| Survey
of the best hands-free adaptors A recent survey by the Sunday Times (see the Driving Section 9 in the November 9th 2003 issue) produced the following list of adaptor kits and their ranking by the Sunday Times. The items below are selected from that survey. Acknowledgments are made to the Sunday Times and Dave Pollard for the text quoted below. Don't forget the hand-held mobile phone ban ccame in on 1st December 2003 so act now if you want to continue to have in-car mobile phone contact. (Updated 5.6.04) Hard-wired systems Halfords - Fully Integrated Car Phone System Halfords fit this hands-free kit to the car for you. It connects to the car stereo so caller's voices come through the speakers. A separate microphone is attached to the dashboard. The mobile phone is connected to the system automatically when placed in the cradle on the console. Rating out of 10: ease of use 9, value 9 o/a 9.0 £99.99 Halfords on 08457 626625 www.halfords.com The Bury Car Talk Like the Halfords system this is also hardwired to the car but rather than use the car stereo, the speaker comes separately and is hidden behind the dashboard. Rating out of 10: ease of use 9, value 7 o/a 8.0. £89.31 Axess on 01327 301090 www.axessinternational.com Plug and Go systems Pama Plug-N-Go Roadster Plugs straight into the cigar lighter and has an integrated speaker and phone cradle. This can be moved from car to car. Charges the phone too. Rating out of 10: ease of use 7, value 7 o/a 7.0. £59.99 Pama on 08707 531565 www.pama.co.uk Pama Plug-N-Go 4 The box containing the speaker sticks to the windscreen with rubber suction pads and bounces the sound off the screen, a technique that gives good sound volume. The microphone comes separately and can be clipped wherever is convenient. The kit is easy to move from car to car. Rating out of 10: ease of use 8, value 8 o/a 8.0. £100.00 Pama on 08707 531565 www.pama.co.uk Mr Handsfree A black box containing the speaker sits on the dashboard and you connect your phone to it. It is powered from the cigar lighter. Rating out of 10: ease of use 8, value 8 o/a 8.0. £76.49 In Car Technologies on 01730 710351 www.incartec.co.uk |
Bluetooth systems Parrot CK3000 kit A Bluetooth system that is hardwired to the car. All you see is a secret speaker and a dashboard button. Your mobile phone needs to have a Bluetooth capability. Rating out of 10: ease of use 8, value 7 o/a 7.5. £112.59 Axess on 01327 301090 www.axessinternational.com Bluetooth Jabra Freespeak 250 Jabra's Bluetooth Freespeak models are very popular. The 250 version comprises a compact earpiece that is comfortable to wear and gives good sound quality. Bluetooth technology means it connects wirelessly to your mobile phone and its lithium ion batteries mean that it can go long periods without being recharged. Rating out of 10: ease of use 8, value 9 o/a 8.5. £79.99 Jabra on 01784 220179 www.jabra.com Mobile phone holder? With all these hands free systems you will need to check the kit has a mobile phone holder which is suitable for your V8. Most V8 enthusiasts will not want a holder which permanently fixed by way of a bracket or adhesive pad so it was with some relief we found Halfords are offering a Suction Pad Mobile Phone Holder for only £14.99 including VAT online from Halfords (delivery extra). (2.2.05) Halford's Suction Pad Mobile Phone Holder Pama Plug-N-Go Halfords small catalogue offers the Pama Plug-N-Go from £29.99 to £59.99 so they will be worth checking out - at least you will be able to go to one of their branches and inspect the device before buying one! Feedback is very welcome on hands-free systems you have found work Do let us have any information you have on hands-free adaptors you have found a good for either ordinary cars or MGV8s! Send any comments to: v8registrar((atat))v8register.net Links to other webpages Mobile1 - new mobile phone law Mobile2 - survey of handsfree kit Mobile3 - Clip-N-Go option Mobile4 - V8 mobile phone option Mobile5 - Bluetooth mobile phone option Mobile 6 - Improved Plantronics headset Mobile 7 - M2300 "best buy" |