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Purchased my 2010 Accord Sedan just under a year ago. At the time I had a Blackberry phone and used an iPod Touch for music and listening to Podcasts, etc. While I was searching for an iPod integration solution, I made the jump to an HTC Incredible Android phone. I loved the phone, especially because it allowed me to consolidate to carrying one device around for communication and entertainment.
The one thing I don't like about the phone is that the power plug is on one side, and the headphone input is on the top. Having those two things plugged in with the phone sitting in the cup holder was a hot mess of wires.
I have an aftermarket headunit in my Subaru that handles bluetooth calls and A2DP wireless audio as well. Android pairs perfectly with that unit. I love the HandsFreeLink (HFL) in the Honda, so I went in search of an A2DP solution that I could plug in to the center console, thus eliminating that extra wire.
There are various kits on the market that turn your AUX port in to a Bluetooth Wireless connection. It took me three tests to get to the right one . . .
Here are my test subjects and some notes on each. In order of worst to best:
1. Scosche MotorMOUTH Car Kit - This unit was immediately presented an annoying limitation. You have to power the unit on manually every time you want to use it (3 second button press in the center console. no way!). I was able to tell the Android bluetooth stack to only use it for A2DP (Music) audio and ignore the built in call handling feature. The Honda HFL and Scosche unit had no real trouble both pairing with the phone. This is because by the time you reach in to the console and power it on, the HFL is connected. You'll see why this seems to matter in the next review. Overall the unit had a loud and clear gain setting and music sounded really nice.
2. Kensington LiquidAUX - This unit had the most potential, but just fell short of making the final cut because of connection confusion. The first selling point for purchasing . . . the LiquidAUX automatically powers up when the car is turned on! It also has a bulit in USB port for charging a device, and even a little remote control for navigating and play/pause of tracks. I told my Android to ignore the phone handling capabilities of this device and only use it for music. It worked!! The unit semeed promising until I noticed the critical flaw. The device would only connect successfully to my Android 20% of the time. Then, other weeks it would connect 60% of the time. The pattern I ultimately noticed is that the HFL and LiquidAUX would fight to connect to the Android Bluetooth stack at the same time and often the LiquidAUX would lose. From there, the Android would be unable to connect to the LiquidAUX unless I held the bluetooth button on the device to put it in to searching mode. Sometimes I could disconnect HFL and initiate the connection from the phone and then reconnect HFL, but what a pain!! Overall, the gain on this device was much lower and required cranking my factory unit way up. The remote was a really handy touch and fits nicely in the little pocket to the left of the steering wheel. I ended up giving this unit to a friend who has a 2009 accord and an iPhone so he can test. I'll post his results when he lets me know. Back to google for more searching . . .
3. Blackberry Bluetooth Gateway - I ended up getting this device as a last resort and so far it has been a success. It powers up automatically and doesn't seem to fight the HFL over who gets to connect to Bluetooth first. It seems like this device either connects faster than the Liquid or maybe it has a longer connection timeout and will keep trying after the HFL connects. Since it doesn't have any calling capabilities (which I don't want), that is one less thing to have to worry about getting in the way. The sound level and crispness is the best of the bunch, if bordering on a little too much gain. I miss the remote control from the Liquid, but made up for it by enabling volume rocker playback controls in my PlayerPro MP3 app. I've only had the BB gateway for a few days now, but it has been a solid performer so far.
Anyway . . . I wanted to pass this info along in case anyone else finds themselves wandering around the Bluetooth device wasteland looking for a solution. I spent quite some time testing and troubleshooting . . . going back and forth, placing blame on the phone, the devices, HFL. Hope this helps anyone else in the same situation! :wave: :banana:
The one thing I don't like about the phone is that the power plug is on one side, and the headphone input is on the top. Having those two things plugged in with the phone sitting in the cup holder was a hot mess of wires.
I have an aftermarket headunit in my Subaru that handles bluetooth calls and A2DP wireless audio as well. Android pairs perfectly with that unit. I love the HandsFreeLink (HFL) in the Honda, so I went in search of an A2DP solution that I could plug in to the center console, thus eliminating that extra wire.
There are various kits on the market that turn your AUX port in to a Bluetooth Wireless connection. It took me three tests to get to the right one . . .
Here are my test subjects and some notes on each. In order of worst to best:
1. Scosche MotorMOUTH Car Kit - This unit was immediately presented an annoying limitation. You have to power the unit on manually every time you want to use it (3 second button press in the center console. no way!). I was able to tell the Android bluetooth stack to only use it for A2DP (Music) audio and ignore the built in call handling feature. The Honda HFL and Scosche unit had no real trouble both pairing with the phone. This is because by the time you reach in to the console and power it on, the HFL is connected. You'll see why this seems to matter in the next review. Overall the unit had a loud and clear gain setting and music sounded really nice.
2. Kensington LiquidAUX - This unit had the most potential, but just fell short of making the final cut because of connection confusion. The first selling point for purchasing . . . the LiquidAUX automatically powers up when the car is turned on! It also has a bulit in USB port for charging a device, and even a little remote control for navigating and play/pause of tracks. I told my Android to ignore the phone handling capabilities of this device and only use it for music. It worked!! The unit semeed promising until I noticed the critical flaw. The device would only connect successfully to my Android 20% of the time. Then, other weeks it would connect 60% of the time. The pattern I ultimately noticed is that the HFL and LiquidAUX would fight to connect to the Android Bluetooth stack at the same time and often the LiquidAUX would lose. From there, the Android would be unable to connect to the LiquidAUX unless I held the bluetooth button on the device to put it in to searching mode. Sometimes I could disconnect HFL and initiate the connection from the phone and then reconnect HFL, but what a pain!! Overall, the gain on this device was much lower and required cranking my factory unit way up. The remote was a really handy touch and fits nicely in the little pocket to the left of the steering wheel. I ended up giving this unit to a friend who has a 2009 accord and an iPhone so he can test. I'll post his results when he lets me know. Back to google for more searching . . .
3. Blackberry Bluetooth Gateway - I ended up getting this device as a last resort and so far it has been a success. It powers up automatically and doesn't seem to fight the HFL over who gets to connect to Bluetooth first. It seems like this device either connects faster than the Liquid or maybe it has a longer connection timeout and will keep trying after the HFL connects. Since it doesn't have any calling capabilities (which I don't want), that is one less thing to have to worry about getting in the way. The sound level and crispness is the best of the bunch, if bordering on a little too much gain. I miss the remote control from the Liquid, but made up for it by enabling volume rocker playback controls in my PlayerPro MP3 app. I've only had the BB gateway for a few days now, but it has been a solid performer so far.
Anyway . . . I wanted to pass this info along in case anyone else finds themselves wandering around the Bluetooth device wasteland looking for a solution. I spent quite some time testing and troubleshooting . . . going back and forth, placing blame on the phone, the devices, HFL. Hope this helps anyone else in the same situation! :wave: :banana:
