For years, Parrot bluetooth kits have dominated the market, building up a brand so strong that anyone looking for a bluetooth kit will automatically think Parrot. Although Parrot do have an excellent product range, their kits use telemute leads that bypass and mute the vehicles radio, which means they have several disadvantages. The main disadvantage being the kit cannot be controlled by the factory fitted stereo so a separate display and controller is required.

For a lot of people, having after market units present in the vehicle is an eye sore, and many seek a solution that works with what is already fitted, especially when steering wheel controls are present.

Dice have always offered the very best in vehicle integration for BMW, their simple connection utilises the BMW pre wired CD changer lead that was fitted as standard to most vehicles (3 and 6 Pin connectors). The interface effectively emulates a CD changer, showing the iPod text as CD MP3 information. Their last kit, the Silverline Pro, allows you to search your iPod from the stereo by album, artist, track and play-list, as well as also giving you the ability to control the iPod from the mp3 player itself.

Dice step up to rival manufacturers by incorporating iPod integration systems with hands free calling with their new Media Bridge MB1500.

The MB1500 is essentially the Dice Silverline kit with and integrated bluetooth chip. The kit can support music playback from iPod, Auxiliary and USB, giving the user a wide range of options to listen to their MP3’s, the kits text display ensures all iPod and USB information is clearly shown on the vehicles display.

In terms of bluetooth, the kit will connect to 99% of phones on the market today, displaying who’s calling, along with all of your phone book contacts. When a call is received, the music playback is muted, and the sound from the call is played through the vehicles speakers. The MB1500 microphone provides the audio input for the call, which is also cable of handling voice dialling, all at the touch of a button.

Dice did have an issue a few years back when Apple changed the way their iPods received charge. Millions of consumers were effected when iPods moved from 12V to 5V charge, and Dice shared some of the issues with their kits. Thankfully this issue has been addressed and all of their kits, including the MB1500, now fully support 5V charging. On the same note, both the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4G are fully supported by the Media Bridge.

Currently the MB1500 is only available for BMWs built up to 2006. From 2007 onwards, BMW use the fibreoptic MOST system and you need a Dension Gateway MOST product to connect your devices.

In summary, if you are looking to integrate your iPod and phone into your BMW, the Dice Media Bridge will offer you the most effective solution, with the least amount of fuss and clutter. It takes no more than an hour to fit, and with its competitive price, it easily runs circles around its competitors.

 There are a lot more than 10 reasons why not to use a mobile phone when driving, however i’ll keep it short and snappy. After all i’m sure you will all agree with most of what i’m about to say, and if you only take just one point away with you. Think about it, think about why your thinking about it. Then do something about it.

Reason number One: Points on your licence.

Quite a shallow reason to start with but a valid one non the less. Nobody wants points because it ultimately results in a ban. You get points because its considered dangerous driving. Think About it.

Reason number Two: Penalty Fine.

Again a fairly shallow reason, however who enjoys getting a fine? I don’t know anybody. The fine can be especially difficult to swallow as many handsfree kits that cost half the amount of the fine given. It doesn’t take a genius to realise what people should be doing.

Reason number Three: Suspended Licence.

You don’t have to do it all the time, Its only takes one second for it to happen. If a police officer spots you it and you already have points could mean the end of your driving licence for 12 months. What does that mean for you? No transport, social life or job? Think, is it worth it?

Reason number Four: Reduced awareness.

If you text when driving its the equivalent of being three times over the alcohol limit. We don’t tolerate drink drivers so why texters?

Reason number Five: Reduced ability.

If you don’t have a bluetooth car kit you have to physically hold the phone to talk. If you do this you break contact with the vehicles controls reducing the ability to drive it. Even an idiot can see the potential consequences of these actions. If you are an idiot and can’t work it out, Its DEATH.

Reason number Six: Concentration.

Its easy to loose concentration when talking or texting, especially if its something your passionate about. Combine it with point 4 & 5 and you have a recipe for disaster.

Reason number Seven: Prison sentence.

If your convicted of dangerous driving you could get jail time, especially if you cause a major accident. Just think 12 months in jail for one text or call that could be sent in 10 minutes time?

Reason number Eight: Your Family.

