SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

Hello Everybody!

I'm brand new, so please forgive my ignorance if this has been discussed before.

I'm currently with Verizon and thinking about going with Sprint. There are no Verizon or Sprint wireless phones listed at http://toyota.letstalk.com/brands/to...Id=224&to=4097

Is anyone utilizing a Bluetooth-enabled Verizon or Sprint wireless phone successfully with a Prius II out there?

Thanks,
Rock

P.S. - If you're near Canada (as I am) or travel/call there often, Sprint has a little known program that I've tried for years to find out about. Apparently, if you sign on a Business Plan, you get all your minutes applied for use in Canada or calling to Canada for $15/mo. It's a better deal than Verizon or Cingular's North America Plans from my perspective!

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

I don't really understand what the phone has to do with the car. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. However, I do have a Bluetooth headset with my Verizon and although I get exasperated with it at times (so many keystrokes to connect, sometimes disconnects, can't tell when Bluetooth battery is low) I was without it for a few days and used a regular headset (Shure, very good) and hated having wires and having to carry my phone with me. (As you probably know you can be about 30 feet away from your phone with the Bluetooth. Only problem is I sometimes keep going further away and then wonder why I lost contact.) I have a Ford Escape 2005 for what its worth.

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

The Prius has an option that lets a bluetooth phone interact with the car so you don't need a headset.

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

How cool. I must tell my Prius friends.

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

I have a Motorola V710 thru Verizon Wireless. It works, with one exception. Verizon has blocked most forms of data transfer over bluetooth so they can make more money in their camera phone photo program. They openly admit this. :-/

This breaks the "Transfer Phonebook" feature of the Prius, as well as the ring notification from the car and the signal strength indicator on the display. Since you can only make phone calls to the numbers in your phone book while the Prius is in motion, this pretty much makes calling while driving useless. Oh, caller id is a no-go as well. When someone calls in while my phone is connected with my Prius, I know about it if I see "Incoming Call" on the display (never happens since I'm always looking at the road) or if the stereo is on, the audio will drop out to make way for the hands-free system. So, if the stereo is off, and I'm paying attention to my driving, I'm going to miss any incoming calls that I get.

Ok, having said all that, yes, the hands free system in the Prius is pretty cool. More importantly, it let's me focus on driving instead of trying to hold a phone to my head. I've heard rumors that GSM based phones from AT&T/Cingular work as advertised with a Prius, but there is no AT&T/Cingular service in North Dakota, so I can't verify that.

-O

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

Bluetooth works with the Motorola ROKR (but only using the ROKR as a phone, no playing iTunes through Bluetooth):cry:

Since computers can generally talk to handsfree kits, it should be possible to send audio to the Prius from a computer. Has anybody done this?

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

I have a 2004 Prius with Navigation, which means it also will pair with a Bluetooth phone and no headset is needed. I have Verizon service and a Treo 650 phone.

They paired well and my connection is better in the Prius than the spotty connections I get using the Treo 650 by itself. Same phonebook warning for all Verizon phones.

You can send selected numbers to the car's phone book one at a time. I have just a couple of numbers I would need to dial while driving. Hope this helps.

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

Is the antenna on the Prius for cellular? How does that work? You can't do an antenna through bluetooth.

Re: SprintPCS or Verizon Bluetooth Phone w/Prius II?
 

The cell phone makes the cell phone call, using the antenna in (you guessed it) the cell phone. A Bluetooth-equipped phone can communicate with a Bluetooth device under the left front seat.

The car amplifies the call and allows you to use a microphone in the ceiling (without looking at it). The terminology is that the Prius functions as a "hands-free kit." Calls may be dialed from the Prius display (much easier when not moving) and for me, the Prius does not ring for an incoming call, just my phone. Hope this helps.