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Blue-Tooth Hands Free Calls?

expressnv

Lurker
Aug 30, 2010
5
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I need some help guys/gals, I have the Eris, but I can't make hands free calls with my BlueTooth ear piece? What am I missing? Does this cell works with hands free? I thought ALL phones are required to have this to work? Can someone please provide some input on this.

If possible please let me know which device would work with this cell.

Thank you in advance,
 
I need some help guys/gals, I have the Eris, but I can't make hands free calls with my BlueTooth ear piece? What am I missing? Does this cell works with hands free? I thought ALL phones are required to have this to work? Can someone please provide some input on this.

If possible please let me know which device would work with this cell.

Thank you in advance,

Unfortunately, no: this is a bug in Android (Issue 1181 - android - [VoiceDial] Voice confirmation for Voice Dialer - Project Hosting on Google Code). You can make calls with the BT headset on using the same method as regular calls, or you can accept an incoming call by touching the button on your BT headset.

No official release of Android has the capability of making calls hands-free below Android 2.2. Supposedly Google fixed it in 2.2 (Android 2.2 Platform Highlights | Android Developers), but the Eris won't be getting it: HTC refuses to fix other problems it knows about, and their escalations department told me that they have no intention of releasing any further updates for the Eris at all.

The only way to get hands-free dialing is to root your phone and get a custom rom. I've been complaining about this to Verizon and HTC myself as well, it's certainly a hassle when you need to make calls from the road for work.
 
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True, it is available in Froyo (2.2) but is not all that accurate. I tried it on my Droid after getting the Froyo OTA a couple weeks back but found the precision dismal, selecting the wrong contact time and again as I was testing. I don't use it, easier to just find the contact using Gesture Search and then hit the phone handset to dial.
 
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True, it is available in Froyo (2.2) but is not all that accurate. I tried it on my Droid after getting the Froyo OTA a couple weeks back but found the precision dismal, selecting the wrong contact time and again as I was testing. I don't use it, easier to just find the contact using Gesture Search and then hit the phone handset to dial.

I've heard reports of it being hit or miss, though anything is better than nothing--when I drive, I do not touch my phone. I'd assume, though, that having the framework in place means there could eventually be apps to handle it in the interim.

It certainly is a major shortcoming of Android, though. And there's really no reason such an advanced phone OS shouldn't have such a basic, core feature--there's no excuse for it not to have had it in 1.0.

Unfortunately those of us who didn't know better when buying are stuck with it now.
 
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I've used it a couple times. The only problem is, that Google's voice recognition is far from perfect. And I suppose that this is the more normal part about speech recognition, but if you don't pronounce names PERFECTLY to how they are spelled, it won't pick it up. It has a hard time picking up my own last name if I don't pronounce it in some awkward manner.
 
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couple the lousy voice recognition with the fact that theres no confirmation and you have a FAIL

if it chooses the wrong contact then you have to wreck your car in a mad scramble to reach the phone then unlock it and cancel the call before someone answers

button press... "Call JoeBob"... beep 'calling the mob'.......scramble to cancel call..... squeal crash

button press... "Call Evelyn" ... beep 'calling 911' ..........scramble to cancel call...... squeal crash (at least in this case emergency services are on the way I guess)
 
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couple the lousy voice recognition with the fact that theres no confirmation and you have a FAIL

if it chooses the wrong contact then you have to wreck your car in a mad scramble to reach the phone then unlock it and cancel the call before someone answers

button press... "Call JoeBob"... beep 'calling the mob'.......scramble to cancel call..... squeal crash

button press... "Call Evelyn" ... beep 'calling 911' ..........scramble to cancel call...... squeal crash (at least in this case emergency services are on the way I guess)
I think the lousy voice recognition is more of a problem than anything. We had voice dialing with confirmation earlier, but people always complained about that since you had a confirmation.

Makes me sort of glad I don't worry about Bluetooth voice dialing. Universal mount and cassette deck adapter for us people with no money.
 
