[jscott]

I am a Verizon customer and am thinking about getting Motorola V710 for the bluetooth connection. I have been reading this forum and know that some of the bluetooth features have been disabled. I have also heard from different sources (Motorola etc.) that there are softward upgrades that enable more of the features. First I am wondering if this is true. If so which options are upgraded. In the future will all the bluetooth options be fully operational. Second, how do I know which v710 actually has the upgrades.

I have one more bluetooth question. I have been trying a friends Motorola v551 in the car and it seems to work great. One concern is that when driving the car, outgoing calls don't ring through the speakers. When the nav screen picks up the active call the caller already has been on the line for like two seconds. When the car is parked outgoing calls ring through the speakers and this isn't a problem. Annoying.

Anyway thanks for your help! :?

 

[Thomme]

If you buy a new V710 from a Verizon store, it should have the newest firmware, 8700_01.40.0R.

Here's what's improved (off the top of my head):
Phone rings when you get a call, even when you're connected to the car. Previously, the MFD would display "Incoming Call", your radio would mute, but the phone would not ring.
Phone startup and shutdown is faster.
The image capture software is improved, and the lens is actually straight. (Some early handsets (including mine) had a slight tilt.)
The bumpers at the base of the keypad are thicker so that the keypad won't scratch the screen when you close the flip.

Here's what sucks:
You still can't transfer your phone book to the car. OPP (Object Push Profile) was enabled, which works for some cars, but OBEX (Object Exchange) was not. Naturally, this is the protocol the Prius understands.
You can no longer easily edit your own mp3's for use as ringtones. There is a pretty easy workaround for this, though.
You can't use a TransFlash card for certain kinds of file transfers (which kind escapes me). There's a more complicated hack for this.

For general info and hacks, the V710 forum at phonescoop.com is pretty handy.

Overall, I'm very happy with the phone. It has outstanding reception, and I find it only a minor annoyance that I can't send my whole phone book to the car's memory.

Hope this helps.

 

[jscott]

bluetooth and other technical questions

Thanks for your help. Just a few more questions. When you say that you cannot transfer the whole phone book can you do so one entry at a time. Secondly, do you have the same problem with a lack of dialtone when calling out through the nav system using bluetooth when the car is moving.
Thanks

 

[Thomme]

I haven't really tried, but I don't think you can transfer phone book data of any type from the V710 to the Prius. Since the Voice Dial function in the phone works quite well, I just use either that or my One Touch buttons in the car to make most of my calls. The phone handset controls do work while in Bluetooth mode, so you can still look up #s on the handset and dial them that way (while driving safely, of course...).

As for lack of dialtone, whaddayamean? Are you referring to the ringing of the other phone before the person you're calling picks up? If so, yes, you hear that just fine.