Bluetooth

I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and has
various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I bought it was
its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able to make a Bluetooth
connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable hands-free phone
conversations) or with my Palm personal organiser.

So I now discover that for some reason Bluetooth is not a consistent
standard and only certain Bluetooth products are supported by certain
devices. Did everyone else know that? Are there any pressure groups urging
Samsung to improve its Bluetooth? I am tempted to demand a refund for the
phone but I suppose the vendor would claim that the phone is working exactly
as designed and that it is up to me to satisfy myself that it can do what I
assume it can do. And the vendor would be right, I suppose, but I resent
having to go back to using an old Sony Ericsson that has the compatible sort
of Bluetooth. Anyone else been in that position and tried getting a refund?

"The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
news:42593aF1hj4rgU1@individual.net...
> I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and has
> various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I bought it
was
> its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able to make a
Bluetooth
> connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable hands-free phone
> conversations) or with my Palm personal organiser.
>
> So I now discover that for some reason Bluetooth is not a consistent
> standard and only certain Bluetooth products are supported by certain
> devices. Did everyone else know that? Are there any pressure groups urging
> Samsung to improve its Bluetooth? I am tempted to demand a refund for the
> phone but I suppose the vendor would claim that the phone is working
exactly
> as designed and that it is up to me to satisfy myself that it can do what
I
> assume it can do. And the vendor would be right, I suppose, but I resent
> having to go back to using an old Sony Ericsson that has the compatible
sort
> of Bluetooth. Anyone else been in that position and tried getting a
refund?
>


It supports bluetooth v1.1
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_d500-900.php

..........and you may need the bluetooth car kit (pricey)

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/5934.htm

The Todal wrote:

> So I now discover that for some reason Bluetooth is not a
> consistent standard and only certain Bluetooth products are
> supported by certain devices. Did everyone else know that?

It's certainly familiar to those who take an interest in geeky stuff.

> Are there any pressure groups urging Samsung to improve its
> Bluetooth? I am tempted to demand a refund for the phone but I
> suppose the vendor would claim that the phone is working exactly
> as designed and that it is up to me to satisfy myself that it can
> do what I assume it can do.

Yep - each supplier claims they're compliant with BT spec (except Microsoft
who claim they've "improved" it). It's a right mess. Most problems are
fixable with some buggering about, you might want to find a Samsung user
group and see if anyone's worked it out. Typically it will involve
installing drivers from an obscure Taiwanese Laser Printer, under a full
moon. Google "Samsung D500 bluetooth problem help" seems to throw up many
similar discussions.

Or buy a cable... )

On Thu, 5 Jan 2006, The Todal wrote:

> I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and has
> various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I bought it was
> its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able to make a Bluetooth
> connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable hands-free phone
> conversations) or with my Palm personal organiser.
>
> So I now discover that for some reason Bluetooth is not a consistent
> standard and only certain Bluetooth products are supported by certain
> devices. Did everyone else know that? Are there any pressure groups urging

It's a grey area because Bluetooth is a standard and using the Bluetooth
logo means that a device is certified to that standard. But in practice
the implementations often vary subtly, and the higher
communication/application layers, which work over the Bluetooth
connection, can vary more.

The result is that devices may be able to establish a connection but
won't 'talk' over it. Other devices may not be able to establish a
connection at all. As a result most devices, for which this is
relevant, publish compatibility lists.

For example the TomTom satnav products have a list of phones which are
known to work (see http://www.tomtom.com/phones/ and select a product on
the right). Even these are not perfect - the 6230, running the latest
firmware, can do more than is shown in that list. And a mate of mine
has just upgraded his phone purely so it can talk to his new car, as his
previous Bluetooth phone was not supported (see
http://www.bmwtransact.com/bluetooth/)

> Samsung to improve its Bluetooth? I am tempted to demand a refund for the
> phone but I suppose the vendor would claim that the phone is working exactly
> as designed and that it is up to me to satisfy myself that it can do what I
> assume it can do.

If the phone and your car's hands-feee system are displaying the
Bluetooth logo anywhere then it is perfectly reasonable to expect that
they can establish a connection. At the very least that should work.
There may be additional checks required to determine what the devices
are capable of *over* that connection, but you should be able to make
one at least.

I think you would be justified in requesting a refund, especially if you
expressed your reasons for the purchase at the time. You could also try
Samsung and see if they have any later firmware which addresses the
incompatibility and lets you use it as intended.

--
Chris

I have another Bluetooth question. I just got a Samsung SGH-D357 and
bought a Trendnet BT adapter. I can hookup, pair and start service
fine. Using the Samsung PC Studio II software I can even pull up the
phoneboock and schedule OK.

I cannot however EDIT anything that is on the phone. If I cut and
paste from the phone to the PC and edit it there but it will not take
the data back, I get a cryptic

"There are some data that different with phone. Try again after
reloading."

This error message is verbatum. Both devices (PC and phone) are
authorized and the communication is fine. Is it just not possible to
change data on the phone itself? I need to fix up all my contacts as
they came accross screwy. I kep the old SIM from my previous Nokia
cell phone. Does THAT have anything to do with it? All the numbers
are in the SIM.

When I try to write directly to the phone it says:

"Cannot write phonebook entry to memory"

Thanks in advance.

"Steve Walker" <spam-trap@beeb.net> wrote in message
news:425e1gF1gvk2fU3@individual.net...
> Typically it will involve installing drivers from an obscure Taiwanese
> Laser Printer, under a full moon. Google "Samsung D500 bluetooth problem
> help" seems to throw up many problems

So does googling "Help sive in need of peas (birds eye) disproportional"

But you don't see ME moaning about my bluetooth implementation, BLOODY DO
YOU!!!!!

