Parrot have been making bluetooth kits for years, and have gained a reputation that dwarfs all competitors. When most people think of bluetooth they will always think parrot bluetooth.

However, the latest release from the acclaimed manufacturer, has nothing to do with bluetooth technology, but it still does relate to your mobile; well if you have an iPhone at least.

There are speculations circling to why they decided to make their latest product, but all of those aside, we think they just wanted to have some fun, and if it strengthens the brands reputation at the same time, then why not.

What the brainiacs in France decided to do, was create a helicopter that could be controlled from an iPhone, and if that wasn’t cool enough, they fitted forward facing and ground facing cameras that can be viewed from the phones screen. Combined with accelerometer based controls (tilting the iPhone) and a clever autopilot program, the helicopter can be flown with pinpoint accuracy by the most novice of pilots.

The AR Drone, which the helicopter is known by, uses wifi technology to connect to your iPhone, and because of this, it can also connect to an iTouch or iPad. Using a high output Li Poly battery you get up to 15 minutes fly time, which is more than enough time to exhaust your mind keeping the agile “eye in the sky” away from obstacles. The best is still to come however.

So you have a helicopter that flies by wifi from your mobile, how about you send it into battle with another drone controlled by your friend, shooting it down with missiles and other ordinance. Well obviously the average civilian cannot be trusted with real missiles, so its all virtual. Parrot call it augmented reality, as it combines virtual simulation and actual flight, the camera feed on the screen will show simulated target boxes and ordinance projected, along with tracking the enemy using colour recognition. The drone still flies around, so you need to ensure you don’t crash, unless you are out off ammo and feeling a touch suicidal…

Bluetooth Car Kit Direct are giving an AR Drone away in their Christmas competition. Anyone who purchases an integrated bluetooth system from the web site from now until the 20^th of December will automatically be entered into a prize draw. The winner will be picked at random on the 21^st, and the Drone will be delivered in time for Christmas.

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.

Parrot have just finished the design of three new kits that will be their flagship products. These have been added to their range of Bluetooth Kits with immediate effect. The range includes the top of the range MKi9200,  the MKI9100 and the MKi9000. All models are fully iPod comptible including the new iPods and iPhone 3G.

The entry level MKi9000 doesnt include a screen but the KIi9100 offers a 2-lin Blue LED screen and the MKi9200 offers a cracking 2.4" Full Colour LCD display. All three models have full voice dialing.

The MKi9100 will display your phones status along with your phonebook and a playlist. The MKi9200 will offer the same PLUS a wallpaper that you can design yourself, Caller Pictures and even iPod Track Cover Pictures.

These kits are set to take the market by storm so grab one while you can!