[acslam]

Alright, so.....I'm on a quest for integration - need my Touch Pro to become my car PC system. A major part of this is reliable, consistent use of voice command.

Now I haven't been able to find in my travels a list of bluetooth enabled aftermarket car stereo decks that actually have the ability to trigger the voice command program in the phone, and then use the microphone from the car deck to pickup my voice for the command.

To complicate matters, it is dependent on which button you use - IE, if you press the voice command button on the phone itself, even though it is paired to a handsfree/headset device, the phone will only use it's own internal mic to pickup the commands, and the internal speaker to relay notifications. You actually have to trigger the VC from the deck itself, in order to use the mic mounted in the car.

So, in my quest for total car integration, I'm starting a list of decks which I absolutely know are capable of, or not capable of, activating the voice command of the phone in such a manner as to provide the voice input from the stereo's mic and NOT from the phone's internal mic.

Hopefully, this will help others out there in the same quest, although it might be a more generalized thing than just the touch pro. Also, if you have ANY information about a deck, please add to this list, and I'll add it to this top post.

Notes are very helpful as well - sometimes the function is possible, but tough to get to. With many cars having steering wheel controls from the factory, and adapters made to integrate those with aftermarket decks, this is a useful thing to know.

So, here's the (pathetic) beginning of my list, from the research I've done:

Decks that CAN activate VC:

Pioneer:

DEH-P6100BT (personally owned, also spoke w/their tech support) - can activate VC, but the function is buried under 2 seperate "press and hold" operations, and does not seem to be available from the remote control of any kind, thus no steering wheel activation. Works, but not a quick access.

DEH-P610BT - (checked online manual) - This is the "premier" version of the 6100, seems to work the in the same manner.

DEH-P7100BT (checked online manual, probably settling on this one myself) - This deck seems to have the same functions as the 6100 but seems to make the process of activating VC MUCH easier - from the user manual I gathered that the function is now available "globally", IE, from the point of listening to any source, and is also available as a button on the remote control. Also, this deck actually comes with a steering wheel mountable, RF-style remote control (awesome if you don't have them already), as well as a wired input for a PAC adapter on the rear.

DEH-P710BT - (checked online manual) Premier version of 7100.

Decks that CANNOT activate VC:

Kenwood:

KDC-BT742U (played with in store, also spoke with their tech support) - From the research I've done, it seems as if this model has it's own internal voice command system, IE, the deck will only allow you to record voice tags into the deck for specific phone numbers, and then simply tell the phone to dial those numbers after the deck itself has processed your voice.

KDC-x993 (spoke w/tech support)- Seems to be the same limitations as the 742 model above.

Dual:

XDVDN9131 - (personally owned) This deck has fairly limited bluetooth, and while the basic function of hands free calling works awesome, it cannot download the phonebook nor activate the phones voice commands. There are some quirks, too - like if you're listening to an aux source, and a call comes in, after the call, you have to manually switch the radio back to the source you were on before. The software on this unit leaves some things to be desired in the software department, but I actually liked the hardware. Also, I contacted Dual tech support and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they are actually based in the US (The tech support at least), down the road from me in MA, and that it is certainly possible to update the software in this unit, and traditionally they actually do release updates after the unit has been around for awhile. They also seemed to be very open to the idea of suggestions from consumers, and were willing to tell me that the unit does work on windows ce, and that there IS actually a way to boot to the windows CE desktop on this radio, as well as previous models. Overall, the hardware was awesome for the bucks, the tech support was willing to give me straight answers (I tried Kenwood and Pioneer tech support too.......they both were baffled by my questions to begin with) but the unit itself still needs software changes to be viable for this use.

Ok, that's the best I've been able to come up with so far - please, if you can help me add to this list, go for it!

I apologize for such a long rant, I'll try to edit it down over time.