BT Cell phone using Car Speakers?

[jwang07]

I recently purchased my TomTom720 from amazon. They claimed that you can use the car speakers to listen to the people that you talk to on your BT cell phone. I do know how to play MP3's over the car speaker using the FM transmitter. Obviously the microphone is on the TomTom, but is it true that you can listen to other people using the car speakers instead of the speaker on the TomTom? And if it is true...how do you set that up?

 

[JCP]

If i am not mistaking, you have to connect your TT with your cel phone using BT connection. When this is establish, go to preference and setup the speaker preference to use the handfree over your fm station.

 

[canderson]

I recently purchased my TomTom720 from amazon. They claimed that you can use the car speakers to listen to the people that you talk to on your BT cell phone. I do know how to play MP3's over the car speaker using the FM transmitter. Obviously the microphone is on the TomTom, but is it true that you can listen to other people using the car speakers instead of the speaker on the TomTom? And if it is true...how do you set that up?

If you figure it out, let ME know! Just purchased a 720, too, and while I can get directions through the FM, I see NO option for getting the audio from the phone's BT connection through the 720. The built-in speaker just isn't getting the job done for hands-free.

 

[canderson]

If i am not mistaking, you have to connect your TT with your cel phone using BT connection. When this is establish, go to preference and setup the speaker preference to use the handfree over your fm station.

So one would think, but there's no option to be found in "Speaker Preference" that allows the direction of the hands-free audio -- at least not on my 720 -- only the MP3 and directions. The BT connection is there and being made, but the audio insists on coming out of the 720's internal speaker.

 

[canderson]

So one would think, but there's no option to be found in "Speaker Preference" that allows the direction of the hands-free audio -- at least not on my 720 -- only the MP3 and directions. The BT connection is there and being made, but the audio insists on coming out of the 720's internal speaker.

Specifically, the manual for the 720 states:


Using more than one speaker
You can select different speakers to be used for specific events, such as using
the internal speaker for TomTom GO instructions and external speakers for
hearing handsfree phone calls and listening to music.
? Internal speaker
? Bluetooth Hi-Fi device
? Line-out (audio cable)
? FM to your car radio


If this is true, it'd surely be nice to know where some of those options are hidden...

 

[jackcul]

Same problem here, everything works on FM and audio cable, except phone!

 

[canderson]

Same problem here, everything works on FM and audio cable, except phone!

Finally got through to TT tech support today. Guess there are a few lost users out there with their new toys from Christmas.

TT advises that the lack of hands-free audio via FM or hardwired to the car is a current deficiency, and they aim to get that corrected in a future software release.

Of technical note, and having never seen a TT unit of prior vintage that knew how to perform this function, I can imagine two possibilities that may have had TT engineering a bit busy sorting this feature out:

If this system is "full duplex" (both sides can talk more or less at the same time as is possible on higher end speaker phones), they need to add some fancy echo cancellation software to avoid the audio from the car speakers feeding back into the 720's microphone. If this system is "simplex" (only one side can talk at a time), they need to add some fancy software that will manage to avoid holding received audio in constant suspense in the presence of background (road and other) noise inside the vehicle. To do either especially well will require some tuning of the code to the acoustics peculiar to the 720's microphone/case and audio filtering, etc. Given the problems that such things can cause, I'd rather have them get it right if this is the issue that caused the delay.

 

[jackcul]

Thanks for the update, I guess we will all have to wait. Other than no BT through the car speakers, I do like my 720.