Do You Use Bluetooth?
In less than six months, on 1 January 2008, California's hand-free mobile phone law goes into effect. Motorists caught yakking on their mobile phone while driving will be subject to fines ranging from $20 for a first-time offence to $50 for repeat offenders. The fine applies to anyone caught with a cell phone whether it's plastered to their head or if you use it as a speaker phone walkie-talkie in one hand. The laudable goal of the law is to reduce mobile phone-related accidents and free your hands to do the driving.
In LA, the various police and sheriff departments will be very busy writing tickets for the first few months. And being "parked" in a traffic jam doesn't get you out of the ticket. Bluetooth is a universal short-range wireless connection protocol that allows electronic devices to communicate with each other. Most modern mobile phones have Bluetooth technology that is to be used to connect to wireless headsets/ear pieces and built-in telematics systems in automobiles. Bluetooth is a nice feature -- if you know how to use it and can get it to work. But I'm convinced that most people don't know how to use Bluetooth even if they have it in their cars and on their mobile phones.
I know that Bluetooth is standard on most luxury cruisers like the Audi A8L, BMW 7-Series, Mercedes S-Class, Lexus LS, Infiniti M, etc. And it's part of the luxury/comfort/convenience packages of most luxury brands and many mainstream brands like Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Nissan. [GM is still pushing OnStar as its only hands-free telematics system; however, that may change in a couple years as GM may bow to consumer pressure to offer Bluetooth.]
LA is full of new cars that have Bluetooth yet I don't see people using it. In fact, by my observation, most of the people driving with Bluetooth-equipped cars don't use it. Why?
I think the basic problem is that people don't know how to pair their mobile phone with the car system. The theory is pretty simple. With your mobile phone in Bluetooth pair mode and your car Bluetooth system on, your phone finds your car's Bluetooth signal and displays it on the its screen as another Bluetooth device to pair -- or sync -- with your phone. Your phone asks you to enter the 4-digit pairing code and your car system may ask for that same code. Enter the same code on both devices and voilà, the devices are paired and each time they detect each other, the devices will automatically establish a wireless connection. Most car systems will also be able to automatically import and update your address book each time the devices are paired.
The problems, however, seem insurmountable to many technophobes.
1. Many people don't even know if their phone or car is Bluetooth enabled. It helps to know what you have!
2. If the phone is Bluetooth equipped, I've found that most people don't know how to get to the menu to enable it. If they get that far, they have no idea how to turn it on and go through the process to discover other devices and then pair with those devices.
3. Complex automotive telematics scare people. Whether it's BMW's iDrive or the sophisticated navigation-communications system in a Toyota Prius, most drivers don't take the time to learn how these systems work. Owner's guides/driver's manuals are very long, complicated and intimidating -- and poorly written. People either don't want to take the time to read the documentation or want someone else to do it for them.
4. People tend to get new mobile phones much more often than a new car. If that driver had his mobile phone paired with his car at the dealer when it was new, that same driver is absolutely lost when it comes to pairing a new phone with the car. Accordingly, many drivers default back to their old habit of using the handset to make and receive all calls while driving.
5. Not all mobile phones work with all onboard Bluetooth systems. And the quality of the sound varies dramatically. One phone that works perfectly in a BMW may not work in an Audi and the same goes for the countless mobile phone manufacturers and handset variations.
6. Instructions for using Bluetooth devices can be confusing and poorly written. For most mobile phones (and many automobile manufacturers) English was not the first language of the author of the instructions. Required 4-digit paring codes are missing from some manufacturers' documentation. It's frustrating to be asked to enter a 4-digit code when one isn't provided!
I'm a tech geek, particularly when it comes to cars and electronic gadgets. However, I too get frustrated at the lack of documentation or directions on how to use Bluetooth.
For example, when I tried to pair my Apple iPhone with my BMW system, the first attempts failed.
I was caught in a Catch-22-type situation. BMW doesn't give you a 4-digit pairing code for its otherwise excellent Bluetooth system and the driver's handbook refers you to your mobile phone manufacturer's instructions for a pairing code. With the iPhone, the instructions refer you to the other device's pair code. You are left with no pairing code which is required to marry the devices.
I did Google searches and read iPhone user forums. It seemed that some people had no problem pairing their iPhone with their BMW while others failed with every attempt. I read that people were using standard pairing codes -- some with first-time success, others with total failure. I tried every "standard" code I could think of. Bluetooth standard pairing codes are: 0000, 1234, and 1111. Nothing worked.
