[n1976jmk]

I have an 06' TL, and am about to recieve a new Blackberry 8700c, cingular unlocked on tmo network...


my questions is has anyone used the Blackberry 8700c's bluetooth in the TL??

searched but haven't seen any posts yet......

[stevew]

Works in my 300C but very limited functionalilty (by RIM design or lack of I think). I get:

Battery gauge indicator
Signal strength indicator
Redial (blank display though)

I don't get caller ID, or any of the enhanced flashhook type functions...Barjohn would know more about which of these functions might be supported on other BT headsets...caller ID would be nice...

[barjohn]

On my BMW, I get caller ID since it links in the address book. Whatever system is used in the Lexus does not give me the address book or a way to link it. Unfotunately, it seems that the auto manufacturers are very secretive about what they use in your car and don't seem to want to provide updated firmware. I really like the way it works in my BMW becasue it works the way I would intuitively expect it to work and it works very well. I and others on a Lexus forum have tried to get help or support from Lexus on the issues with their hands free and the navigaion system. They are completely uncooperative. That is why this will be my last Lexus. An unresponsive luxury car maker on a $45K vehicle doesn't cut it for me. Anyway, that is a whole other topic I could rant on about.

Surprisingly, this is an area where the Japanese car makers are behind the European ones.

[n1976jmk]

i havent gotten any answer over at acurazine forum myself yet either....

[stevew]

Does it download the phonebook or link to it directly via a live bluetooth connection? If it downloads it, you wouldn't know if the caller ID you see is supported on Bluetooth...also, I am not sure if my 300C supports phonebook download...but I also don't see how it's done on the 8700. When I looked on the forums, I saw the method, bit was unable to duplicate it.

[Number13]

Originally Posted by barjohn

On my BMW, I get caller ID since it links in the address book. Whatever system is used in the Lexus does not give me the address book or a way to link it. Unfotunately, it seems that the auto manufacturers are very secretive about what they use in your car and don't seem to want to provide updated firmware. I really like the way it works in my BMW becasue it works the way I would intuitively expect it to work and it works very well. I and others on a Lexus forum have tried to get help or support from Lexus on the issues with their hands free and the navigaion system. They are completely uncooperative. That is why this will be my last Lexus. An unresponsive luxury car maker on a $45K vehicle doesn't cut it for me. Anyway, that is a whole other topic I could rant on about.

Surprisingly, this is an area where the Japanese car makers are behind the European ones.

The transceiver for the Bluetooth subsystem in the BMW is made by Cambridge Silicon Radio. A firmware update for these units does not exist. These subsystems are designed for a very specific application (i.e. on 2004 BMW 3 & 5 series vehicles) and are not designed with future enhancements or updates in mind. The Johnson Controls bluetooth unit (the one in the Acura TLs and RLs) has been updated once since it was introduced three years ago. That update introduced the new hardware and software that Johnson Controls would be using from that point forward. They do not retrofit previous versions.

The Japanese domestic market is full of cars that are loaded with technology. Some of that technology ends up in their North American vehicles a couple of years later and some of it does not. The Japanese are very innovative in this area when compared with BMW, Audi and the like, albeit sometimes at the the expense of performance. It's a little unfair to make a sweeping statement about the Japanese trailing the Europeans in the area of handsfree communication. Need more convincing? Follow the link below to a Honda press release titled 2004 Acura TL is First North American Vehicle to Feature A Standard Hands-Free Phone System.

http://www.hondanews.com/CatID0000?m...34550&mime=asc

[Number13]

Somehow this did not make it into my last post...

The Lexus unit is very tightly integrated into the navigation system. This forces the engineers to make some tough decisions when designing the system. What you end up with is a subsystem that is very tightly integrated with the car and has a very robust feature set but only fully supports a very limited number of devices. All other devices are fractured or crippled in some way. As you can imagine, the user experience will vary widely depending on the phone and carrier the driver uses.

The bluetooth unit used in the Lexus is made by Visteon www.visteon.com. It did get a firmware update in December 2004 but it looked to be only a minor update.

[barjohn]

Number13, thanks for the technical data on the manufacturers. I was being a little facetious on the Eropean vs. Japanese thing. It wouldn't have surprised me if you had told me the unit was made in Japan.

Lexus is so worried about law suits that they effectively crippled the navigation system. A very similar system used in the Honda is not crippled in the same way and is far more usable. For example, once the car is in motion you are very limited on what you can do with the Nav system. Forget entering a new destination or looking for an address. Forget using the phone except from the handset and the voice recognition is the worst I have ever seen.

I just looked at the Visteon web site and their units do not appear to be the one used in the Lexus. It doesn't resemble it or have the same controls. Ford vehicles are the only ones referenced that I could find. What makes you think it is the one used in the Lexus?

[gamsberry]

Originally Posted by stevew

Works in my 300C but very limited functionalilty (by RIM design or lack of I think). I get:

Battery gauge indicator
Signal strength indicator
Redial (blank display though)

I don't get caller ID, or any of the enhanced flashhook type functions...Barjohn would know more about which of these functions might be supported on other BT headsets...caller ID would be nice...

