{"id":56,"date":"2012-06-03T23:49:28","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T04:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.wordpress.com\/?p=56"},"modified":"2012-06-03T23:49:28","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T04:49:28","slug":"hands-free-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/?p=56","title":{"rendered":"Hands Free Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, after five long years, my old Motorola MotoRokr T505 hands free speaker phone has died. That it lasted five years is saying something. That it lasted five years in St. Louis — being alternatively frozen and baked — says a lot<\/strong>. Unfortunately, I still have to go through the\u00a0nuisance\u00a0of replacing it.<\/p>\n

The Challenge<\/h2>\n

My requirements for a car hands free device are actually pretty simple. \u00a0I need the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Bluetooth connectivity for my phone.<\/li>\n
  2. A2DP streaming<\/li>\n
  3. FM transmitter<\/li>\n
  4. Support for my iPhone’s voice commands.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Options<\/h2>\n

    Surprisingly, the field hasn’t changed all that much in the last 5 years. \u00a0It doesn’t take too long to narrow the field down to two contenders: \u00a0the Jabra Freeway and the Motorola Roadster 2. \u00a0The Jabra is slightly more than the Motorola, but not enough to make a difference. \u00a0Figure either one will cost you around $100. \u00a0Both units have the required capabilities.<\/p>\n

    The Jabra also includes a trial of the Voice Assist commercial service. \u00a0This basically adds ability for greater voice control, including texting and email. \u00a0Note that this is a premium service that will cost $50\/year after the initial trial period expires. \u00a0It also connects to the 3rd party service phone number in order to provide the capabilities. \u00a0Keep this in mind if you do not have an unlimited call plan or you are traveling out of the country. \u00a0You could get very big bill very quickly. \u00a0The Jabra also has a better speaker system — a 3 speaker, virtual surround sound rig. \u00a0Sweet, but something of overkill for calling the office on the road or listening to podcasts. \u00a0The Freeway also sports a dual mic noise cancellation system; important for highway driving. \u00a0Finally, the Jabra has a motion sensor that will put the unit in standby when you stop and leave the vehicle. \u00a0It’s a very nice unit on paper and has been very well reviewed. \u00a0Many swear by the Jabra.<\/p>\n

    The Motorola is the second revision of the Roadster line and is also the successor to my old T505. \u00a0It’s a single speaker, but quite loud. \u00a0Like the Jabra, it supports a dual mic input for noise cancellation. \u00a0It also has sensors to tell when you’ve left the car. \u00a0This is doubly useful. \u00a0For starters, you don’t waste battery life. \u00a0Second you avoid having all your phone’s sounds and alerts going to the car. \u00a0Very useful if you use your phone as your alarm clock.<\/p>\n

    The Solution<\/h2>\n

    End the end I went with the Motorola. \u00a0My familiarity with it’s predecessor was a big factor. \u00a0Also the fact that I could pick it up at a local store rather than incur the delay of an online purchase settled the matter for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Well, after five long years, my old Motorola MotoRokr T505 hands free speaker phone has died. That it lasted five years is saying something. That it lasted five years in St. Louis — being alternatively frozen and baked — says a lot. Unfortunately, I still have to go through the\u00a0nuisance\u00a0of replacing it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ymfK-U","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thechristiangeek.net\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}