Car Kit - Parrot CK3300 with GPS - Orange SPV C500

[Guest rikwebb]

Well guy's, I got the new Parrot BT Car Kit today.

I am pleased to say that it works very well.

So far here is what I have found:

Pairing works very well

Contacts can be sent, but only one by one to the internal memory of the car kit.

Voice dial can be set either from Phone, or Car Kit (see above).

Voice dial is possible with phone locked when using car kit memory and tags.

Speech / sound quality both excellent

Kit is very easy to fit.

It has word spotting (ie - say "phone", to instigate a call, "hangup" to end a call.

GPS is good quality, works with my Ipaq and CoPilot

GPS works with Mapopolis although the com7 issue still sometimes arises.

Kit contains volume control for phone, ringtone, mic, voice menu's.

Cheers

Rik :)

:P

[Guest tedblight]

That good to hear... its a nice bit of kit you've got there now! My CK3000 pairs fine with the C500 which was my main worry. Now its just the anoying 'keylock not letting me voicedial' bug that needs sorting. Also I can't ajust the volume, either on the phone or the car radio.. its set to one volume.... loud... but all in all the CK3000 seems to work ok but it still might be worth upgrading to the CK3300...

[Guest]

I found a good way of sending all my contacts in one go to my CK3100. You need to export all your contacts as VCF files (I used VCard4Outlook) and then send them in one go via Bluetooth. I've only done this with a Nokia 6600 as I don't have a C500 yet but I assume it will work with any phone. Would be very useful if someone could create a program which could send all contacts in one go to save having to do the above. I'd have thought it would be very easy to do.

Rikwebb, does your Parrot show the caller's name or just number on an incoming call? My CK3100 connected to the 6600 only displays the number apart from on a very few occasions. I haven't looked too deeply into this as I should be getting my C500 soon but if that has the same problem, then I'll investigate further.

[Guest rikwebb]

Rikwebb, does your Parrot show the caller's name or just number on an incoming call?  My CK3100 connected to the 6600 only displays the number apart from on a very few occasions.  I haven't looked too deeply into this as I should be getting my C500 soon but if that has the same problem, then I'll investigate further.

Yes, so far it shows name of incomming call if in the kit phonebook. I will check it with both phone and kit phonebooks and let you know.

Rik

[Guest MikeS]

Having a little problem with using mapopolis and the CK3300 in that I have to keep redoing the pairing for the GPS.

First time setup was ok although I made the mistake of just pairing the phone without going through the BTSerialPortSetup route the first time round. So once I had cleared the pairing and redone it as part of the BTSerailPortSetup it worked fine.

Unfortunately after turning off the car (and with it the CK3300) when I started the car again (and the CK3300) whilst the phone paired ok when I tried to start Mapopolis GPS it just sat there with the "Checking:COM7" message on the GPS Status.

To get it to work I had to clear the pairing, clear out the BTserialPort settings, shutdown the phone the restart it and do the BTSerialPortSetup all over again.

Any suggestions on a step I may have missed would be appreciated.

And another strange one, one time I popped into the shops briefly whilst mapopolis was running, so turned the car off, left mapopolis running, came back and started the car only find that the GPS started ok but the pairing of the phone functions didn't so I could use mapopolis with GPS through the CK3300 but not use the phone functions. I left it at that point, but i supose i could have tried to the "Set as hands-free" option on the Bluetooth settings screens, but I should have needed to.

So I suspect some buggy software somewhere, just not sure if it the phone or the CK3300

[Guest rikwebb]

I get the same sort of issues as you with mapopolis.

Seems better if you connect the GPS (mapopolis) first, each time you get in the car. Then manualy dial 150 (for example) on the phone, then the car kit comes back too.

I have just recieved Copilot, so I will see if this is any better.

Rik

[Guest jpa]

Hello,

Can you tell us if you can use the Car Kit for the voice instructions when you use Mapopolis or Copilot (mute of the car radio only when there is a voice instruction and sound output on the car system) ? I would be fantastic ...

[Guest rikwebb]

Hello,

Can you tell us if you can use the Car Kit for the voice instructions when you use Mapopolis or Copilot (mute of the car radio only when there is a voice instruction and sound output on the car system) ? I would be fantastic ...

I am afraid not, no Audio Gateway profile on the phone.

If you use a PPC, there is a reg hack to allow it.

The phones internal speaker is quite load, especially on Mapopolis, but that Robot voice at high volume would make you want to drive into a wall. :)

Lets hope the next Rom for C500 includes even better BT.

Rik

[Guest rikwebb]

I get the same sort of issues as you with mapopolis.

