Unofficial Mobile Blog » parrot mki9000

How to fully integrate your Parrot car kit into your car

Dean — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:19:54 +0000

The Parrot MKi range of Car Kits are still the best car kits on the market. They’re fully compatible with just about every handset out there and no other Bluetooth Car Kit can come close to them on the number of features. With them being this great, you’d think that it’s not possible to make them much better, but Parrot have raised the bar again and introduced the Parrot Unika to further enhance the MKi Car Kits and allow you to fully control them using the controls already fitted to your steering wheel.

Parrot Unika integrates your Parrot MKi Car Kit with your Steering Wheel Controls

As standard the MKi car kits include a wireless remote control that will let you answer and end calls, activate voice dialling, control music playback and adjust the volume of calls and music which is great, but finding somewhere to mount the remote in car can be a little bit tricky.

Parrot Remote can be mounted on steering wheel

The MKi Car kits come with a couple of mounting options for the remote control – an adjustable strap that lets you attach it to your steering wheel or an adhesive plate that you can stick to the dash of your car. Both of these mounting options are good, but you can’t beat the stereo controls built into the steering wheel of your car. I’ve had the MKi9000 in my car for about a year now and I still try to adjust the volume with the stereo controls instead of the Parrot Remote.

Since the launch of the MKi series last year, the technical team at Parrot have been working hard to fully integrate the kits into cars and have just released the Unika – an additional control box that allows you to connect the Mki & RKi Car Kits to the stereo controls on your steering wheel, completely eliminating the need to use the remote control.

The Unika can be fitted to most vehicles, and if you’ve already got an MKi car kit fitted you can retro-fit one to your car without too much hassle. If you’re technically minded you should be able to fit it yourself, although you will probably need to remove some parts of your dashboard, I’ve just changed my car and didn’t fancy pulling it apart, so I got AutoTec to fit mine for me. The cost for the Mki9000 car kit, Parrot Adapter Cable, Parrot Unika and fitting worked out at 279. The kit and accessories on their own add up to about 210, so fitting was only about 70 quid which I think is more than reasonable.

Unika is compatible with Vauxhall, BMW, Ford & Honda Steering Wheel controls

Once installed, the Unika will use the the buttons on your steering wheel to control the kit instead of the remote control. The buttons that you use for each function will vary depending on your vehicle, and you don’t need to have any phone buttons on the steering wheel as the Unika will ‘re-map’ the functions of the steering wheel controls when connected to your phone or iPod. When you’re phones’ not connected you’ll be able to use the controls to operate your radio or CD player as normal.

You can check to see if your car is compatible and find out which buttons perform which function in your car on the Parrot Unika Support Site.

At the time of writing this post, these were the prices for the kit and accessories:

Parrot Unika- 89.99
Parrot MKi9000 – 89.99
Parrot MKi9100 – 122.35
Parrot MKi9200 – 159.95
Parrot Accessory Harness ~ 30 (varies depending on car)

I’ve had mine in for a couple of days now, and I’m still getting familiar with the controls, so I’ll update this post in a couple of days time to give you an idea on how well it works.

Syncing your iPhone contacts to your Car Kit

Dean — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:15:43 +0000

Bluetooth Car Kits are getting smarter, and most of them now support synchronising the contacts stored on your phone to the car kit to enable faster dialling, caller display, and enabling voice control – even on phones like the iPhone 3G that doesn’t support voice dialling.As great as this is though, it’s not quite as straight forward as you’d think as there are two different ways that phones and car kits talk to each other. I’ll apologise now if this gets a little confusing, but I’ll try and keep it as simple as I can.

Although Bluetooth is a pretty generic technology, there are a number of different bluetooth profiles and each bluetooth device uses different ones. The two that are needed to synchronise your contacts between your car kit and your phone are either PBAP – Phone Book Access Profile or OPP – Object Push Profile, but in order for it to sync, both the phone and the car kit need to support the same profile.