Its strange that most of us don’t think about what were doing when we drive & how dangerous it actually is. I mean, we drive a 3 tonne lump of metal around at 70mph and higher relatively close to somebody in front and behind, and people coming in the opposite direction. Do you really need an excuse to not drive responsibly? Just think of your family before the inevitable happens.

Reason number Nine: Somebody else’s family.

If your serial texter who doesn’t use a bluetooth car kit when doing so. Think the next time you do it, it might be your last. Or the family driving towards you. Could you live with that on your conscience? I doubt it.

Reason number Ten: Time.

I seriously doubt that a text or call is so important that you have to answer it immediately. I mean, what is that important? With the possible exception of your wife going into labour i’m fresh out of ideas. You have all the time in the world to call or text back later.

There you go, ten reasons not to use your phone when driving. The other exception to all the above points is to use a bluetooth car kit. Fair enough it wont guarantee all the above will not happen, but if at least you do choose to phone and drive you will be much safer doing so with bluetooth car kits.

 When you think of bluetooth car kits you automatically think of parrot bluetooth. Parrot have a dominance over the market in terms of brand recognition and selling power, however does this mean they produce the better products?

There is a lot of competition in the bluetooth market, with the majority of manufacturers producing very similar kits, in both style and design. Its an important element when designing products. After all it does have to sit & integrate into your vehicle. However the one thing you cant replicate is the functionality and usability. Each brand operates slightly differently from others and has different compatibility with phone sets and how you can interact with them when paired.

Parrot are no different from other manufacturers when it come to this. They have some good points and some bad ones too. However on the whole parrot offer a good package, as you would expect from a market leader. This doesn’t they lead the field in each area of bluetooth and phone integration. Infact you could probably choose a hand full of products and pick a feature which performs better that the parrot counterpart. For example when it comes to music the parrot offers iPod integration. Although its only through the front two speakers of the vehicle in most cases. The Bury Music kits offer the same iPod integration however you can control & navigate choices by voice commands (which stops when you get to the music) however this is especially useful when your driving. So you can concentrate fully on the road and not the iPod / iPhone.

Other brands like the Novero range of products also offer full music streaming via A2DP bluetooth protocol. Something that parrot does not support fully. However its the handsfree element that is ultimately the most important feature, and something in which neither of the three manufacturers mentioned previously fail. Each has different quirks and slightly different way of navigation and phone book browsing which ultimately results in the same thing. If you choose Bury, Parrot Or Novero you should be happy with your choice. After bluetooth car kits make the roads a safer place.      

There are two ways bluetooth car kits can be installed, one is the difficult way, the other is easier (however can still be fairly difficult dependant on vehicle). The problem is, Bluetooth kits are made with ISO connections as standard. ISO is an older industry standard which determins the locations of various wires (which perform different functions) For example, the front left and right speakers, back left and right, power, mute and ignition. If your vehicle is ISO, then the kits will install fairly easily.

The problem is, the ISO standard is now fairly old. More modern vehicles utilise systems such as CAN bus & fibre Optic MOST systems which do not use conventional wires. If this is the case you will either need to splice into the wires (where possible) or use a mute cable, ISO2CAR, Drive&Mute or Audio2Car. They all perform the same task, however each has a slightly different compatibility. For example Audio2Car work particularly well with amplified systems.

The only other difficult task when installing the bluetooth kit is to route the microphone into position. This routes from the back of the bluetooth unit. Usually installed behind the car stereo. From here its usually best to route the opposite direction from the driver. Remove the glovebox where ever possible (Different for each vehicle, but usually fairly pain free when the screws are found).

Remove the fascia from the A pillar in the vehicle, they usually un-clip, however sometimes they are screwed in, if so you should be able to pull out the airbag clip plate (a little plastic clip showing where the air bag is) a screw is usually found beneath this. There may be a couple more hidden screws to remove before the fascia can be removed. A little pull on the rear-view mirror fascia should allow you to install and route wire through the lining of the roof. (Dont pull too hard as you may pull the mirror off, and they can be a pain to reinstall) a metal coat hanger will do nicely when pushing it through. From here wire down the A pillar, avoid the air bags at all costs and do not tangle the wire around them. And route behind the glove box to the bluetooth unit.

