I am looking to buy March-April. Favoring the TSX over TL. One feature of TL I really love is the Bluetooth phone system. Is there an aftermarket kit that can be used with TSX?

 

I'm not aware of one made by Honda.

But if the only reason you want a TL is to answer your phone, you could have a professional craddle installed allowing you to dock your cell phone near the radio. We get these installed on our company cars all the time.

It costs a few hundred at most and looks very good. I'd definately do this over spending thousands on a TL. It's not "bluetooth" cool but blue tooth for the phone alone seams silly. Now if iPods/MP3 players went bluetooth one day that would be more useful, in addition to the phone.

I'd choose a TL for being a TL not just for bluetooth.

 

I have Bluetooth on my Powerbook and on various other peripherals that I own. Joining them is hit or miss. And I've read the same complaint on the TL forums; various phones won't join, or when they do, certain functions don't work. I really wouldn't make it a deciding factor at this point in its development.

 

Yes there are 2 or 3 bluetooth Kits out.

Parrot, Sony Erickson, & Nokia all make bluetooth kits. Do google searches and you should be able to find some results. The Parrot one has an external display for caller ID info. I have the nokia one and it works great! I don't have a display, but i have my friends organized by differrent ring tones, so most of the time I know who's calling without taking the phone out of my pocket.

Hope this helps!

 

imho, it will depend on what functionality you want, and I think that as more developers joing the Bluetooth SIG, you will be getting increased advances in Bluetooth technology that may render what the TL has obsolete. If you just want the ability to dial and talk in a handfrees environment, then as Tsx536 said, there are a number of universal kits available:
http://www.bluetooth.com/products/pr...AT=ALL&CAT2=27

 

There are plenty of 3rd party bluetooth car kits available (check out expansys for a good list). The only things you are not going to be able to do very easily is getting the stereo to mute when the call comes in, or for using the stereo speakers for the audio output.

I'm considering the Parrot CK-3000/3100 and Sony-Ericsson HCB-30. The Nokia seems reliable, but older as not as slick. I'm still trying to learn more about them.

Jon

 

I've been researching on these bluetooth devices. In my opinion, Parrot product is the best. I have not purchase them yet because Sprint has come out with the device that I'm looking for. But the difference between parrot and others is parrot can be hooked to the car speakers while others can only hooked to 1 speaker only. Again I know this by looking the diagram. I haven't install them myself yet.

 

Foolioness,

Be careful. My understanding is that the Parrot is designed specifically for European-style ISO stereo connectors. And, let's just say, the TSX is anything but easy behind the stereo (esp. if you have NAVI). To my knowledge, it's not an ISO stereo, which means you'll be splicing and dicing the Parrot unit to get it working with the TSX stereo (if it's even possible -- I would definitely search the now-centralized [ugh] "off topic "Audio & Video section of this board to find out if anyone else has successfully installed a Parrot in a TSX).

I've also read that the Parrots are more noisy and are prone to more drop-offs than other units. But who knows if I'm getting the right info?

Are you looking at the CK-3000 or the CK-3100?

Jon

 

DARN it!!! I just ordered the Parrot CK 3000 just this past Friday. I did some research on it and it received positive reviews. But I'm not positive if the review is for the US or European cars. On the positive note, I took a risk when I ordered the CK 3000. IT seems a bit too late to back out. The only thing to do now is to move forward and install that sucker. I will keep you posted on it. But thank you for your feedback Jon.

 

No worries! I highly recommend you test it to make sure it works the way you want before it's fully installed. They will not take returns if it's been installed. Do you plan on installing yourlsef, or having someone install it for you?

I hope it does work for you, and you can provide a full review for us on:

1. The CK3000 itself
2. How easy/hard/impossible/possible the installation was for the TSX

Maybe you'll finally put some rumors to sleep, once and for all.

Jon

 

I want to see if I can install it myself. Worst case scenario, I'll spend $$ to install. Ans yes I will give review on this puppy.