11 replies to this topic

[robertjm]

I started writing this as a reply in another thread, but decided to start a new Topic because it's such an important safety feature.
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I'm currently using the Omnia i910 and will probably be waiting until August (New Every Two) before changing phones, but have to tell you I played with the Incredible the other day at the local Verizon store, and that is one super fast phone. The multi-touch, especially in Google Maps, is very handy, and the map scrolls super fast, as opposed to on the Omnia i910, which seems to take forever to rewrite the screen.

The biggest concern for me is something that's apparently across the board with Android phones, namely that you cannot start a call by hitting the Blue Tooth button on your headset. In this day and age when Hands Free is a requirement with many states in the USA, not to mention the fact that most "dumb" phones have supported that feature for years, it seems unconscionable to me that this is currently not part of the Android platform; a platform that is already up to v2.1!!

What really surprises me is the lack of buzz in online reviews regarding this problem.

Sure, all you have to do is hit a simple button on the face of the phone, but my opinion is that once you have to TOUCH the phone at all you've just broke the hands free requirement my home state of California has and I could be pulled over for that simple touch of the phone.

Before someone jumps me and reminds me that there are a lot of non-USA readers here please remember that the Incredible is being released by Verizon USA for use in the USA (among other areas) and supporting this feature because it's required by laws in many of the States) in no way takes away from the phone's usage for people in areas that don't require true Handsfree support.

Another thing that boggles my mind is that the released specs for the phone, as well as the Droid and others, suggest that this phone supports both HFP and Headset protocols? How can this be if the O.S. doesn't truly support the protocol?

Anyways, enough of the soapbox. Hopefully, it will be fixed by v2.5 or v3, whichever the next release will be.

Anybody know of any third part applications, paid or not, that have come up with a viable trully hands free, workaround?

Robert

[jaycarl]

Didn't know this, thanks for that info. Just another reason to keep the Omnia for now (since I live in california its a big reason).

[BitBucket]

The feature that lets you initiate a call from the BT headset button is an optional part of the HFP specification that Google doesn't implement in Android. If you search their bug tracker, you can star the feature request for this, but no Android phones support this yet, because Google's commented out the ability to support it from the code.

[robertjm]

Thanks for the follow up. So it's actually a subset of the main protocol? I didn't realize there were subsets that could be deselected.

Still, to me it makes no sense to turn that feature off. Why would they do that? I can't imagine it takes that much memory to reside on the phone.

Robert

BitBucket, on May 8 2010, 09:08, said:

The feature that lets you initiate a call from the BT headset button is an optional part of the HFP specification that Google doesn't implement in Android. If you search their bug tracker, you can star the feature request for this, but no Android phones support this yet, because Google's commented out the ability to support it from the code.

[krelvinaz]

For me, most of my calls while I am driving are inbound.  This works.  Just push the button on the blue tooth headset and you answered the phone.  

For the rest, if I know that I am going to call someone, I precall them before driving or while at a stop light (ie not driving).  You can then double hit the button on the BT headset and the DI will redial the last number dialed.

So that takes care of 99% of my calling needs with hands free.

The remaining, I simply pull over or if I have a passenger I hand them the phone.

IF/When the DI is rooted, there are some apps that can take care of some of this.  But for me, not a big deal.

Coming from the Omnia, this phone flat out spanks it.  Much much more capable, faster etc...

[robertjm]

So there are workarounds for this problem on other Android phones? Cool!

krelvinaz, on May 9 2010, 04:52, said:

...IF/When the DI is rooted, there are some apps that can take care of some of this...

[necosino]

Also, on the phone, just tap and hold the magnifying glass. Then say "Call <contact name>"  or "Call <###-###-####>"

Not hands-free, but no searching/scrolling/typing to make the call either.

[angel12]

And just so you know, this functionality on your omnia is not built into windows mobile either, it is another program on top of windows mobile, microsoft voice command, that does this. Some winmo phones do not include this program, and some include another one altogether. if someone is calling you, you can answer using the headset button, but then you would have to use your hand to answer the call

[robertjm]

But this is a readily available application that can be downloaded at the drop of a hat, if it wasn't already already installed by your phone provider. The functionality, from everything I've read, is not there in Android...period.

I cannot honestly believe that if the functionality was readily available within Android that someone wouldn't have already developed an application to support it, regardless of whether that program cost one penny or $40, which was what I paid for MVC. (The Omnia did NOT come with it out of the box back in 12/08, and it wasn't available for free when I looked for it).

Robert

angel12, on May 11 2010, 08:25, said:

And just so you know, this functionality on your omnia is not built into windows mobile either, it is another program on top of windows mobile, microsoft voice command, that does this. Some winmo phones do not include this program, and some include another one altogether. if someone is calling you, you can answer using the headset button, but then you would have to use your hand to answer the call

[TimeHunter]

This is reported to Google and is tracked here:

http://code.google.c.....Owner Summary

[nmayer79]

TimeHunter, on Jun 13 2010, 19:20, said:

This is reported to Google and is tracked here:

http://code.google.c.....Owner Summary

cool, thanks

[blindingword]

Google already fixed this issue in android 2.2, which the incredible will be getting when the upgrade comes out. I have it on my rooted droid right now, it works nice.

Edited by blindingword, 15 June 2010 - 09:43 AM.