After this do done double check you have the Power, Ground (when required) & Ignition wires are active. The Ignition is a must to check, the kits will not work with out it. In fact thid is the number one cause for people thinking they have a faulty unit. If your harness doesn’t have an ignition (not all do) the best point is either the fusebox, or the Cigarette lighter wire. A simple way of testing is by turning the ignition on when the wires are connected. The unit should power up.

Assuming the kit is working tidy up behind the stereo and re connect the dashboard & fascias and position the microphone to exactly where you want it near the mirror (make sure is doesn’t obstruct it). Pair your phone using the manufacturers instructions and you will have a fully working Bluetooth car kit at your disposal. (If you choose well, you’ll wonder how you ever lived with out one).

All in all the job shouldn’t take longer than an hour of your time, unless you have a particulatly difficult vehicle such as a BMW X5 (Due to the location of the unit) or most Porsche’s (Because of the firewall).

Bluetooth Car Kits are known to improve driver safety when using the mobile phone, if you dont have one installed in your vehicle. Don’t use your phone. If you think this is too difficult contact In Car Installer for advice.

If you are unsure of what Bluetooth car kits are you probably will be soon. Penalties are getting much stronger for using a mobile phone when driving, in fact the punishment has doubled in the previous few years. The point of which is to impose a greater awareness and the consequences of doing so. If you are caught using your phone or another hand held device you run the risk of incurring a 6 point penalty and £60 fine, which is more than a slap on the wrists for most people.

However this is very lenient compared to the burden weighing on thousands of people’s shoulders who have to live with the knowledge they caused an accident and harmed another person or family carelessly & needlessly.

What type of person knowingly puts another persons life at risk? Well the answer is most of us. Most of the road users in the UK knowingly and openly use their mobile phone illegally when driving. In fact after reading this article, make a mental note of how many you see doing so the next time you drive. I’d be very surprised if its less than 10 every half an hour driving.

If were all honest with ourselves we’ll probably admit doing it too, the fact is its too easy & tempting to to just pick it up and chat for a few seconds. What harm can that do? We all have driving experience and can multi-task right? Wrong. Its a combination of factors that make it dangerous including reducing the physical contact with the car operating controls.

The point is that the majority of accidents where a mobile phone is the cause are avoidable, simply by not answering or making the call, however if it is a necessity the use of bluetooth car kits offer a much greater and safer and more convenient option regardless of what kit you are using. The worst bluetooth kit on the market is still safer than not using one.

This is why a lot of vehicle manufacturers are adding bluetooth as an option when purchasing the vehicle, I know Ford are offering it as a free upgrade at this point in time (in the UK). Possibly more as a selling tool rather than a moral decision, however the option is still there.

So do us all a favour, either use bluetooth car kits when you drive or don’t use your phone. Can you live with somebodies death on your conscience? I know I couldn’t.

Over the last few years, the internet has been flooded with "cheap" bluetooth kits, giving customers the opportunity to get a great bargain on the most recognised bluetooth brands on the market.

However, it is not a bargain when you look more closely at what you are actually buying. All the "cheap" kits are non UK stock, which posses several problems. The major drawback is that the Manufacturers will not cover the warranty if it is non UK stock purchased on the UK market place. Also when EU stock is used, sometimes foreign languages are preset onto the kit, so navigation is difficult and in rarer cases English is not even available as an option. Another disadvantage of buying Non UK stock is that no technical support will be given so if you have any issues with the kit you will be left to figure the resolution out for yourself. Currently it is apparent that the two leading manufacturers, Parrot bluetooth and Bury THD are mostly affected by Non UK "Grey Stock" and we would certainly advise you remain vigilant that the kits you are buying are genuine UK models.

Bluetooth Car Kit Direct is proud to announce that we only supply genuine UK bluetooth products, which means you get the Full 1 year warranty, full technical support, English speaking kits and on top of all of that, you are also covered by our 30 day money back Guarantee.

Fair enough the kits are priced higher than the Non UK units, but I think you will agree with us that it is worth the extra knowing that your bluetooth kit is covered if it fails in the future. We also ensure that all of the kits we sell, including parrot bluetooth are new, sealed units, where as a lot of retail companies sell the kits unsealed to their customers.

There are more cars on the road now than ever before. Combine this with new technology & the need to be in contact with everybody every minute of the day, and it could spell disaster for 1000’s of road users daily.