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I think the lousy voice recognition is more of a problem than anything. We had voice dialing with confirmation earlier, but people always complained about that since you had a confirmation.

Makes me sort of glad I don't worry about Bluetooth voice dialing. Universal mount and cassette deck adapter for us people with no money.

I don't think confirmation was ever a complaint--manual confirmation was. The voice dialer app that's been on the phone since it was released was never a real voice dialer: you had to touch the phone to get to the app, and any voice input had to be through the phone's mic, not Bluetooth. Confirmation was then presented on screen, requiring touch to go on--it was an utter failure of an app as it didn't (doesn't....) provide any hands-free operation whatsoever.

Feature phones are able to accept input by voice through BT, and they read their confirmation by voice through BT--requiring a vocal yes or no to confirm. It's a common-sense feature, and the only reason to not have it is to be completely unaware of how people actually use cell phones.
 
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I don't think confirmation was ever a complaint--manual confirmation was. The voice dialer app that's been on the phone since it was released was never a real voice dialer: you had to touch the phone to get to the app, and any voice input had to be through the phone's mic, not Bluetooth. Confirmation was then presented on screen, requiring touch to go on--it was an utter failure of an app as it didn't (doesn't....) provide any hands-free operation whatsoever.

Feature phones are able to accept input by voice through BT, and they read their confirmation by voice through BT--requiring a vocal yes or no to confirm. It's a common-sense feature, and the only reason to not have it is to be completely unaware of how people actually use cell phones.

Maybe the people that designed Bluetooth voice dialing were like me and don't really care about Bluetooth voice dialing (I think that's "irony") so it was an afterthought. It sounds really, really, dumb, but it might be true. I mean, why else would you half ass an attempt at Bluetooth voice dialing unless the developer themselves doesn't use it.
 
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Maybe the people that designed Bluetooth voice dialing were like me and don't really care about Bluetooth voice dialing (I think that's "irony") so it was an afterthought. It sounds really, really, dumb, but it might be true. I mean, why else would you half ass an attempt at Bluetooth voice dialing unless the developer themselves doesn't use it.

That's a (rather sad) possibility. And probably the only one that makes any sense at all.

You'd think, though, if you're trying to get into the phone market, you'd study other phones to see what they're capable of--and likely study the history of those features to see what works and why. (More so given Google's goal of having all the information there is to be had.)

Bluetooth was introduced to phones only after some states made it illegal to talk on the phone while driving; extra capabilities of BT were gravy, but making hands-free calls is the primary reason for its inclusion in devices. Which is why you'll see a lot of BT headsets being described as hands-free devices.

It does seem a little hard to believe that all of Google's Android developers would be oblivious to this.
 
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When I first bought a BT set I had to go through several before I found one that worked correctly. I just kept taking them back to the store and exchanging them.

I finally settled on a CARDO and have never had an issue with it even after changing phones several times. I've probably used it on at least 6 different phones.

I believe that the issue is really more how the BT sets manufacturers have chosen to implement the BT standard.

I was amazed at the difference in fucntionality from one set to another. What was interesting - albeit not surprising - was that the cheaper the set the less it did.

As I recall I ended paying somewhere in the $80's.

I would suggest you try other sets.

BTW - It works just fine with my car's BT. Names, numbers, confirmations, no prob.
 
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Considering that Google is located in a state where it's illegal to touch the phone while driving, it really surprises me that they've done such a poor job with such a simple feature. You'd think they could do it at least as well as a feature-phone, and certainly not have taken this long to do it at all.

This isn't true, in California at least; it is legal to dial a phone manually (see DMV citation below). Note that I don't think it's a good idea to do so; I find it even more distracting than talking handheld, so I don't do it. But it is legal.

Bluetooth voice dialing does work on Android 2.2; I've used it on KaosFroyo. Not perfect by any means, and not having it confirm (voice or otherwise) does make it risky to use.


