Bluetooth Blues
 

I retired my V551 Motorola phone and purchased a new Windows Mobile Smartphone (Audiovox SMT5600) so that I can better synch with my happenings at work. The problem is that it doesn't work worth a crap now with BMW's Bluetooth system. I can get through the device registration but that's it. No address book, can't make or receive calls (although I've been told that calls go sometimes but I don't hear a dial tone or response from the system.)

I have a 2005 X5 4.4i and had no problems with the V551. I also had a V600 for a while that also worked fine. I know that the Audiovox isn't on the "list" from BMW but what's up with their Bluetooth system? The phone works fine with Bluetooth headsets, including Motorola ones and Bluetooth is supposed to be a "standard."

Can anyone shed some light on this? Is BMW planning any upgrades so that it works with more phones?

Bluetooth is not "a standard", unfortunately. There are at least two such standards (1.1, 1.2), and there is much variability as to the compliance with the standards. That is one reason why BMW has a list of phones that they have tested and know will work. It is not so much a problem with BMW, as it is with phones.

That might be but BMW is doing something different than what the headset suppliers are doing. My phone works fine with Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Jabra, Plantronics (cuz I tried them all) but not the car. At least being able to dial and receive calls should be basic. I can give way to the address book.

It's not BMW, it's Microsoft. They use their version of the Bluetooth stack, not the Widcomm stack which is the industry standard. As such, the OBEX push will not work correctly on the MS BT stack which is what is needed for the address book transfer.

This may answer some of your questions re: Bluetooth. Basically it's a new technology thats still under development. As usual the involved parties are fighting over how to set standards and not thinking about the bigger picture.

http://www.broadcom.com/products/bluetooth_faq.php#A60

I updated my SMT5600 to Window Mobile 5.0 with the security pack update and it fixed the problem. incoming and outgoing calls work as well as the address book. The only thing I found that still doesn't work right is the signal strenth but I don't care about that since it's an irrelavent feature anyhow (I'm always on nav or computer.)