote control (play/pause/next/prev)
- Possibly a steering wheel control for audio and calls
- Receive and place calls
- Display caller ID and, preferably, photo
- Address book sync
- Voice dial through the Droid would be great.

Any recommendations for something that does as much of this as possible? I see other threads on the forum for either handsfree calling or audio, but can't find any that mention both (with a full-featured unit).

Thanks for any tips.
-J

[spwn3d]

I'd be interested to try the Parrot PMK5800 or Venturi Mini. I want something exactly similar to what you are describing. These two I feel would work for my needs, I've read a lot of reviews on it and really wanted someone to test it out with the Droid. I might take the plunge and get one, let me know if you do or if you find something better.

[92slammer]

you need a BURY CC9060.....hands down the best bluetooth car kit there is...check out www.dunnonsite.com for videos and more info

[jantman]

you need a BURY CC9060.....hands down the best bluetooth car kit there is...check out www.dunnonsite.com for videos and more info

Can you comment on what features work with the Droid? Music playing/control? Call intiation? Phone book sync? Voice dial?

... or was this just spam?

[spwn3d]

you need a BURY CC9060.....hands down the best bluetooth car kit there is...check out www.dunnonsite.com for videos and more info

Can you comment on what features work with the Droid? Music playing/control? Call intiation? Phone book sync? Voice dial?

... or was this just spam?

No checkout the site. It's not spam it appears to be a pretty awesome unit... then again for 300 bucks it should. I feel the droid has a lot of those features built in and i can't defend the 300 dollar price for it. I do feel it could quite possibly be the best out there, but almost too much for what i need and too much in price.

[jantman]

No checkout the site. It's not spam it appears to be a pretty awesome unit... then again for 300 bucks it should. I feel the droid has a lot of those features built in and i can't defend the 300 dollar price for it. I do feel it could quite possibly be the best out there, but almost too much for what i need and too much in price.

Do you actually own one? No offense, but I'm looking for first-hand opinions. When I got my old Parrot kit, everyone recommended it, said it was wonderful, but it had some *major* bugs with the Treo 700p.

Also, as to Droid having those features built in, my goal here is to be able to do whatever I need to with my phone (receive and place calls, play music) without ever taking it out of the holster.

[rawveeda]

I have heard that the parrot minikit slim plays nice with the droid. Granted it does not stream music and it is a single speaker. But It does do contact voice dialing & auto phonebook sync. (the person who reviewed it on the newegg site said it was the only way to do voice/handsfree dialing- contact list dialing-)

I don't know how accurate that info is but overall that kit has gotten good reviews

[jantman]

I have heard that the parrot minikit slim plays nice with the droid. Granted it does not stream music and it is a single speaker. But It does do contact voice dialing & auto phonebook sync. (the person who reviewed it on the newegg site said it was the only way to do voice/handsfree dialing- contact list dialing-)

I don't know how accurate that info is but overall that kit has gotten good reviews

Hmm... I'll have to check out the reviews on the other Parrot kits... I also really liked (of course now I can't remember whether it was Parrot or another company) one kit I saw that had an optional wireless steering wheel remote, for cars like mine that have cruise control (but are too old to have audio controls). Of course, it seems that despite all the media hype about the Droid, none of the manufacturers have added it to their compatibility lists yet...

[jantman]

Just went back to the Parrot site and found the Droid (I missed it the first time - listed as the Motorola Milestone/Droid) on the compatibility list for their flagship MKi9200 car kit.

Listed as compatible, but mentions:
- No automatic phonebook synchronization with this model.
- Streaming can not be controled [sic] from the MKi9200
- Fast forward / rewind on audio file : Information not available
- How to initiate the streaming ? : Information not available
- Streaming may encounter problems after a call
- 45573: [Motorola Milestone (Droid)] Popup "synchronising..." appears after every call

Oh well....

[jfourman]

I use this Soundfly BT Ultimate Bluetooth Car FM Transmitter. It doesn't meet the criteria of storing a phone book or Caller ID; but I have my Droid mounted near my fingertips, so I don't need those feature.

Soundfly BT Ultimate Bluetooth Car Fm Transmitter WMA/MP3 Player for SD Card, USB Stick, iPhone 3Gs & 3G, iPod, Zune | Satechi

My Droid automatically pairs with it when I get into my car. It's mic is external so I was able to run the mic's wire under my console and behind the windshield pillar cover so that it is attached to my visor. The transmitter has a slot for an SD card. So not only can you play A2DP audio from your Droid through the car speakers, you can also play music from the SD card inserted in the transmitter. The transmitter has a hidden keypad behind a dropdown door to access its menu of functions. It also has a tiny IR remote that works well if you point it directly at the transmitter.

All in all it is a great handsfree, A2DP stereo solution for your Droid if your car does not have built in bluetooth.

It isn't cheap at $69...but well worth the price for me. Satechi has great customer service as well. I had purchased another manufacturers transmitter from them that stopped working after a year. They sent me a new Soundfly BT without me even asking for a replacement after I had only inquired as to whether the broken transmitter could be fixed.