Mobile tech: Stay in touch inside the car

PHOTO SUPPLIED

The Parrot Mki9200 is for those on a budget.

Michael Banovsky

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Gone are the days of wired-at-the-hip car phones. With an increasing need to stay connected, however, just how can you take calls while keeping your eyes on the road?

Here are four areas of current and future in-car tech, all of which should be a consideration in your next purchase.

The downside to all of this technobabble may be that the car – once the guarantee of freedom – may soon be the easiest way to find someone.

Bluetooth

Touted as the Holy Grail of mobile technology, it's clear that the capability is growing to meet most users' needs. Leaders in Bluetooth technology include Acura and BMW, which use it to import your phone book into the car's memory for future use. Acura also includes Zagat restaurant ratings in its navigation system; hitting "call" allows you to make reservations right from your car. However, connecting a phone may require a great deal of technological savvy, and call clarity is still being improved.

SIM

Carmakers like Porsche and Bentley provide slots in the dashboard for Subscriber Identity Modules, or SIM cards. They hold your phone book, text messages, and other data.

With this approach, your car becomes a very expensive cellphone. If you use your phone for business, why not set up call forwarding to your car's dedicated number? The downside: taking apart your phone to extract the card can be tedious.

Aftermarket

Don't have a new car or a huge budget? No problem. With professional installation, the Parrot MKi9200 (MSRP: $335 before installation) is worth a look.

Hard-wired into your car, the system provides an LCD screen, hands-free call buttons, voice dialling capability, caller ID, MP3 player connectivity, and interfaces with your phone using Bluetooth. You can also upgrade the system via Parrot's website. The downside: Paying someone to install it can be pricey, anywhere from $100-$200.

Want something portable? Motorola sells the MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth speaker, able to clip onto your car's sun visor and provide much of the functionality of the Parrot system (even caller ID) – for about $150.

The downside: the T505 plays each call through your car stereo using an FM transmitter. Anyone with an iPod can tell you that there are precious few clear radio bands left for an FM transmitter to sound good.

Google

BMW rolled out mobile Internet connectivity in Europe with Google's Local service – expect this to be implemented soon in North America. Local allows you to search and call locations from your car using your cellphone. Oh, and addresses imported into your phone? Those will be viewable on your navigation screen.

The really cool feature? When surfing Google Maps on your home computer, you can send an address directly to your car using a BMW Assist email address.

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