bturkel

I have been told that in the fall a device called the Bluetooth Controller will be available for the E60 series - this i sa cheaper and more efficent way to add Bluetooth to any vehicle that curenntly is not Bluetooth enabled.

Doctor Diesel

Any further info???

DD

bturkel

All he told me - it is a device that fits where the orginal CPT900 would have gone - it intergrates totally with the Idrive sytem - I was going to buy a newx TCU he told me to wait.

wnrussell

Sounds like a Bluetooth module / cradle that goes in where the CPT9000 was, so you can use any approved Bluetooth enabled phone.

Very feasible idea. A Belkin Bluetooth adapter will Bluetooth enable any computer for about $29.

sundstrom

this would be nice to have vs. the $1800 TCU upgrade necessary to put bluetooth in my 530i. who is the "he" that you're talking about? dealer? BMWNA?

adwebinc

Does anyone have any further details on this solution?

UUronL

It would be even nicer if it had its own embedded GSM phone that supported the bluetooth SAP profile. This would allow it to read the SIM card info off your normal phone - virtually moving the SIM card from your handset to this hard-wired component. All subsequent calls received or dialed would happen to and from the car's phone. No more battery or signal worries and you can still keep your phone in a pocket or bag. Handset components are so inexpensive these days BMW would be stupid not to do this IMO.

jeff_s

I don't think a GSM radio in the "Bluetooth bridge" would be a good solution. How would you prevent both the handset and the bridge from registering with the network? Also, only a portion of the users have GSM-based services. I think a simple bridge that appears as a V60 to the car but speaks Bluetooth to the "real" handset would be great.

Two problems seem pretty big though:
1. No Bluetooth control would be visible via iDrive. The bridge would have to take care of the registering handshake with the real phone, thus it would need a small screen and its own means of entering the key.

2. The development costs are unlikely to be amortized over the relatively small base of people who have E60s manufactured before March 2004. The device would probably work for E65 7-Series that never had Bluetooth support though and it might help.

I've tried to get a new TCU in my car and had negotiated a price with my dealer. When he tried to do the work the tech found that the car was missing part of the wiring harness needed to hook up to the in-car Bluetooth antenna under the parcel shelf and couldn't do it. I've asked about making a small harness with the right connectors as it's a really short run from the TCU to the shelf, but haven't found anyone with access to the info (and connectors) to help.

UUronL

Well, the PAM profile takes care determining which phone registers, etc... It's part of a spec that manufacturers can code to. It's coming, and to be honest - after living with the bluetooth system, I'm convinced it's the way to go. My phone is constantly on a charger due to the huge power suck associated with the Phone Book Access profile. Signal strength isn't so hot either. Forgetting about the Bluetooth Controller for a moment - I'd almost rather pay to have a fully-integrated GSM phone installed that can access the SIM on the phone in my pocket than pay for a cradle I have to swap out with each newly-purchased phone.

You're right that GSM isn't ubiquitous (in the US) but it's getting there. I personally use GSM, but if I didn't - I could see this sort of thing as reason enough to switch.