OPP – Object Push Profile -This is an older Bluetooth Profile, so should be supported by most phones and car kits that support contact sync. If the car kit supports the OPP profile then it is capable of receiving information that is sent or ‘pushed’ to it. In order to send your contacts to a car kit that uses OPP you will need to initiate the transfer of your contacts from your phone, either one by one or all at once. The only downside to this is that not all phones support sending your entire phonebook in one go.
PBAP – Phone Book Access Profile -This profile is one of the more recent Bluetooth Profiles, so not all phones or car kits support it. The advantage of the PBAP profile is that you don’t need to send your contacts to the car kit, the car kit will retrieve them from your phone automatically every time you connect.

Bluetooth support is limited on the iPhone and although it’s improving, it still doesn’t support all Bluetooth profiles – in particular the OPP profile. There is no way of sending any information from an iPhone over Bluetooth. This means that if you have a Bluetooth Car Kit that only supports OPP, you’ll only be able to use the car kit for calls, although features such as last number redial should still work fine. The iPhone does support the PBAP profile though – in fact it supports it brilliantly, so if you want to be able to sync your contacts make sure that the car kit you buy supports the PBAP profile, it should be listed in the technical spec of the user manual.

I’ve got the Parrot MKi9000 installed in my car and every time the car is started and my iPhone 3G connects, the kit checks my phone for any changes and and updates itself. Like I said before, the iPhone supports PBAP brilliantly, and when paired with a compatible car kit it gives you control over the information that is synchronised with the kit. You can chose which groups of contacts to sync – if any, as well as recent calls and favourites.

iPhone Car Kit Sync Options - iPhone OS 3.1

From personal experience I’ve found that the best car kits for syncing your contacts are those made by Parrot. As well as supporting the iPhone fully, they also feature Text to Speech technology that announces the callers name when you receive a call and some will allow you to use voice dialling – even on the iPhone. It does this by matching the wave print of what you say against the Text to Speech wave prints for the contacts stored in the car kit. Most voice dialling kits require you to train your voice to them or to record your own voice tags for the contacts, and this normally doesn’t work too well. The current Parrot car kits that do all this are listed below. If you want more information on any of the kits, just click on the image or read my post on Parrot Car Kits.

Parrot MKi9200 Fully Fitted Bluetooth Car Kit

Parrot MKi9100 Fully Fitted Bluetooth Car Kit

Parrot MKi9000 Fully Fitted Bluetooth Car Kit

Parrot MK6000 Fully Fitted Bluetooth Car Kit

Parrot Minikit Slim Portable Bluetooth Car Kit

Parrot Minikit Chic Portable Bluetooth Car Kit

Top 10 Accessories for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G

Dean — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:54:54 +0000

The Apple iPhone 3GS is a touchscreen phone packed full of features. To get the most out of your phone, youll need to treat yourself to a few extras but what do you need? The amount of iPhone 3G Cases and other accessories available for phones now is almost overwhelming, so to help you out, weve compiled a list of our top ten accessories for the Apple iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

Xtand for iPhone 3GS & iPhone 3G

1.Xtand for iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS

One of the best new features I’ve found with iPhone OS 3.0 on both the iPhone 3G and the 3GS is the ability to type in landscape mode, and this stand makes it even easier as it holds your iPhone at the perfect angle for landscape typing. With the Xtand you can keep your phone in clear view on your desk, and can rotate it to use the phone in both portrait and landscape mode. The Xtand is ideal for watching movies, browsing the internet or flicking through your music using coverflow. The Xtand is styled to match Apple iMacs and the new Unibody MacBook Pro.

Having spent a lot of money on the iPhone 3GS, the last thing you’re going to want to do to it is damage it or scratch it, so a case is a worthwhile investment.

Protective Cases for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

2. InvisibleSHIELD Full Body Protector for iPhone 3GS

Technically this isn’t really a case, but it gives the same amount of protection against knocks and scrapes without adding any extra bulk to your phone. InvisibleSHIELDs are a tough, thin plastic film that covers all of your iPhone 3GS. It has a non slip feel which reduces the chance of it slipping out of your hand. It also has an anti reflective coating that eliminates reflections and reduces fingerprints.

