Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (
More info?)
<nospamjunketc@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<A2Vvc.9764$Ha2.9276@twister.socal.rr.com>...
> Wow, Dan, that was great information and detail! You make it very
> interesting.
> Lots to think about and experiment with. Thank you!!!
>
Please share your experiments with all of us, we're at the stage where
beta testers... err, sorry... paying consumers are charting the waters
for more advanced BT networking. Also feeding Bluetooth 1.2
specifications I believe...
Went to check Acura from their website since it's a brand we don't
have around here, and puzzled by a statement that the onboard
multimedia system - including the Bluetooth connectivity - is a
standard outfit on ALL Acura TL models !!?
Up to now, systems this sophisticated with Bluetooth inside were only
offered to geeks as a rather expensive option with other car makers -
I'm thinking of the Toyota Prius, Peugeot 607, or various German
rigs... The so-called Bluetooth option very commonly offered in Europe
on popular models is not factory-fitted, but rather an after-market BT
car kit (black box) that they'd have installed behind the dashboard at
some dealership, just before delivery. Around 300K cars got bluetooth
enabled like that last year. Not too bad considering it carries a $400
to $600 price tag (installed). Most of the time,
people are happy with them, simple enough.
Someone bold at Honda has decided to turn all US Acura owners -
includes you - into BT early-adopters, and there's only a fraction
that many BT-enabled phones in the US as there are in Europe. You drew
a lucky number, and stirred my curiosity...
Query shows the system on the Accura is provided by Johnson Controls
(Also for Chrysler?) and it's part of a full blown onboard computer
with a QNX OS and lots of network interfaces to get the sensors,
steering wheel controls inputs, and to control the various subsystems
(typically through a CAN bus). Nice job.
Now they say voice recognition, noise reduction and echo cancellation
are good. Can you tell us how good is good? Does the voice recognition
work well with open windows? On wet road? Did you have to train it?
Your GPS navigation is built-in, with hard-wired GPS receiver, and
will never require any BT connection. Forget about comments on the
simultaneous audio links at the BT car end, only required for people
who'd want PDA/SmartPhone-based voice-enabled and geolocalisation apps
(someday), to carry out of the car (and I'm a buyer of that, keeps car
simple).
So your car-end Bluetooth is just there to wirelessly host BT phones
with a handsfree profile. Period. No provision for connecting a
terminal using a headset profile, which restricts even further the
choice. A little googling returns the typical flow of customer queries
Acura owners will now be contributing to:
http://www.burningdoor.com/steve/archives/000240.html
To summarize it all: "Well, I have that... BT thing... somehow in my
car, with my phone in the hand, can't ...*pair*... them things
together. Help!". Tech support goes: "Sir, (1) what Bluetooth phone is
it you have again, (2) what firmware version does that phone run on,
(3) what SW version do you have on your handsfree system, and (4) what
is it you're trying to achieve today anyways since there's no two
identical setups/features-sets?". Customer: "???"
Reminder: This is about a simple point to point BT connection between
one master and one slave, using an ad-hoc, off-shelf BT profile. And
there's usually a happy end to it: Customer self-educates and it's
cool enough not to have any phone holder in the way. Eventually,
Johnson Controls will end up sorting it out with phones, firmwares,
and perhaps provide less ambitious phone features. What they have now
seems hard to support across phones / firmwares with some degree of
consistency.
Cellular connectivity for your iPaq would have to go over BT through
your BT phone's antenna, through your cloth fabric, and out of the
car. The problem that was noticed over years' use with this scheme is
that, even in areas with very dense GSM networks such as Europe, you
experience fading signal here and there - compounded by
electromagnetic screening of glass panels which is a trend.
End result of this, there's talk now about re-introducing external
antennas for BT cars (also applies to GPS antennas), and since you
don't want that hodler back, there's that new BT Sim Access Profile
brewing: A behind dashboard cellular module that inherits the
communications functions and account of your phone over Bluetooth. Now
you will need your phone to support that BT Sim Access Profile as well
(new generation), ... and '07 Acuras will have to add yet some little
more electronics.
Yes, lots to experiment with