Text Messaging Law Effective January 1 2009 Cellular Phone Laws Effective July 1 2008

Q: Are there exceptions for dialing?
A: This law does not prohibit reading, selecting or entering a phone number, or name in an electronic wireless device for the purpose of making or receiving a phone call. Drivers are strongly urged not to enter a phone number while driving.

Q: Does the
 
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Joe_Evaristo you nailed it on your first post here. So my question now is what can I do? Can I take the phone back and say hey it's illegal in NY to use a cell without a hands-free device? or am I up the creek and without a paddle? Very frustrating to pay so much for a phone and not work properly.

I was told that if I'd returned the phone, I would be charged a "restocking fee." You might be lucky and be able to avoid that, perhaps your local stores don't have that policy, but I don't know for certain.

I have read some success stories from people who use BT headsets that do the dialing for you, which includes some car systems as another poster mentioned. Most headsets, like the ones that Verizon was offering for free when you purchased a phone some time ago, don't do anything on their own--they merely activate functions on the phone and let the phone do the work.

Some headsets will allow you to store part of your contact list right to the headset (or car system). These headsets work differently, they handle the work of choosing who to call, and all they do is tell the phone to dial a number. I've read success with these, if you get one compatible with the phone. Unfortunately, I can't find the thread that listed success and failure of different models, but I'll try looking again later.

jmastron said:
This isn't true, in California at least; it is legal to dial a phone manually (see DMV citation below). Note that I don't think it's a good idea to do so; I find it even more distracting than talking handheld, so I don't do it. But it is legal.

Oh, that's interesting. I'd heard otherwise, thanks for clearing that up. Then it's a bit less crazy than it seems.

doogald said:
You can always pull over and park in a safe spot when you need to place a call.

That's not always practical, or safe--it's a good option if you're driving on side streets or local avenues where there may be a parking lot nearby, but it's not necessarily safe on a highway: slowing down to get off the road, and speeding up to get back on is the most hazardous part of highway driving. And if there's a lot of traffic and you're on a strict timeframe (I'm a videographer and that tends to apply to my situation), then good luck getting back on the road...especially here in NJ in the summer.
 
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Hey guys, I'd like to root my Eris. If you guys can share with me the process of doing this I would ready appreciate it. Links, docs let me know on the flip side whats the not good idea of rooting this phone?

Thanks in advance

This sticky has links to some of the most notable threads about the Eris.
In your case I'd recommend taking a good close look at the 'Rooting Q&A' and the 'Universal 1 Click' threads. Those two should go a long way towards aiding you in your quest for root.
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-...ris-guide-updated-12-15-cdt-sep-1-2010-a.html
 
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You can always pull over and park in a safe spot when you need to place a call. Also, you may want to check out the Vlingo app.

+1 on Vlingo

It is a great app and the voice recognition is 1,000x better than Googles. I typically just hit the button in the car and say "Call Mom mobile" and it just starts dialing. It also does wonders with sending text, tweets, facebook updates, email and even Google map lookups via voice. I have held entire text messaging conversations with friends, while driving and never typing or reading a thing.
 
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+1 on Vlingo

It is a great app and the voice recognition is 1,000x better than Googles. I typically just hit the button in the car and say "Call Mom mobile" and it just starts dialing. It also does wonders with sending text, tweets, facebook updates, email and even Google map lookups via voice. I have held entire text messaging conversations with friends, while driving and never typing or reading a thing.

I would LOVE to use Vlingo. Too bad im still waiting for my Rogers HTC Magic to be upgraded off this awful 1.5 build. No Vlingo for me yet because it needs 2.0 to run.
 
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Joe thanks for the wonderful feed back. Which headset do you use?

You're welcome!

I use the Plantronics headset that Verizon offered for free some years ago--I think now they're bundling similar models for an extra fee with new phones. Since I don't have one of the more advanced headsets, I myself have been unable to make outgoing hands-free calls, so mine won't be a good option if you're trying to find a workaround. The basic headsets should be able to accept incoming calls, though.
 
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