ANOTHER Bluetooth Question

[shawnc]

OK gang, Sprint FINALLY has a BT phone that doesn't make me want to puke, at a reasonable price. My question is what good is BT in a cell phone? The only possible use I can think of is the ability to sync my contacts with either my PPC or laptop so I don't have to re-enter all my phone numbers whenever I get a new phone. And I'm not even certain I can do that!!! I've got integrated BT and WiFi in my PPC and I do use BT with my headphones. I'm not willing to pay to connect to the Internet with my PPC simply because I wouldn't use it enough to justify the cost. If I were, I could simply find a hotspot and use wifi. Can I somehow use by BT phone to connect my PPC to my ISP (I love using geek acronyms, makes me feel so much smarter than I actually am :wink: ) at no cost?

I'm just struggling to come up with practical uses for BT. Any suggestions?


Thanx,

[Sven Johannsen]

OK gang, Sprint FINALLY has a BT phone that doesn't make me want to puke, at a reasonable price. My question is what good is BT in a cell phone?If you have to ask the question, don't see why Sprint having one is a big deal to you ;)

I use my BT primarily to access the internet with my PPC. That does cost me money, but I can do it from anywhere I have cell service. My other use is my car handsfree set. It is virtually automatic. I leave BT on, on the phone always. I get in the car and it connects, and I can place and answer calls with a single button push on the dash. Everything else, dialing, hangup, etc. is all voice controlled.

That's the draw for me. Yea, I sync my phone via BT, but if the phone and PC didn't have it, I'd darn sure have a cable to do that.

I also have a BT headset, which is convenient on occasion, but I could live without it. Key is it has to be on your ear when you need to use it, or finding it and putting it on, is just as much of a hassle as just holding up the phone. If the car didn't have a built in set, though, I'd likely keep a headset in the car and use it.

If there is a BT keyboard that supports the phone (Think Outside), I must say setting up my MPX220 using a keyboard was heavenly compared to doing it with the number keys and multipress. I wouldn't buy a phone and BT keyboard just for that though.

[shawnc]

OK gang, Sprint FINALLY has a BT phone that doesn't make me want to puke, at a reasonable price. My question is what good is BT in a cell phone?If you have to ask the question, don't see why Sprint having one is a big deal to you ;).

That's kind of my point Sven. I really don't know if its a big deal or not.


I use my BT primarily to access the internet with my PPC. That does cost me money, but I can do it from anywhere I have cell service.

Bear with a stupid question, but is the cost simply using your alloted minutes is there an extra cost for using BT to connect to the internet?


My other use is my car handsfree set. It is virtually automatic. I leave BT on, on the phone always. I get in the car and it connects, and I can place and answer calls with a single button push on the dash. Everything else, dialing, hangup, etc. is all voice controlled.

If I could do this, this alone would make it worthwhile. My car doesn't have BT and I didn't realize that it could be installed as an after-market item. Though I definitely have no interest in using a BT headset for my phone.

Thanx for the response Sven. You're always very helpful.

Anyone else?

[victore]

shawn,

I like BT in a phone because it means the only "wire" I ever need to plug into my phone is the charging cable. Every other device that talks to my phone is either through IR, BT, or through the cell network itself.

Sven,

You leave BT on your phone all the time, but you make it "invisible" to other devices, right?

[surur]

Of course you could do without BT, but it certainly has its benifits. Its good to have around, and its becoming a universal standard connector, superceding all the various types of cables and connectors that are the bane of a gadget user.

My main use of BT is to surf the internet where there is no wifi (most places, and more and more access points are secured these days) using the 3G network, so its quite snappy at 384kb/sec. I also use it with my bluetooth headset, to remain in compliance with the law in UK.

BT is essential for some-one who is considering the two device way, vs the intergrated ppcphone device. And if you do go for the intergrated ppcphone device it MUST have bluetooth, unless you dont mind holding a brick to your head.

Surur

[Sven Johannsen]

Sven,

You leave BT on your phone all the time, but you make it "invisible" to other devices, right?

Yes, discoverable was not even needed when pairing, as it was initiated from the phone. You actually put the 'car' in pairing mode, by saying "Setup", "Pairing", etc.

You can get a number of very slick third party car kits, but I would check with yur car dealer for what they sell. Mine integrates in with the sound system and mutes the radio when a call comes in. I would love one of the factory units that even displays the caller ID on the radio display, buit i spend too much on toys to afford a car lke that ;)