BleuM&M

The 3GS release date is 6/19. If you haven't seen a demo, check this out:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/guidedtour/

It will be really interesting to see how this unit melds with our Tech system. I'm down to have one delivered to me on 6/19, but I may wait a few days before swapping it out with my 1st gen iPhone.

Let's post our experiences with how the 3GS works with the TL Tech package. No vapor comments (you don't have a 3GS, TL or either), please!

There are strong opinions all over about various smart phones and service providers - that isn't the point of this thread - it's about how to get the most from our TLs with the 3GS paired via Bluetooth, tethered with USB or both.

I hope the MODS will do their usual excellent work in keeping this thread lean & clean.

Let the discussion begin!

~Bleu

islandlife

Hey there just letting you all know i have the 3.0 iphone software and it works great.

buckvegas

I have a 3G-S coming on the 19th as well, planning on pairing it when it arrives.

BleuM&M

It works GREAT when using Bluetooth for voice dial and choosing songs. Not so much when it's hooked via USB, only the voice dial works well.

When using voice dial through USB or Bluetooth, I still have to select HFL on the iPhone when the call starts. I was hoping HFL would connect as soon as the phone activated but no such luck.

BleuM&M

The stereo Bluetooth is really, really good. Using that allows you to access music via your iPod menu options rather than the retardo Acura USB interface. C'mon guys, right now I have 1016 songs and 302 artists - you expect me to SCROLL six at a time through the whole list, starting with A each time, each song, each artist? Oh, and wait while the list populates? Where is the, you know, Advance?? Looking for some user-friendly updates there. Whining Off.

I rip all my music at the highest possible bitrate or in Apple Lossless. Doing a Bluetooth/USB comparison, the Bluetooth quality is up there, but I need to spend some critical listening time to hear if Bluetooth is as good as USB.

buckvegas

I agree I was amazed with the quality of the bluetooh audio. It is also a pain that you cant scroll on the Nav screen in bluetooth mode.

PaulNY

It'd be nice if acura had made the audio screen like the phonebook screen for example, where you tap the toggle to the left and right to go from A-C D-F so on so forth....but yeah, the BT audio sounds great, totally pleased

BleuM&M

*BING*BING*BING*

RoyalBlue is on it! Hey Acura, why not port that code over to the audio side? It would be consistent, more user-friendly, and advance from blah to great!

I'm with Buck & Royal - the Bluetooth sound is outstanding, especially when run through Dolby PLII. Next-best to DVD-A. Acura smacked that one out of the park. Screw CDs and the HDD burner.

Anyone have a hack to load the HDD with wallpaper?

PaulNY

Either I'm crazy or the BT Handsfree link sounds a lot crisper and cleaner and I dont have to crank the volume up nearly as loud with my new 3GS...still not happy about the HFL not connecting automatically when dialing from phone (have to toggle back and forth, had some problem with 3g) but still happy...didnt try BT audio yet with it, but regular dock connector worked fine...the usual "unplayable file" at first like my 3G with 3.0, but then second time worked great

Olu

It's not your imagination. I mentioned this in another thread. Call quality is drastically improved. I think it's a result of the 3.0 update to stereo bluetooth. Bluetooth stereo is already set up if your phone is synced to the TL. Just press the HDD/Aux button until you hit bluetooth audio and it should start playing.

Sphyrna

How do you guys work your iPhone with Bluetooth Audio? I just got my TL today. I have my iPhone 3G with 3.0 OS paired. When I go to Bluetooth Audio it just plays whatever is playing on my iPhone. None of the commands work (Bluetooth Audio Pause, Bluetooth Audio Skip Forward, etc). So I have sound coming through Bluetooth Audio but no control over the ipod.

PaulNY

play/pause works for me from the main screen of the TL, but none of the other controls are supposed work, the car is basically acting as a pair of headphones..its not meant for control, much like an AUX cable

BleuM&M

I can't hear a bit of difference. I use Apple Lossless for import to my iTunes library and try not to download anything less than 256 kps from Apple or anywhere else. My CDs go in at a minimum 600 kps but usually in the 750-1000 kps range. I've done a bunch of A/B comparisons and have had other ears in the car also. Once they get over how they've never heard (or felt) sound like that in a car, or maybe even anywhere, the ears agree.

Hands-down, Bluetooth wins because of the Voice Control, Apple playlist user interface and iPod Touch features that throw the Acura USB interface back onto the trailer. BTW, other devices like my GF's iPod Classic only work via USB and that Acura thing, but at least she gets a really nice chromey Acura sigil on her iPod screen.

That being said, it's useful to tether the USB to charge the iPhone. This can be done while still using Bluetooth control by simply plugging in the USB tether while both the iPhone and Acura sound are in Bluetooth mode.

BUT, that will only work if neither the iPhone or the Acura deck has been in USB or docking mode without being restarted, i.e., turn off and restart both the car and iPhone minus the USB tether and select Bluetooth mode for both.

I've read our resident friend and AV expert bmode's issues with his Acura and 3G. Hopefully this post might help some.

I had my 3GS linked via Bluetooth, then plugged in the USB. Still had total control via Bluetooth. Then I switched the Acura deck from Bluetooth to USB and got the message "Unplayable file". Next I touched the Hands-free link Bluetooth icon on the iPhone and a pop-up gave me the choice between Bluetooth and dataport. When I touched dataport, after a few moments the Acura deck docked and began playing from the iPhone. I also got to enjoy the wonderful Acura/iPod GUI. Ahh, no thanks.

Once that happened, the only way I could go back to Bluetooth on the iPhone was to unplug the USB and select Bluetooth on both devices. Even in Bluetooth mode, if I plugged the USB in again it would default to the dataport connection. To break that default, I had to restart both the car and iPhone, USB unplugged.

bmode, I'm not sure what you wanted to accomplish with a simultaneous USB/Bluetooth connection, so if none of this works for you, you're right about Apple dropping the ball on 3G owners. The 3.xx upgrades made no difference with my 3GS's functionality with the TL. I do note that my Notepad app still crashes as it did from Day One.

For those of you who made it this far, now for a treat: if you've seen any of those Lincoln adverts on TV and heard the music through decent speakers, you've been listening to Shia, Shiny Toy Guns and The Crystal Method. You can download that music (free, all but 1 at 320 kps) from:

http://www.lincoln.com/extras/tvads.asp

Just click on the ad and click the download song button at the bottom of the video. You Will Not Be Disappointed. Smokin' hot through TL Tech sound. Thank you Lincoln!

BleuM&M

I forgot to add: the album art also downloads with those songs. Nice.

Khash

Can you navigate the iPhone/iPod using the car's audio controls?

BleuM&M

You can only if it's tethered via USB, you select Hands-Free link on the iPhone and you use the Acura USB port. Even then you're restricted to the playlists on the iPhone, then scrolling through every single song by title or artist.

Samba

This is a very useful thread to find 3Gs info.

I am considering getting a new 3Gs iPhone. I have a couple of questions to ask. I hope some of you may have the answers. Thanks.

1) Do you find any issue importing the 3Gs phonebook into the TL HFL system? Does it group multiple phone numbers associated with the same person under one name with difference phone types?

I imported the phonebook from my Razr V3c. I ended up with multiple individual phone entries with the same name listed separately in the TL phonebook. It did not indicate if they were cell phone number, office number etc.

2) BleuM&M mentioned that one has to select HFL on the iPhone each time a call starts. Does it mean that I can't use the TL HFL buttons to call out or answer call?

Samba

dtc5

^
1) the phone book groups different phone numbers from same name together. Once you highlight the name, you can go in and select which number you want to call.

2) Not sure what you question is asking. If you use bluetooth audio on the iPhone you can listen to music and make phone calls or answer calls. The music pauses when phone is in use.

BleuM&M

If you make a call from your iPhone, you will have to select HFL on the iPhone once the connection is made. Incoming calls can be answered via HFL buttons. During a call, you can toggle between HFL and iPhone modes using the iPhone controls.

I haven't found a way to play visual voicemail messages through HFL. While the option shows on the iPhone, it doesn't work for me - only choices are iPhone speaker or earpiece.

George Knighton

Several people seemed to be telling me that if I wanted to solve the issues I was having with my Nokia E71-2's relationship with my Acura, I should just buy an iPhone 3G-S and be done with it.

Although I can see that some of you want to have more operability than is easily obtained with the relationship, I have to say that the iPhone has 100% solved the problems that I had with HFL. I'm sure I'll find something to complain about eventually (and the battery life is horrible), I'm delighted to have been able to sync the contacts with the car and make 100% reliable phone calls with a 100% reliable Bluetooth link.

:-)

BleuM&M

I hope your 3GS works well for you, George!

I found that my battery charge lasted much longer when I turned of the push/fetch features in the email, location services and WiFi.

George Knighton

Doing great so far, thank you!

Biggest shock was this morning.

I decided to jailbreak it for tethering so the car would use the tiny bit of data automatically.

When I turned the phone on this morning it started in recovery mode!!

Hooked up to iTunes and of course everything restored including contacts and personal settings...but with tethering removed.

:-)

Evidently I'm just not supposed to do that.

George Knighton

Just in case anybody else is a phone-control-freak, the latest 3GS can be jailbroken.

The Apple attempt to thwart jailbreaking is with the latest 3GS that is a combination of firmware 3.1.2 and modemware 05.11.07. You can check this in your Settings/General/About window.

The traditional jailbreak routine using blackra1n will work, but if you've never done it before, you think that it's not working. You just tether your phone to your computer, run blackra1n from the computer...and then just sit back and do nothing until the phone comes back up.

iTunes will try to warn you that the phone is in recovery and you need to restore. <--Ignore iTunes and just sit there.

Let the phone and blackra1n do what they want to do. Your device will probably re-start twice, and the iTunes warning will eventually go away.

At this point your phone is jailbroken.

Do not run blacksn0w for tethering. Do not run blacksn0w for any reason. There are two problems.

• Blacksn0w will break the Bluetooth DUN and you will start mysteriously losing your signal for no apparent reason.
• Blacksn0w will not allow you to tether data with your Acura 4G TL Tech anyway, so there is no point.

You can install Cydia and Rock from the blackra1n menu to get the various jailbroken apps that you want.

There are no side effects but one:

If you turn the 3GS off for any reason, or you let the battery run down to the point that the phone shuts off, you will have to hook your 3GS back to the computer on which you downloaded blackra1n and run blackra1n again.

After going through this, the phone will start up again just as it was when you powered it off.

I have been running the jailbroken 3GS since the day after my last post in this thread, and there are no ill effects other than having to remember not to let the phone power off if I am not near one of my personal computers.

:-)

flyinghigh82

Did you have any luck pairing your 3GS ?

George Knighton

Yes. Paired perfectly. Phone calls work 100% of the time.

The iPod function works, and you can charge the phone and play music through the USB.

The Bluetooth Audio also works well and sounds great.

Phone book transferred to the car easily.

It will not talk to the Acura Server, even with data turned on. I can tether to computers if I want, but it will not tether to the car to talk to the Acura Server.

The Nokia E71 talked to the Acura Server perfectly...but that was just about the only thing the E71 did well with the TL. :-)

The 3GS does everything else perfectly, so I don't mind calling to make a service appointment instead of letting the car do it.