Some new statistics state that more than 50% of road users in the UK have illegally used their mobile phone when driving more than once in the last week, and a figure around 85% have used their phones while driving in there life time.

To decide whether handsfree kits offer improved safety, we first have to discuss how using a mobile phone is dangerous. There is no doubt amongst the experts that it is. Using a mobile phone is dangerous for two reasons.

Firstly when talking on your phone whilst driving you have to break contact with the wheel & car controls to do so, and by breaking contact from the vehicle you also reduce your reaction time by up to 4x.

Secondly concentration is lost when talking to other people, less attention is paid to the road and more on the conversation taking place. This is a natural occurrence & no matter how much we feel we can over compensate for doing so we cant, again this reduces reaction time. Combining both together when driving can result at the very least dangerous driving.

We now come to the title question, Do bluetooth handsfree kits improve driver safety? Well there are arguments for both sides of the debate. The opposition mainly concentrating on the second point made earlier, that concentration is lost when making a phone call & to be honest the use of a handsfree car kit doesn’t really improve this. However do we only hold conversations over the phone or do we also have them with the passengers we carry? I don’t know anybody who carries passengers and doesn’t talk to them at some point during the commute. Who defines whether this is more or less acceptable than doing so over the phone?

The problem is there are so many distractions when we drive already which are equal to talking over the phone, and not necessarily from inside the car. These distractions occur every minute where driving & its up to us whether or not to take notice (most of the time we don’t). However this is where the counter argument comes from.

Distractions are a common occurrence, and talking on the phone is no more of a distraction than say reading an advertising board, playing the number plate game or even singing along with the radio. The point is, if we outlaw the use of phone kits where do we stop, do we make it illegal to do anything other than drive. Were not allowed to take our eyes of the road & our hands from the steering wheel, no talking, listening to music or anything other than driving? Would this be more dangerous due to boredom?

Phone Kits are considered to improve safety due to the fact you no longer have to hold the phone to have a conversation. Your hands remain on the steering wheel & eyes on the road. In fact the process is the same as talking to somebody next to you. Using phone kits aren’t illegal, however if a police officer thinks you are driving dangerously due to using a phone kit or changing the stereo or CD or even talking to a passenger you can be prosecuted. It is the drivers responsibility to gauge whether they are capable or doing so safely.

One thing is for sure, using bluetooth car kits does improve ease of making or receiving a call & allows the driver to concentrate on driving properly. Its certainly a better option than not using one. Parrot Bluetooth is a good place to start when considering a car kit.

Its a well know problem that parrot have major supply issues of parrot bluetooth goods in the UK, The genuine stock is readily available and ready to distribute through the correct channels. However this side of the business is not the problem. The problem is there is so much grey stock in the UK at the minute it is very difficult to recognise genuine items from the Grey stock which is generally priced extremely low online.

So why does this matter?

Well if you purchase Grey stock the UK warranty is void & you don’t have technical support from parrot. This is obviously a big issue if you run into any problems with the installation or further down the line with the product. Maybe this is not a big issue for some of those willing to take the risk. But consider this, over 50% of the Grey stock is being purchased from channels with Europe who deal with faulty and returned products then import to the UK when fixed, and a considerable amount is imported from china when its debatable whether its genuine parrot stock at all. As you can see the odds are not in your favour if and when you buy them.

The Performance of the Grey stock is the same as genuine Parrot stock (assuming it is a working unit). You get the same features and functions, In fact you wouldn’t necessarily know if you have purchased Grey until its too late.

Genuine Vs Grey Parrot Kits

Both parrots kits are technically the same, one a new product manufactured and distributed to the UK through reliable sources. The other you could be getting a second hand product which has been re-flashed with software. You could get the grey stock up to £30 cheaper than the genuine product online however without warranties.

Parrot are aware of the problem of illegal importation of their products and have launched an new initiative to reduce the fraudulent products entering the UK market place. This consists of a unique serial number containing the number “55” added to the exterior packaging on the box. From now, If your parrot product does not have 55 in the serial number I would be worried about the quality and return to the retailer as soon as possible.

With this system the Supply of Genuine parrot bluetooth stock is improving, however keep when ordering the parrot online the cheapest is not necessarily the best deal. You don’t want to be stung by an immoral retailer.  