3. Piel Frama Case for iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS

By far this is our most popular Leather Case for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. It is hand made from premium leather and designed specifically for your phone. As well as protecting your phone, the Piel Frama cases have storage space for Bank/Credit cards and cut outs that allow you to use your headphones and charger while your iPhone is in the case.

4. OtterBox Defender for iPhone 3GS

One of the new features of the iPhone 3GS was a built in Compass, great if you enjoy outdoors activities such as camping, hiking etc. If you do enjoy these kinds of activities and want to take your iPhone with you, then you’ll need a case that will keep your phone protected in some pretty harsh environments, and that’s exactly what the OtterBox cases do. They are a triple layered case that will withstand serious knocks. They consist of a Clear membrane to protect your screen, a High Impact polycarbonate shell that wraps around the iPhone and surrounding this is a strong silicone skin that absorbs bumps and shocks.

Stereo Headsets and Charging Cases for iPhone 3GS

5. Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Another new feature was the introduction of Stereo Bluetooth. This allows you to listen to your music on headphones, but with out the hassle of a wire going from your headphones to your iPhone. The BT3030 will work for both calls and music and allows you to use any 3.5mm headphones. While full music control isn’t supported by the iPhone, the BT 3030 will let you play/pause your music, answer/end calls and adjust the volume. If the Jabra BT3030 isn’t quite what you’re looking for, take a look at our Top 5 Stereo Bluetooth Headsets for the iPhone,

6. iPhone 3GS Charging Leather Case

Apple have improved the battery life on the iPhone 3GS, but realistically you’re still only going to get about a day out of a full charge. This Leather case has a built in battery that will charge your iPhone and increase talktime, standby time and music playback time. It has its own on/off switch, so you can turn it on only when your iPhone needs recharging. Unlike some products, this case doesn’t add excessive bulk or weight to your iPhone.

7. Apple iPhone 3GS Sync & Charge Cable

You got one in the box with the phone, but if you’re anything like me, this will spend its life plugged into the wall or your home PC. Getting yourself a second cable will allow you to carry one with you or leave one at work so that you can charge your iPhone from your PC or Laptop.

iPhone 3GS Car Accessories

8. Apple iPhone 3GS Car Charger

It’s simple and effective and will make sure you get to your destination with a fully charged battery.

9. Jabra SP700 Bluetooth Car Kit

The Jabra SP700 does a lot more than you’d think. As well as being a Bluetooth Car Kit for handsfree calling in the car, the SP700 can stream music from your iPhone using Bluetooth and using its built in FM transmitter can then play your music through your car stereo speakers. When a call comes in, music playback will be paused automatically and the callers voice will also come through the stereo speakers. Most handsfree kits tend to suffer when you travel on motorways or go above 50mph, but as the call audio is routed through your stereo speakers, you can adjust the volume on your stereo to make sure that you can hear the caller. It’s portable too, so you can easily transfer it between vehicles. Battery life is fantastic with upto 14 hours talktime and over 250 hours stand by time.

10. Parrot MKi9000 Stereo Bluetooth Car Kit for iPhone 3GS

Parrot have always made fantastic car kits and the Mki range are no exception. There are three options available, the MKi9000, Mki9100 and the Mki9200. The main differences between them being the display screen that comes with them. I’ve chosen the MKi9000 as the best one for the iPhone 3GS because you don’t need an external screen. You can play music from your phone through the MKi9000 either by connecting the Dock Connector (which will also charge your phone) or you can stream it using Bluetooth. The Mki9000 will synchronise with your phone book, and supports voice dialing – even on the iPhone 3G. There is also a small remote that you can attach to your dash or steering wheel to control your music (Play/Pause and Volume only when streaming using Bluetooth).

If youve not seen the accessory here thats right for you, why not take a look at our full range of Apple iPhone 3GS Accessories.