Who's synched a Cingular Samsung SYNC SGH-a707 or a Cingular LG CU500?
 

I realize this is an X5 forum, but I'm sure BMW shares Bluetooth stack/implementation among models. Besides, I've already asked in Cingular forums, HowardForums and BimmerFest with no success.

Father just bought a new 335i sedan (which, by the way, is AWESOME!) and upgraded both his and my mother's Motorola V551's at the local Cingular store. They got a Samsung SYNC SGH-a707 and an LG CU500, because they are both 3G (UMTS/HSDPA) phones with pretty nice cameras.

Both phones connect to the car's Bluetooth system, are able to receive calls and make calls, but you have to dial either on the phone or the number manually on the car, because --and here's the problem-- THE ADDRESS BOOKS DO NOT SYNCHRONIZE. :(

From reading other forums, it seems the BMW Bluetooth is pretty picky when it comes to devices. If I check their official list of supported devices, I can see it's very outdated. There's nothing there that was released in the last 6 months, at least. :thumbdwn:

Does anyone else have any experience with these phones on their BMW? If so, have you been able to make it work? If not, they will have to return the phones. Returning the car, as someone in HowardForums suggested is not an option. :rofl:

TIA!

This is a typical issue with new phones and BMW. For the most part it's trial and error but i hope someone has an answer for you. Sometime what happes though is phones have 2 places to store numbers. Either the regular phone list or a place called speed dial. Sometime numbers need to placed in speed dial for BMW to see it and download. At least thats the way it is with mine.

BT Phones must have certain profile (I can't recall the name) among the bluetooth functions in order for them to download the addresses into the BMW module. Some phones have this profile, some don't. "Handsfree," for example, is a bluetooth profile. All BT phones have it, that is why most phones work with any BT enabled car.

If your phones are not downloading the address book, most likely they do not have this profile (man, I wish I could remember the name!).

From the pics, the both look like pretty standard flip phones. Cingular has a few that work well. Now, HERE'S A HEADS UP! -- Make sure you get a smart phone. If you don't, the phone (like the Razr) will not display the phone numbers correctly in the BMW screen.

Smart Phone:
John Smith (H) -- 210-555-1212
John Smith (M) -- 210-444-2222

Non-Smart Phone
John Smith (?) -- 210-555-1212
John Smith (?) -- 210-444-2222

With a phone that is not a smart phone you are forced to save names including their location (like "John Smith Home") in order to be able to tell the difference between locations in the BMW screen.

Good luck!

Jose

These are the supported Bluetooth profiles of...

Motorola RAZR V3, which is fully compatible with the BMW Bluetooth:
HSP, HFP, DUN, OPP, FTP
Bluetooth version 1.1 / class 1 (long-range)

Samsung SYNC SGH-a707:
HFP, HSP, DUN, FTP, OPP, A2DP, AVRC, BPP
Bluetooth version 2.0 + EDR / supports FTP-client

LG CU500:
HSP, HFP, DUN, OPP, FTP, A2DP, AVRC
Bluetooth version 1.1

So both the Samsung and LG support the same profiles the Motorola does and more. I am not sure it's a matter of missing profiles, but compatibility. :dunno:

Funny that you mention Smartphones. I've recommended that my dad trade at least one of these phones for the Cingular 3125. I've read quite a few posts of people who have been able to fully synch their phone book with their BMW's. Unfortunately, the 3125 is not a 3G phone, like the other two. :thumbdown