I also had the problem of the devices not finding each other. My iPhone found the BMW but the BMW didn't always find the iPhone. I was getting very frustrated. But then I got lucky. I tried for the fourth time the 1234 pairing code, first on my iPhone then on the iDrive Bluetooth screen. This time it worked! I can't tell you what I did differently that time; but now when I enter and start the car, the devices automatically pair.
When I had my 2005 Audi A6, my Motorola Razr phone simply wouldn't work properly with the Audi Bluetooth system. I could make a phone call with the Audi's Bluetooth interface; but when it came time to end the call, the system didn't detect the hang up! I had to stop the car, turn off the engine and open the door to disconnect the Bluetooth phone and restore my car audio system.
The Audi's system worked well a Palm Treo; but it never was able to import the whole address book. I've had my best luck with Blackberry telephone devices. Both my BMW and Audi paired easily with the devices and the systems functioned properly.
Yesterday, I helped a friend pair his Verizon LG phone with his new Toyota Prius. Toyota makes an excellent integrated Bluetooth phone system that is part of its voice-activated, touch screen navigation system. However, the documentation was a problem. The index of the owner's manual doesn't list "Bluetooth" or "telephone". You have to know to look up "hands-free" to find the section of the (very thick) owner's manual related to the Bluetooth telephone system. Toyota provides you with a pairing code, both on screen and in the manual -- 1111. However, while I got the phone to pair with the car system in no time, I failed to get the system to "import contact list". Toyota gives you the easy touch-screen option of importing contact lists. However, the system asks you to have the mobile phone "send" the information to the onboard hard drive and there is no option (that I could find) on the mobile phone to send the data to the car!
My 2007 3-Series BMW automatically imported the phone contact list from either my Blackberry or iPhone. No questions asked and in excellent detail.
If you can't get your contact list to appear on the screen, you are going to use the handset to dial stored numbers. Again, this defeats the purpose of the Bluetooth system as your hand will be on the mobile phone, not the steering wheel, and your eyes will be OFF the road.
So how about the power mobile phone user who can't be disconnected from their mobile phone for any reason at any time? Think Hollywood agent. These miscreants wear the "Star Trek" ear pieces that, to me, look bizarre hanging off one ear. I've talked to people who like these Bluetooth devices because they can be talking on their phone not only in their car, but when they get out of their car and when they walk into the office, a restaurant or their home. These same people also talk so loudly that everyone can hear everything they say. Most users seem to believe that because the little earpiece is so far from their big mouths that they have to shout to be heard on the other end of the conversation. God, how annoying.
From my experience, it's easier to pair these Bluetooth earpiece/headphone devices with your mobile phone than it is to pair the phone with your car system. The earpieces give the Bluetooth pairing code in the instructions. However, I've found it difficult to use an earpiece or headphone device as you have to reach up and tap or click something to answer a call or hang up or worse, take a call waiting. You also don't get caller ID unless you are looking at your phone. Of course, looking at the phone to see caller ID or select a contact to call defeats the purpose of a hands-free wireless device for your car.
I don't believe that the new California hands-free law is going to make drivers pay attention to the task of driving. I don't think that mobile phone-related accidents are going to decrease. It's just as distracting to look at a video screen or dash display and fiddle with a controller to find a contact and make a phone call as it is to simply look at your mobile phone and do the same thing.
I do believe that receiving a phone call on your car's Bluetooth system is easier and better than holding the handset and trying to drive with one hand grafted to a mobile phone. The integrated system shuts off your blaring audio system and allows you to listen and talk more naturally. It also eliminates the problem of dropping a mobile phone while you're trying to back into a parking space or maneuver in traffic. Hands-free driving may also improve your posture. I'm convinced that some people are permanently crooked to the right as they drive with their mobile phone grafted between their right hand and right ear. You can always tell a driver using this position as their head and upper body is no longer centered in the driver's seat. Sit up straight!
My advice to drivers is to take the time to figure out how to use Bluetooth in your car and how to use the various hands-free, dialing and contact list functions. Some cars even have voice activated telematics. But if you don't learn how it all works, you're never going to benefit from its abilities. Six months seems like a long time away, but it's better to be frustrated now, while sitting in your driveway, than trying to do it in traffic on the 405 on 2 January 2008.
