I'm a 22 and from the North West. Gadget mad, always looking for the new piece of electronic equipme...
I'm a 22 and from the North West. Gadget mad, always looking for the new piece of electronic equipment. I'm always wary of buying expensive stuff without consulting reviews, hence why I've started spreading my word here to help other people
Member since:15.03.2007
Reviews:16
Due to the new handsfree driving legislation coming into effect as of March this year in the UK, I thought it was time I upgraded my method of talking handsfree when in the car - which was merely using the in-built speakerphone of my mobile (which is quiet so nearly always had to be held to my ear anyway) which would now land me a rather nasty fine and points on my license.
I'd heard about these parrot devices through a friend who was having one put into her new car, I googled them and came across Amazon that were selling them for a lot less than Halfords (around £30-£40 less when I purchased mine) as I thought I'd be able to fit it myself.
It came in only a few days in a small box consisting of the bluetooth unit, a small rectangular blue box with connections at each end for the car-side of things (speakers, power cable etc.) and then the otherside for connecting the radio head unit and the supplied keypad (which I'll talk about later)
The instructions were quite easy to folllow, although the installation really didn't take much effort anyway. The radio head unit needs to be taken off, unplugged from the speakers and power etc. those cables then get plugged into the bluetooth box and the head unit connected to the bluetooth. Simply put, the bluetooth unit sits between the headunit and your car (the battery and speakers) there's really nothing else to it. Choose a position for your microphone (preferably on the sun visor) and the keypad and away you go.
One thing I will just note, make sure when you first use it and hook it all up, take the keys out and leave the car, that the lights have gone off the keypad. It's not too clear in the instruction manual, but you can wire the unit up wrong meaning that the low voltage 'memory' wire is connected to the permanently battery wire; meaning it will drain your battery all the time. You simply have to swap the fuse holders around on the orange and red wires (this took some deciphering in the manual, but wasn't anything major to worry about)
As for the unit itself, the keypad is compact and does everything you need really, there's three buttons, green and red for answer and hang up and a dial for the volume and select buttons (to customise the settings) The audio is very clear, bluetooth works a treat (it pairs with my phone within a matter of seconds when the ignition is turned on, as long as my phone's bluetooth is turned on) and callers can hear me perfectly through the supplied microphone.
The unit is very easy to use, install and is great value for money to ensure you're road-legal and avoid any points and nasty fines for phoning whilst driving.
For the £60 I paid and the amount of time it took me to install it myself, it's well worth it!
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