$12 Quality Original Motorola hands-free kit!

[John Cody]

Hey MPx-220 users..

I found a real gem that's not only cheap, but works perfectly with my MPx-220:

http://www.gadgetfreeks.com/98308g-syn8598v.html

(Note: The model I got from another source was the SYN8597, but the above link also mentions that model too, and they both say they work with the same V60 series, so I would think the 8598 is just a slight update to the one I have)

It's an original Motorola-brand hands free kit with these features:

1) Great sounding 3-watt speaker.
2) Your phone will automatically switch to the "Car" profile when using this - so you can customoize all the volume levels.
3) All sounds come from this device, including the "Say a Command" prompt and even playing back voice notes, playing music files, and I bet any other audio app, such as a voice-based GPS apps.

I kinda like this solution over bluetooth because it will also charge your phone :)

[Sven Johannsen]

Cool Thanks. One of my biggest gripes with both my Smartphones is that they don't work with my car BT handsfree. This is a reasonable alternative, and I can even take it with me when travelling

[mooker]

sure is a cheaper solution to BT.. at least in the car when it comes to hands free solution...

[John Cody]

UPDATE: There seems to be some excessive background noise issue when people hear you using HF kit. I tried using an external mic, but it wasn't the official mic for this kit, and the problem wasn't any better - sorry for this possible bad news :(

[mooker]

thanks for the update... at least we can avoid it...

:D

[John Cody]

I wired it into my car's power and installed a mount for the phone, so I am still going to use it to charge my phone and listen to my voice messages/notes through the load speaker.

I did notice that if I plug in a headset, the phone will then switch from "Car" (which this HF kit does) to "Headset" and I can then use the headset to make calls....I wonder if I get a bluetooth headeset and turn it on, will the profile also change from "Car" to "Headset" for the BT...I will post the result if I end up getting a BT headset.

[Sven Johannsen]

UPDATE: There seems to be some excessive background noise issue when people hear you using HF kit. I tried using an external mic, but it wasn't the official mic for this kit, and the problem wasn't any better - sorry for this possible bad news :(

No worries. For $20 I was going to get it to play with if you hadn't said it worked. I have a few mics laying around, and if there is an official one i might check it out.

[John Cody]

I resolved the problem:

1) The excessive background noise was caused by previously first using the voice recorder app before using the HF kit. For some reason, if you run the built-in voice recorder app (or my vnotes which uses the vr control), it turns the gain of the microsoft way up, so when you subsequently use this HF kit, it over-modulates and is too sensitive. If you don't use the voice recorder, this HF kit works great.

2) After issue #1 above was resolved, using even after-market external mikes worked great.

So, it turns out this HF kit is a good little solution.

[John Cody]

OK,

I have played around with this $12 hands-free car kit for weeks now, and I give it a 5 of 5 star rating, and here's why:

1) Since it's a wired kit, it will also charge your phone while in your car (bluetooth handsfree can't do this)

2) It taps into the audio stack at the level that allows ALL audio to be played through the speaker. This comes in *real* handy when using audio prompt apps such as CoPilot GPS, because all the audio directions such as "In 1/4 mile, bear Right" play loud and clear through the 3-watt speaker. Most Bluetooth hands-free can't do this either!

[John Cody]

I did notice that if I plug in a headset, the phone will then switch from "Car" (which this HF kit does) to "Headset" and I can then use the headset to make calls....I wonder if I get a bluetooth headeset and turn it on, will the profile also change from "Car" to "Headset" for the BT...I will post the result if I end up getting a BT headset.

Well, I got a BT headset, and yes, if I turn on my headset, the profile will switch from "Car" to "Headeset" without having to unplug this motorola car-kit!