Seems better if you connect the GPS (mapopolis) first, each time you get in the car. Then manualy dial 150 (for example) on the phone, then the car kit comes back too.

I have just recieved Copilot, so I will see if this is any better.

Rik

Well, used it today ....... and its a little better, but not a lot. You still have to make a gps connection first, but it doesnt flake out periodically like mapopolis.

It must be the phone because after some testing, the car kit can handle a phone connection and a PPC connection at the same time.

Onwards and upwards, could be worse, at least its 'poets' day.

:)

Rik

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

If you don't mind me asking how much did the kit cost and how much was fitting :?:

[Guest travisb]

I have a CK3000 and it works fine with my C500. With my (spit) T610, as the phonebook was downloaded to the Parrot box, you got a verbal caller ID if you had set up a voice dial. Handy if phone was in pocket rather than in a cradle. Of course with GPS gizmo now in place, the c500 has to be in view :)

[Guest rikwebb]

If you don't mind me asking how much did the kit cost and how much was fitting :?:

The kit costs £250 ish (for the one with built in GPS), and fitting was pretty simple so I did it myself.

The hardest part of fitting occurs if you do not have a standard ISO connected car audio. Then you will have to get an adapter cable.

My beemer has BMW round pin connectors, so I had to make an adapter cable. I think Halfords now sell adapters for most makes, but you may be lucky and have ISO connectors as standard.

Cheers

Rik

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Thanks, bit much for me (not long got the TomTom BT GPS and Jabra)

I will have to see how deep Santa's pockets are :)

[Guest rawly]

Talking of Car Kits. Expansys are doing the CK3100 as Deal of The Day till 3pm only. It has over £50 knocked of it - only £99..... (Down from £150)....

Can anyone recommend a good car handset holder for the C500 - preferably with charging ability and eye level mount.

[Guest deepak]

BIG SURPRISE for me..i bought ck3100 for 800 euros at the amsterdam airport...have i been cheated...

i have a muti source selector pioneer system with dvd and navigation etc built in...i have connected the line out cable to the auxaliry box line in easily available..and to my surprise which ever source i am on it mutes and aux starts....also my same aux box is connected to the ipod and ipod too mutes and only mobile communication goes on...this is what parrot is all about i thinkk...brilliant ..

issues

1.i read on top that someone is getting the callers name while recieving a call..not so with me as i just get info saying incoming call even after uograding the ck3100 software( very upset with this as my main reason to buy it was this...)

2.i regularly use a bluetooth headset of motorolla and thought it should shift to ck3100 when i sit in the car as in case of any pocket pc phone or nokias..but in this case,,,i need to go to connect or need to switch headset off to get then the voice on ck...

parrot forums suck and there technical/support team never responds..i liked all who took an intiative of starting a discussion here..needed it bad...please continue the good work

[Guest rikwebb]

BIG SURPRISE for me..i bought ck3100 for 800 euros at the amsterdam airport...have i been cheated...

Blooooooody Heeeeeellll, 800 Euros................. :lol:

Are you sure you didnt buy 2 or 3? :)

Anyways, its me that gets the name's on the CK3300. You need to bluetooth the contacts to the car kit. CK3300 then stores them in its memory and does the Caller ID. Doing this also allows you to add voice dial to all the contacts in the kit (dont actually know how many the C500 supports, but Nokia 6310i for example only allows 10).

If you send the contact to the car kit, add voice tag to the car kit. Then when that contact rings, the kit rings - shows name - speaks name.

PS - CK3100 and CK3300 have the same functionality apart from the GPS.

Hope this helps

Rik

[Guest]

I don't know why, but I can't get my 3100 to display the name of a caller, even though the name and number is stored in its internal memory. Rikwebb, have you synced your contacts with Outlook at all? I'm wondering if Outlook might do something to the data which means the Parrot can't recognise numbers properly. Or maybe it's because my numbers all have a space after the +44?

[Guest rikwebb]

Ive synced with outlook, but dont have the space between the +44 and the number.

Have you set the kit to use its phonebook / voice dials in the settings?

Rik

[Guest]

I think I've worked it out. For some reason, Outlook insists on putting a space at the end of the number. I exported my contacts as VCFs, and then edited the files to remove the trailing spaces and then used SmartExplorer to copy all the VCFs to the Parrot in one go. I've just tested it from a few different phone numbers and it's working now perfectly.

So, how on earth do I get Outlook 2003 to stop adding the trailing space (it only happens if I start the phone number with a +)?!

[Guest rikwebb]

Mmmmm,

Outlook - at first kept removing the '+' from mine so I would end up with '44999999' instead of '+44999999'.

