I ordered a new V60 for the A8L yesterday and should have it tomorrow. (I've had a V60 with my BMW and don't mind the phone itself.) Anyway, I know this topic has been beaten to death, but I'm still a little confused about the "phone book" and "caller ID" aspects of the system.

My salesman tells me that you can access a phonebook, use "voice dialing," see the numbers of incoming calls (as long as they're in your phone book), and handsfree place & answer calls all as integrated features (without using OnStar minutes & without the V60 leaving the cradle). Yet, that's different from the impression I've received from you all. Am I getting lost in the semantics somewhere?

My intent is to use the V60 as my primary phone, but have some OnStar minutes for the "just in case" situations. What specifically can I do with the V60?

Many thanks, guys.

 

What can you do with the V60 other than return it? I dunno! Where are you supposed to be able to see incoming calls? I may have missed the boat on this one but I think that your salesman missed the same boat! Depending on your useage , I think using On-Star as your primary may be your best bet.


greenie 6625


04 A8L silver/sabre

 

I was afraid you were going to say that. Hmm...

 

You cannot see any of the phonebook entries stored on the V60 on either the MMI screen or driver's display. Nor can you see caller ID. Further, if you store voice dialing tags in your V60, they do NOT sync with the telematics in your car. In other words, you can store up to 20 voice dial names in the car's telematics system (managed by OnStar), but they are stored in the car's memory and have nothing to do with your phone's phone book or the voice dial commands you've stored in you phone's memory. Here is what you CAN do:

1. Dial any number you want using voice commands by speaking each number individually (note: you can only dial the preliminary numbers that engage the call, i.e. if you are calling voice mail, you cannot use voice commands to enter passwords or voice mail commands; you must use the phone's keypad for this)
2. Dial up to 20 numbers via 'name tags' (e.g. 'home', 'office', 'mistress')
3. Answer incoming calls when the phone is in the cradle by pressing the button on the steering wheel
4. Control volume of the call via the steering wheel dial or center console dial
5. Answering incoming call or initiating outgoing call will mute radio/CD

That's it. No other integration. Now, regarding OnStar:

You have a second 'phone' already built into the car. When you activate OnStar you'll be issued a phone number for this phone. You can only receive calls or make calls via this phone when your V60 is NOT in the cradle -- the V60 will always supersede the OnStar phone when it is in its cradle.

When using the OnStar phone, you will use minutes that you buy in 'units' from OnStar. You can use the same voice commands to place calls using the OnStar phone that you can using the V60 (i.e. you can speak individual numbers or you can use any of the up to 20 name tags you stored in the car's memory -- these name tags work with either the OnStar phone or V60). As with the V60, there is no phone book display or caller ID for the OnStar phone.

Hope that helps.

 

X, if you look at my response, it is an EXTREMELY CONDENSED version of what MBdefector posted. He`s your man!! Enjoy the car, phone or not!!


greenie 6625


04 A8L silver/sabre

 

That's all very clear. Disappointing, but clear. The only way to enter a PIN/password for voicemail retrieval is to use the V60 OUT of the cradle then. Not the end of the world, I guess. And, when the phone rings, I will have no idea if it's my wife, my accountant, or my certifiably insane neighbor. I guess answering it "Hiya, sexy" is out then. My neighbor always liked that too.

Thanks again for the very specific tutorial.

(And every time I look at the new wheels on your car, I contemplate stealing the idea. Heck, you'll never know, right?)

 

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/471/handsfree.jpg"></center><p>what's wrong with driving a high-tech car and using a rubber band to hold your cellphone to your head for true handsfree operation?

 

LOL Thats great Jee!


greenie 6625


04 A8L silver/sabre

 

Good ideas are meant to be copied! Have at it XZLR8!

By the way, one correction to your last mail: you CAN enter PIN codes etc. while the phone is in the cradle, you just have to lift the armrest, flip open the phone, wrench your arm around, and take your eyes off the road! Easy! But in any case, no need to remove the phone from the cradle...just voice dial your number, then, once connected, dial your PIN with the phone in the cradle.

 

But can you get it in Silver? Who wants a sabre phone?