Want bluetooth audio streaming?
07-07-2012, 02:43 AM
#41
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My Ride: 07' BMW 550i
I HIGHLY recommend this jack: http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Techno...8936491&sr=1-1
I have had it for almost a year and it is perfect. It tucks away in the cigarette lighter and is out of sight and mind and everything works perfect as a stock BMW audio bluetooth system would. For phone calls it goes through the car and for music back through the aux in.
I have had it for almost a year and it is perfect. It tucks away in the cigarette lighter and is out of sight and mind and everything works perfect as a stock BMW audio bluetooth system would. For phone calls it goes through the car and for music back through the aux in.
07-07-2012, 03:01 AM
#42
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My Ride: Numero Uno in Richmond Va 04 530 6 speed, jet black, black dakota leather, xenons, red rear reflectors, 545 front grill, cold weather package, premium package, staggered 19 inch BBS rxII/michelins, H&R coilovers and intergrated, R1 concept drilled an
Model Year: 2004
Engine: 530i
So does this work without a aux? In other words can I plug the 3.5 into my phone pair the BB device to my car's bluetooth and stream away, or does it to use the aux and go the other way 
understand the concept but not the implementation.
understand the concept but not the implementation.
07-07-2012, 04:00 AM
#44
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No gaurantees. It sort of depends on the phone, whether or not your phone-bluetooth is paired natively with the car or through this, and the mood of the car. 
Usually, there is automatic pairing.
I am assuming you understand that this gateway can also take calls and route them to the speaker.
At one point of time, your phone will be connected to one device only (either CAR or this BB unit). The music will go mute and the car will come through that connected unit. You cannot mix and match and assume that just the music flows through the BB gateway and the call comes through the car's CCC natively.
The way I use it is to keep my phone natively paired with the car and a ipod touch lying around to play music through the bluetooth gateway.
Usually, there is automatic pairing.
I am assuming you understand that this gateway can also take calls and route them to the speaker.
At one point of time, your phone will be connected to one device only (either CAR or this BB unit). The music will go mute and the car will come through that connected unit. You cannot mix and match and assume that just the music flows through the BB gateway and the call comes through the car's CCC natively.
The way I use it is to keep my phone natively paired with the car and a ipod touch lying around to play music through the bluetooth gateway.
07-07-2012, 04:21 AM
#45
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I'm going to rip the radio/bt/ system out of my daughter's 2012 Prius. INSTANT BT Pairing and Auto-streaming audio from my Bionic ... via touch screen (better than my MotoBionic) without any complicated set-ups added steps etc etc etc ...
And that was STANDARD in a $26,000 (list price) car.
And that was STANDARD in a $26,000 (list price) car.
07-07-2012, 06:06 AM
#46
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My Ride: BMW 550i M Sport
Model Year: 2010
Engine: 4.8L V8
Thanks... I have an iPhone 4s, and it works beautifully through the car's native Bluetooth. When I have my phone plugged into the aux plug (with a wire), all works great. It manages a phone call very nicely. I don't want to disturb this. This device just replaces the cable right? I won't lose the functionality of the phone on the CCC?
Nate here, I'm the one that originally recommended this device on this thread and a couple others. I use it with the iPhone 4s too and it works flawlessly! Of course I have have the older model BB gateway but I'm sure this one works exactly the same if not better. It powers on/off with the car and music is automatically muted when a call comes thru. The call is routed to your cars Bluetooth and when the call is complete the music fades back on automatically. The iPhone is what makes this brilliant, I don't think it would be as cool if I had to keep switching back and forth between phone and iPod. The iPhone is all-in-one and makes it really simple and seamless. Enjoy bro!!
07-07-2012, 09:39 AM
#47
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Hey Jeff,
Nate here, I'm the one that originally recommended this device on this thread and a couple others. I use it with the iPhone 4s too and it works flawlessly! Of course I have have the older model BB gateway but I'm sure this one works exactly the same if not better. It powers on/off with the car and music is automatically muted when a call comes thru. The call is routed to your cars Bluetooth and when the call is complete the music fades back on automatically. The iPhone is what makes this brilliant, I don't think it would be as cool if I had to keep switching back and forth between phone and iPod. The iPhone is all-in-one and makes it really simple and seamless. Enjoy bro!!
Nate here, I'm the one that originally recommended this device on this thread and a couple others. I use it with the iPhone 4s too and it works flawlessly! Of course I have have the older model BB gateway but I'm sure this one works exactly the same if not better. It powers on/off with the car and music is automatically muted when a call comes thru. The call is routed to your cars Bluetooth and when the call is complete the music fades back on automatically. The iPhone is what makes this brilliant, I don't think it would be as cool if I had to keep switching back and forth between phone and iPod. The iPhone is all-in-one and makes it really simple and seamless. Enjoy bro!!
10-18-2012, 08:19 PM
#48
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My Ride: '08 535i Modified Cylinder Head, Stage 2 Cold Air intake, Slotted and dimpled rotors, pushing the 400HP envelope, 0-60 in about 4.5sec.
