[Spin]

Guys,

I need to get a phone kit for the car as mine came with the buttons but not the wiring.

Parrot do something called a multi-can that claims to use the existing SW buttons in conjunction with either a CK3000 or CK3100 bluetooth unit, anyone tried this or know if it will in fact work before I order the parts ?

[sheps]

Yup, I have it fitted to mine.
Works a treat - can answer calls, hang up, as well as utilise speach dialing on your phone (if it has it).
If you get an installer that isn't a toal dummy you can have the rest of the kit hidden, so it looks factory.

[Spin]

Originally Posted by sheps

Yup, I have it fitted to mine.
Works a treat - can answer calls, hang up, as well as utilise speach dialing on your phone (if it has it).
If you get an installer that isn't a toal dummy you can have the rest of the kit hidden, so it looks factory.

Just what I was hoping for

Where did you install the head unit so its out of sight ?

[Wingco]

Also bear in mind that you CANNOT search through your phonebook using the buttons - all the blurb suggests that you MIGHT be able to (depending upon which car multican is fitted to etc), but this feature does NOT work in our cars.....
Initiate & end call, increase/decrease the call volume, initiate a voice-dial call and that's your lot.
Oh, and if you happen to have the "HiFi Loudspeaker" option as I do, it seems the rear speakers don't mute properly, only [dramatically] reduced volume. Fronts mute OK, and in practice you can only hear music through the rears if your music volume was REALLY loud before the call, or your parked up.

To be honest, I'm disappointed with the kit and multican - previous car i'd fitted the EXCELLENT S/E HCB 700 - superb control-unit, brilliant display, AND the ability to QUICKLY hop from one paired phone to another (e.g.work, private), but I don't think the S/E kit would integrate with the BMW s/w buttons so went down the parrot route.
I guess also the parrot kit IS a lot cheaper than the £535 bluetooth option from BMW, which I'd have had to stump up to my employer and then lost after 3 years.....

Whilst on the subject, does anyone else have a the weird thing where you go to voice-dial, state the name, the phone-kit repeats the name-tag back to you to confirm your selection, but then it also speaks the PREVIOUSLY DIALLED name-tag too! it actually DIALS the correct number, but it's most unnerving to hear the previously dialled one and causes you to look away from the road ahead to check. I've de-activated voice-dialling from my handsets (both S/Ericssons) and just let the car-kit voice-dial, but this hasn't solved it....