(LIST!) Car decks that trig voice command
 

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.

Re: (LIST!) Car decks that trig 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.

yes! this has been driving me nuts, especially since the radio manufacturers don't seem to know what this is, when you ask them about a specific model.

> Decks that CAN activate VC:

I know the Pioneer FH8000-BT can do it. I had it in my old car (now totaled) - it worked superbly. It won't fit into the new one :-(

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

are you sure about this one? I'm looking at the manual and it talks about voice commands but it seems that these are commands *it* understands, as opposed to running Voicecommand on the phone itself and talking to the phone. Where in the manual did you find this? Are you any further along on this now - what did you end up getting and how do you like it? I have a Verizon HTC Imagio and I need a stereo that will talk to the voicecommand on the phone through the mic/speakers...

thanks!!

Mike

Re: (LIST!) Car decks that trig voice command
 

I have a Pioneer deh-P7000BT which also does VC. It has an IR remote which allows answering but I don't think you canVC with the remote.

Re: (LIST!) Car decks that trig voice command
 

ok cool. The description on the website said

"Transfer All Your Phonebook* Information and Numbers
Use with Phone Pairing to transfer your entire phonebook at a single time to the headunit, which can memorize up to 3600 different numbers: 400 persons x 3 contacts x 3 phone types (cell phone, home, office, etc.)."

which scared me because I *don't* want to be calling from the radio's phonebook - I want to use the phone's, which means letting it take commands into voicecommand from the microphone.

does it automatically connect when you get into the car without having to unlock/wake up/take out your phone?

Mike

Re: (LIST!) Car decks that trig voice command
 

you can have phonebook transfered it you want to,but youdon't need to. For VC, just select "phone" as a source and then hold down the "band" button on the radio for 3 sec. Then say call "name of your contact".

It works w/ any phone wl voice activated dialing. It really does trigger the VC feature since you can also say "play music". Problem is that Vc only works when you Select "phone" as your source. So then you then have to manually switch source from phone back to bluetooth to hear the music stream from phone if your BT music source also happens to be your phone,else the music just play over phone speaker. It does however autoswitch back to your initial music source if you were answering a call while listening to that source

I pair my TP as phone source and my UMPC as the bluetooth music source. So the above problem is not as much of issue.

After you pair your devices, everything automatically connect when you put key in ignition. your phone of course has to be in standby and not completely shut down. No need to take it out of pocket :)