Parrot MKi9100 Bluetooth Car Kit

I found the installation easy, but I have had several Parrot products in the past. The previous 3100 unit fitted to this car would not connect to an iPhone 3Gs / 4. Although the firmware can be updated - just try to find someone prepared to do it! Obviously they want you to buy a replacement! The MKi9100 works perfectly with an iPhone 3Gs and 4. When you start the car, there is a fairly long delay - perhaps 20 to 30 sec before the Parrot comes alive, but this isn't really a problem. In use, the unit speaks what is on the display, including contact names. The spoken menus are very clear - but it struggles with some of the names in my contact book. Still it's better than previous. You can navigate your contacts without looking at the display. The blue OLED display is brilliant! VERY clear with a very wide viewing angle which opens up where you can put it in the car - doesn't need to be in your face! It comes with a wireless remote which has a steering wheel mount. Unfortunately it's too flimsy to mount there - first corner my arm brushed against it and it fell apart! The pieces snap back together - but I re-mounted it on the dash. It comes with a selection of cables to plug directly in to USB sticks, MP3's and an iPod/Phone. I found the plastic iPhone connector housing was too big to fit through the hole in an Otter Box case - but I'll sand it down to fix it. Why does the connector shell have to be bigger than an Apple connector? You can connect an iPod/Phone for audio via Bluetooth instead of the cable. Disappointingly, you have to press play on the phone and use the phone for track navigation - which means it's illegal on the road! The bluetooth only sends audio. The sound quality is good - but I found it too quiet! On max volume, it distorts. If you turn it down so as not to distort - it's too quiet to hear on the motorway. Maybe if you were driving a limo it would be loud enough but if not, this feature is a waste of space! The iPhone lead will be useful as a charger I suppose but otherwise I'd cut it off! Curiously, when you are using the phone on the move, the audio is very clear for both parties - plenty loud enough. In conclusion, the handsfree part of it is very good - but don't buy this to connect your phone / iPod for audio unless you drive a super quiet car!

Just a quick update, Parrot have recently released a firmware update. Very easy to do, just download a file to a USB stick, plug it into the Parrot, then select update! Made big improvements, Ipod control improved. Still less than perfect control of USB audio tracks, but improved. Still a very good buy!!!!!

Very nice piece of equipment. For only £20 more than the old unit you also get USB conectivity, and control of your newer ipods. Not actually tried the ipod as it does not support my old 4gb ipod mini. BUT I bought a 16GB usb memory stick that works a treat. Four stars only as I the firmware still has a few annoying quirks (have a look on the parrot UK forums). I suspect that updates will be done soon by Parrot. Once these are sorted then its a full 5 star product. Even so, I would still recommend this unit.