But you lose the factory "car phone" features right?
10-19-2012, 10:10 AM
#49
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No. The car to phone Bluetooth connection is separate from the iTunes/iPhone audio to Blackberry Audio Gateway Bluetooth connection. So, you can be listening to music from the iPhone and then receive a call on the iPhone and the BMW Bluetooth takes over and mutes the AUX jack input and switches in the phone call. It basically works like you think it should work.
10-19-2012, 10:37 AM
#50
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there's been quite a discussion on the various options at
Add A2DP Stereo Bluetooth to E90 via AUX Port - Page 5 - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum - E90Post.com
Have a read. I provided my 2 cents on the blackberry unit that I bought and returned, and then the belkin unit. Here's my take...
FYI... my impressions...
1) I bought and installed the Blackberry Music Gateway and was disappointed in the quality of the sound. It was certainly not up to the quality of the direct connection from an iphone 4s. The pros for it were good though; it connected/paired on it's own every time the car was turned on; It allowed phone calls to be handled directly by the car's bluetooth (which I preferred since it used the full speaker setup), and the voice commands for the car all worked seemlessly so it didn't disturb this in the car. Using my iphone's button, I can still use the "voice texting" of the iphone through the car's audio system (i.e. no involvement with the Blackberry unit - which is the way I prefer). HOWEVER, after living with it for a couple of weeks, I found the audio quality just not good enough. I returned it.
2) I bought the Belkin unit, and the music quality is much better. It's hard to tell the difference between the bluetooth connection and the wired connection. I've kept this unit due to the sound quality. There are a couple of Cons on the Belkin unit though. It doesn't pair automatically with the car being turned on. This hasn't bothered me, since it's a simple press of the button to pair it. The handling of voice commands in the car are indepedent - which is good. The volume on the head unit needs to be turned up higher through the Aux connection than through the normal radio/CD etc. This can cause some volume problems when switching. The only real problem I have with the Belkin unit is that when paired, it takes over from the iphone's voice control. If you use the Belkin "button" to command the iphone, it plays at a really high volume and is really distorted. It's really made the Belkin un-useable for "voice texting". My workaround, (and it's worked well now that I've become accustomed to it) is to "disconnect" the Belkin unit (by pressing it for a few seconds) and revert back to the normal car's operation with the iphone. After I'm done, I just power the Belkin unit back on by pressing it, and it's back to playing music nicely again. One added bonus of the Belkin unit that wasn't on the BB unit, is that when paired, it presents you with a "bing" through the car's audio when you receive messages or emails on the iphone. The BB unit didn't take over these connections when paired, so you could only hear them through the iphone speakers themselves.
Overall, the Belkin unit's my preferred approach due to the music quality. The BB unit had better integration features than the Belkin, but just didn't cut it on audio quality.
Add A2DP Stereo Bluetooth to E90 via AUX Port - Page 5 - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum - E90Post.com
Have a read. I provided my 2 cents on the blackberry unit that I bought and returned, and then the belkin unit. Here's my take...
FYI... my impressions...
1) I bought and installed the Blackberry Music Gateway and was disappointed in the quality of the sound. It was certainly not up to the quality of the direct connection from an iphone 4s. The pros for it were good though; it connected/paired on it's own every time the car was turned on; It allowed phone calls to be handled directly by the car's bluetooth (which I preferred since it used the full speaker setup), and the voice commands for the car all worked seemlessly so it didn't disturb this in the car. Using my iphone's button, I can still use the "voice texting" of the iphone through the car's audio system (i.e. no involvement with the Blackberry unit - which is the way I prefer). HOWEVER, after living with it for a couple of weeks, I found the audio quality just not good enough. I returned it.
2) I bought the Belkin unit, and the music quality is much better. It's hard to tell the difference between the bluetooth connection and the wired connection. I've kept this unit due to the sound quality. There are a couple of Cons on the Belkin unit though. It doesn't pair automatically with the car being turned on. This hasn't bothered me, since it's a simple press of the button to pair it. The handling of voice commands in the car are indepedent - which is good. The volume on the head unit needs to be turned up higher through the Aux connection than through the normal radio/CD etc. This can cause some volume problems when switching. The only real problem I have with the Belkin unit is that when paired, it takes over from the iphone's voice control. If you use the Belkin "button" to command the iphone, it plays at a really high volume and is really distorted. It's really made the Belkin un-useable for "voice texting". My workaround, (and it's worked well now that I've become accustomed to it) is to "disconnect" the Belkin unit (by pressing it for a few seconds) and revert back to the normal car's operation with the iphone. After I'm done, I just power the Belkin unit back on by pressing it, and it's back to playing music nicely again. One added bonus of the Belkin unit that wasn't on the BB unit, is that when paired, it presents you with a "bing" through the car's audio when you receive messages or emails on the iphone. The BB unit didn't take over these connections when paired, so you could only hear them through the iphone speakers themselves.
Overall, the Belkin unit's my preferred approach due to the music quality. The BB unit had better integration features than the Belkin, but just didn't cut it on audio quality.