Had to do the following:

Actions

Call Contact

New Call

Dialing Options

Dialing Properties

There you can change things.

How did you send all your contacts to CK3100 ???

Rik

[Guest]

Use VCard4Outlook to export your Outlook contacts to VCFs. Copy these to your phone and then use SmartExplorer to copy them all in one go via bluetooth to the Parrot.

[Guest ajfoggy]

Expansys deal of the day CK3300 £195.95

[Guest Leaskovski]

Blooooooody Heeeeeellll, 800 Euros................. :lol:

Are you sure you didnt buy 2 or 3? :)

Anyways, its me that gets the name's on the CK3300. You need to bluetooth the contacts to the car kit. CK3300 then stores them in its memory and does the Caller ID. Doing this also allows you to add voice dial to all the contacts in the kit (dont actually know how many the C500 supports, but Nokia 6310i for example only allows 10).

If you send the contact to the car kit, add voice tag to the car kit. Then when that contact rings, the kit rings - shows name - speaks name.

PS - CK3100 and CK3300 have the same functionality apart from the GPS.

Hope this helps

Rik

Right so let me get this clear.....

On the CK3100... You have to bluetooth your contacts list to the CK3100 so that the Caller name is shown? If you want to dial a person in your contacts list on your phone, you can add a voice tag on the phone to the person and then that voice tag will be available via the mic of the CK3100?

Could you explain the steps you take when calling someone, ie... 1) press the green phone button on the lcd display and hold to make call. 2) then speak clearly the voice tag of the person (has this voice tag been added to the kit or the phone?) etc, etc.

All of this would be mucho help, as i am thinking of getting the ck3100 and i wanna know extactly what im getting.

Tar

[Guest chucky.egg]

Hmm, I'm thinking of getting one of these 3100s too, but your 1), 2)...steps weren't what I thought was happening...

If you send all your contacts to the car kit, you can then add voice tags to the car kit (rather than the phone) and that allows you to use the car kit voice-dial feature. So to dial this way you say (to the car kit!) "Phone" and then the voice tag for the person you're calling. Then say "hangup" when you're done.

If you don't add contacts to the car kit you can just add voice tags to the phone and voice-dial through the handset.

But... what about when somebody changes their phone number? Can you edit contacts in the car kit, or do you have to upload a replacement VCF?

And crucially (the wife won't go for this if it's complicated!) can you just jump in the car start Mapo, load a route and set off - or do you have to hold one arm out the window, spit over your shoulder and pat your head/stroke your stomach to get the phone to see the GPS?

[Guest rikwebb]

Hmm, I'm thinking of getting one of these 3100s too, but your 1), 2)...steps weren't what I thought was happening...

If you send all your contacts to the car kit, you can then add voice tags to the car kit (rather than the phone) and that allows you to use the car kit voice-dial feature.  So to dial this way you say (to the car kit!) "Phone" and then the voice tag for the person you're calling.  Then say "hangup" when you're done.

If you don't add contacts to the car kit you can just add voice tags to the phone and voice-dial through the handset.

But... what about when somebody changes their phone number?  Can you edit contacts in the car kit, or do you have to upload a replacement VCF?

And crucially (the wife won't go for this if it's complicated!) can you just jump in the car start Mapo, load a route and set off  -  or do you have to hold one arm out the window, spit over your shoulder and pat your head/stroke your stomach to get the phone to see the GPS?

Yep, "phone" and "Hangup" are voice commands, as are "Home" "Cellular" "General" "other".

So to phone someone it would be :

"phone"

Beep!

"Martyn"

'Martyn' - repeats your voice tag

"Home"

'Home' - in its voice

do dah do dah da - dtmf

call initiated

"hangup"

call ended

Dont know about the contact change?, its just as easy to delete, and re-send.

If your using the CK3300 (with built in GPS, CK3100 does not have GPS) - I have found that to use mapping, you will need to start the mapping app before turning on the ignition. This way COM7 picks up and the CK3300 displays 'GPS', you will then need to manualy make a call - say 150, to get the phone attached as handsfree. This is due to the phone needing two connections to the car kit, one 'COM' or 'SPP' and the other 'Handsfree'. If you start ignition - phone attaches as 'Handsfree' but 'COM7' will never connect.

WIERD - but true - Sounds complex, but you get used to it.

I am sure Parrot will fix this in future firmware updates if its not the c500's fault (most likely) - spose I should send then a tech support form, to let them know.

I do know that you can use a phone and PDA at the same time, so its proberbly the c500.

Hope this helps in your Quest to please the wife!!

Rik