"The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
news:42593aF1hj4rgU1@individual.net...
>I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and has
>various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I bought it
>was its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able to make a
>Bluetooth connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable hands-free
>phone conversations)

BMW by any chance?

--
<<< Unlock Your Phone's Potential >>>
<<< www.uselessinfo.org.uk >>>
<<< www.thephonelocker.co.uk >>>
<<< www.gsm-solutions.co.uk >>>

"Richard Colton" <webmaster@NOSPAMuselessinfo.org.uk> wrote in message
news:Nuivf.21029$iz3.12681@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
> "The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
> news:42593aF1hj4rgU1@individual.net...
>>I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and has
>>various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I bought it
>>was its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able to make a
>>Bluetooth connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable hands-free
>>phone conversations)
>
> BMW by any chance?

Yes, and the BMW website seems to show that no Samsung phones are
compatible. You'd think that any manufacturer whose phones weren't
compatible would want to do something about it. There seem to be no
configurable options on the phone or the car's controls, to sort it out. I
have the impression that the best (ie most compatible) flavour of bluetooth
is on Sony Ericssons.

"The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
news:425rshF1guk48U1@individual.net...
>
> "Richard Colton" <webmaster@NOSPAMuselessinfo.org.uk> wrote in message
> news:Nuivf.21029$iz3.12681@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>>
>> "The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
>> news:42593aF1hj4rgU1@individual.net...
>>>I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and
>>>has various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I bought
>>>it was its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able to make a
>>>Bluetooth connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable hands-free
>>>phone conversations)
>>
>> BMW by any chance?
>
> Yes, and the BMW website seems to show that no Samsung phones are
> compatible. You'd think that any manufacturer whose phones weren't
> compatible would want to do something about it. There seem to be no
> configurable options on the phone or the car's controls, to sort it out. I
> have the impression that the best (ie most compatible) flavour of
> bluetooth is on Sony Ericssons.

The BMW kit is well known for having problems with newer handsets. It is
apparantly based on the Parrot kits though, so updates could be available -
the problem is that BMW don't often seem to release firmware updates for the
car kit. The only thing you can do is contact a BMW service department and
ask if any updates are available, and add your name to the list of people
who have already complained directly to BMW - maybe if enough people
complain they will do something about it.

Many handsets not listed as supported do work with BMW BlueTooth kits, but
many only work with basic calling functions and will not import the phone
book etc.

--
<<< Unlock Your Phone's Potential >>>
<<< www.uselessinfo.org.uk >>>
<<< www.thephonelocker.co.uk >>>
<<< www.gsm-solutions.co.uk >>>

"Richard Colton" <webmaster@NOSPAMuselessinfo.org.uk> wrote in message
news:l1svf.21147$iz3.5243@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
> "The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
> news:425rshF1guk48U1@individual.net...
>>
>> "Richard Colton" <webmaster@NOSPAMuselessinfo.org.uk> wrote in message
>> news:Nuivf.21029$iz3.12681@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>>>
>>> "The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net> wrote in message
>>> news:42593aF1hj4rgU1@individual.net...
>>>>I recently bought a new phone, a Samsung D500. It's user friendly and
>>>>has various advantages over my old phone. But one of the reasons I
>>>>bought it was its Bluetooth capability. I now find that it is not able
>>>>to make a Bluetooth connection with my car's Bluetooth system (to enable
>>>>hands-free phone conversations)
>>>
>>> BMW by any chance?
>>
>> Yes, and the BMW website seems to show that no Samsung phones are
>> compatible. You'd think that any manufacturer whose phones weren't
>> compatible would want to do something about it. There seem to be no
>> configurable options on the phone or the car's controls, to sort it out.
>> I have the impression that the best (ie most compatible) flavour of
>> bluetooth is on Sony Ericssons.
>
> The BMW kit is well known for having problems with newer handsets. It is
> apparantly based on the Parrot kits though, so updates could be
> available - the problem is that BMW don't often seem to release firmware
> updates for the car kit. The only thing you can do is contact a BMW
> service department and ask if any updates are available, and add your name
> to the list of people who have already complained directly to BMW - maybe
> if enough people complain they will do something about it.
>
> Many handsets not listed as supported do work with BMW BlueTooth kits, but
> many only work with basic calling functions and will not import the phone
> book etc.

Thanks.

What happens is that if I delete the phone from the car's list of bluetooth
devices and then connect it again, for a while it will let me make and
answer calls without importing the phone book, but when I next switch on the
engine the car does not detect the phone. I would surmise that other people
have had similar problems, then.

On an unrelated matter, the car has one of those "park distance control"
devices to help you park without bumping into things. One of the
bumper-sensors has stopped working which means that the device does not work
at all and throws up an error message. I asked the BMW agent to fix it, and
he tells me that there will be a delay of 12 to 14 weeks before the sensor
(painted the correct colour, and god knows I tried to persuade them that I
don't care about the colour) will arrive from Germany. So anyone who says
that the Germans are an example of state of the art efficiency is plainly
mistaken - maybe they've caught the British disease. I suppose I could also
mention that the GPS navigation system crashes from time to time but I
suppose they all do that.

On Thu, 5 Jan 2006 19:07:15 -0000, "The Todal" <deadmailbox@beeb.net>
wrote:

....
>So I now discover that for some reason Bluetooth is not a consistent
>standard and only certain Bluetooth products are supported by certain
>devices. Did everyone else know that?

Found out the hard way. Try to get one of the 2 parties (phone or
handsfree) to fix it and both will decry "gotta use our own brand".
Spot the commercial advantage in incompatibility there!

Parrot are about the best for making an effort to work with all bodges
of BT.


--
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