If you want a bluetooth car kit most people automatically think of the brand Parrot, it has the brand awareness that most companies would die for. Almost on the same level as google. You’ve heard of the phrase “Google it” haven’t you. Well most people contact us think parrot is bluetooth, and are unaware that other brands are available. Even though there is a competitive market for bluetooth car kits. Brands such as bury, motorola, nokia and many others are readily available most people only relate to parrot.

For all there dominance, do parrot produce the best bluetooth products especially over competitor brands that offer a very similar version?

From our experience parrot do offer very competitive kits, each kit providing something different to the other variations of parrot kits. For example the new parrot range the MKI, has three versions. The MKI9000, MKI9100 and the MKI9200. Each offers the same bluetooth and additional functions such as iPod. However each of the upgrades offer a better screen, which allows for better integration of bluetooth phone book, ipod music library and other functions. However there are other extremely good kits that offer the same level of integration and functions.

The Bury cc9060 provides excellent voice recognition software which in our opinion is second too none. Simply select voice on the screen and speak the commands you want it to perform. Its such a simple feature that really improves the functionality of the kit and adds additional safety features and value for money.

Parrot MKI range do also have this feature, although we find it a little more difficult to use.

The parrot does have some negatives, firstly the systems are difficult to use unless you purchase one with the screen & there is a lot of grey stock sold online without UK warranties. Be sure to check the parrot is genuine before hand and return it immediately if you purchase one that isn’t.

We find the Parrot brand best for several reasons including style & integration, functions & features and easy of installation. The ease of use is on par with other products but generally speaking you will be happy if you purchase parrot bluetooth 

In the 21st century, who doesn’t use a mobile phone? A CAVEMAN…and he doesn’t know about Bluetooth car kits, let alone the exclusive Motorola Bluetooth car kits.

Considering that you already have a car and have already been using, trying a couple of Bluetooth car kits in the market, you are sure to have heard about the popular market brand, Motorola and their specific Motorola Bluetooth car kit range.

Motorola Bluetooth car kits are more or less same as most of the others are. They are wireless and they work on mobile phones that support Bluetooth technology. These Motorola Bluetooth car kits allow the A2DP Bluetooth cell phones to connect with the Motorola Bluetooth device in the car.

Most of them easily transfer information from a distance of up to 10 meters. So what are the specific benefits of Motorola Bluetooth car kits?

You can handle and receive calls without using your hand. Yes, it’s handsfree. Yes, it does voice recognition.

You can play your music from your iPod, iPhone or any other smart phone that you might have.

You don’t have to manually update your memory in your Motorola Bluetooth car kit. It automatically keeps itself posted of the new changes in your mobile phone, iPod or PDA.

You can connect it to the car speakers.

You are able to connect with other Bluetooth enabled mobile phones with this Motorola Bluetooth car kits.

So, look at it carefully, is there any special or cutting-edge about this Motorola Bluetooth car kits? NO, there isn’t. But when it comes to TOP NOTCH QUALITY, they score over the many Bluetooth car kits manufacturing companies out there.

You can find the stupendous quality gleaming through in the TFT LCD monitors or in the stereophonic DSP-3 sound output. All in all, you are going to have the most delectable user experience when you are using these Motorola Bluetooth car kits.

But that’s what I think. It doesn’t prove anything, does it? So, let’s see what others have to say about Motorola Bluetooth car kits. And if you surf over the internet, you will find that the maximum number of feedback is POSITIVE. It seems the ‘slim, sleek and portable’ range of Bluetooth Motorola car kits have taken the marketplace by storm! Furthermore, the effect is exaggerated by the reasonable prices at which they sell the devices.

Born in 1930 with the launch of world’s first moneymaking successful car radio systems, Motorola was born. And over the 80 years of enriched dynamic history, Motorola is a leader in the field of global communications, with a solid resource and technology base. It has been following on the same path when it initiated its first series of Motorola Bluetooth car kits.

It has come a long way with its range of Motorola Bluetooth car kits and in the year 2010, we hope to find some great series of Motorola Bluetooth car devices lining up in the queue.

I will think about upgrading the one I already have. If you still don’t have one and your previous one is somewhat damaged, replace it with one Motorola Bluetooth car kit.