That's odd. On my Magnum, also Uconnect, I do get incoming callerid - number only. The 8700 seems to work fine as did the 7290 I had. attws blue sim.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by gamsberry

That's odd. On my Magnum, also Uconnect, I do get incoming callerid - number only. The 8700 seems to work fine as did the 7290 I had. attws blue sim.

Really? I wonder why you have that feature...and I don't...very strange...did you have to do something special to get that working? I only get "Incoming call...press u connect to answer". I had the same thing with my 7290 also...

[gamsberry]

Originally Posted by stevew

Really? I wonder why you have that feature...and I don't...very strange...did you have to do something special to get that working? I only get "Incoming call...press u connect to answer". I had the same thing with my 7290 also...

Didn't do anything special to pair them. I don't remember how to check the uconnect version but the car was built in 01/05 and has not been flashed since.
The incoming number shows up both on the nav display and also in the EVIC.

[stevew]

I don't have NAV but have all the info on the EVIC and the radio. Mine is a 06 built in 5/05. I guess I'll call the dealer to *****...thanks for the heads up.

[bbconvert]

Originally Posted by n1976jmk

I have an 06' TL, and am about to recieve a new Blackberry 8700c, cingular unlocked on tmo network...


my questions is has anyone used the Blackberry 8700c's bluetooth in the TL??

searched but haven't seen any posts yet......

8700c worked without a glitch on 2004 TL. Took me a while to pair it with 2005 MDX but once I got it, it has been working OK as well. It shows battery + signal strengths.

[n1976jmk]

Originally Posted by bbconvert

8700c worked without a glitch on 2004 TL. Took me a while to pair it with 2005 MDX but once I got it, it has been working OK as well. It shows battery + signal strengths.

nice.... i look foward to see mine in action!

[gadgetman]

I have an Acura RL. Pairs up fine, but bluetooth keeps disconnecting and reconnecting in a continuing cycle. Sometimes it stays connected for a few minutes and then disconnects, sometimes it disconnects immediately. It's driving me NUTS!!! I can't figure out the cause.

Other people say they have no problem connecting with the Acura RL.

The phone works fine in someone else's Lexus or with a bluetooth headset.

Any ideas from any of you highly brainy people out there on what could be causing the bluetooth connection to terminate in the Acura RL would be greatly appreciated. (I've tried all the obvious stuff, reseting, changing the settings, etc.)

[Number13]

Originally Posted by barjohn

I just looked at the Visteon web site and their units do not appear to be the one used in the Lexus. It doesn't resemble it or have the same controls. Ford vehicles are the only ones referenced that I could find. What makes you think it is the one used in the Lexus?

Yep. I screwed up. The Lexus uses the Denso bluetooth unit. I got my wire[less] crossed, so to speak. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Japanese used a German solution and the German's used a Japanese solution? Here's a short blurb on blackberrycool that lists the OEM handsfree solutions.

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2005/10/25/001007/

[Number13]

Originally Posted by gadgetman

I have an Acura RL. Pairs up fine, but bluetooth keeps disconnecting and reconnecting in a continuing cycle. Sometimes it stays connected for a few minutes and then disconnects, sometimes it disconnects immediately. It's driving me NUTS!!! I can't figure out the cause.

Other people say they have no problem connecting with the Acura RL.

The phone works fine in someone else's Lexus or with a bluetooth headset.

Any ideas from any of you highly brainy people out there on what could be causing the bluetooth connection to terminate in the Acura RL would be greatly appreciated. (I've tried all the obvious stuff, reseting, changing the settings, etc.)

I would be inclined to think the phone (hardware and/or software) would be the culprit but if you can get it to work with another system this is probably not the case. I would check with your Acura dealer about any XM updates that might be available for the RL. I took mine in a month ago to get the XM and the powertrain software updated based on an update notice they sent out. The HFL "hangs off" of the XM system in the TL/MDX/RL so any update to XM would update the handsfreelink as well.


AcuraLink Control Unit (after you start the car inside a structure such as a parking garage some of the vehicle's communication systems may work errratically, especially the AcuraLink real-time traffic monitor)

Look at this thread for the full 411:
http://rl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346

[fatbboy]

I have a '05 TL, works great. Signal Meter, Battery Meter & Caller ID. Does not sync the phonebook. Will voice dial only the TL phonebook. The volume is much better than the 7280 with the 8700c.

[bbconvert]

Originally Posted by gadgetman

I have an Acura RL. Pairs up fine, but bluetooth keeps disconnecting and reconnecting in a continuing cycle. Sometimes it stays connected for a few minutes and then disconnects, sometimes it disconnects immediately. It's driving me NUTS!!! I can't figure out the cause.

Other people say they have no problem connecting with the Acura RL.

The phone works fine in someone else's Lexus or with a bluetooth headset.

Any ideas from any of you highly brainy people out there on what could be causing the bluetooth connection to terminate in the Acura RL would be greatly appreciated. (I've tried all the obvious stuff, reseting, changing the settings, etc.)

You may want to try disabling Address Book Transfer in Bluetooth options on the 8700c, given that the Acuras do not use it anyways. I was having difficulties pairing the 8700c with my 05 MDX until I disabled it + turned the 8700c off/on.

[gadgetman]

Thanks Number 13 and bbconvert. I had the XM update done, and I have disabled the address boiok feature. Unfortunately, it still doesn't work.