Mobile Fun Blog

A Guide to Nokia Car Kits

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

If you were to think of a fully fitted car kit, chances are two brands will spring to mind – Nokia & Parrot.  Both of these companies make some great kits, Parrot have their fantastic MKi range that you can connect your phone and music player to, and Nokia have just recently updated their car kit line up to add more focus on music & mapping integration and to make installation quicker and easier.

The most popular Nokia Car Kit ever was the CARK-91 – the one that had a cradle for the Nokia 6110/ 6210/ 6310.  Over the years, the car kits have moved away from having bulky cradles that are screwed to your dashboard, to more descreet remote controls that blend into your dashboard and don’t draw attention.

The Classic Nokia Carkit & Nokia 6210

If you’ve already got an older Nokia Car Kit installed in your car and are looking to upgrade it to work with current Nokia handsets, the bad news is that unless your car kit is a bluetooth one, it’s not upgradable and you’ll need to replace the kit.

While this might sound like it’s going to be expensive, fitted car kit prices have come down in price considerably over the past few years, so replacing your kit might not cost as much as you’d think – not only that, but Nokia have changed the way that the kits connect to your vehicle, so depending on the car and stereo that you’ve got, you might be able to install it yourself.  Now before you get too excited, Installing a car kit yourself isn’t that easy – even with the newer ISO Car Kits.  You will still need to remove some fascia panels from your car or dashboard, remove the stereo and possible connect wires to the car power supply.  I tried to install my own, got 90% of the way there and had to give in and call the professionals, so if you want an easy life (and a car that still starts) get it installed professionally.

On to the Car Kits then. Nokia now offer 3 car kits, the Nokia CK-100, CK-300 and CK-600.  Each one offers different levels of integration with your phone, and as the model names suggest, the higher the number the more features you get. All three have now dropped the external speaker and will now route all calls and music through your Car Stereo as standard.

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(5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5)

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Nokia Speakerphone HF-310 Review

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Nokia have always produced fantastic fitted car kits but their plug & play car kits have been good, but not really anything to shout about.  The Nokia HF-310 and Nokia HF-510 have just been announced as replacements for the HF-200 and HF-300, but are they any better?  What have they got that makes them different to the ones they’re replacing?  I wasn’t too sure either, as at first glance a bluetooth car kit is just a bluetooth car kit, right?

I grabbed a Nokia HF-310 and tried it out to see how the new Nokia car kit shapes up.

In the Box

With most ‘plug and play’ Bluetooth car kits, you normally get the loud speaker, visor clip and a charger of some description, you get the same with the Nokia HF-310, but you also get a couple of extra items – a windscreen suction holder and  a suction pad that you can use anywhere in the car.  The charger that the HF-310 uses is a Nokia DC-4, the same 2mm car charger that most of the current Nokia handsets use, so you won’t need to buy a seperate charger for your phone.

Nokia HF-310 Box Contents

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(75 votes, average: 3.37 out of 5)

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Car Kit Pairing Guides

Monday, May 11th, 2009

If you’ve ever had a car kit fitted, chances are that the engineer who fitted it paired your phone to it for you and it ‘just worked’ without you having to do anything to set it up. The only downside to this of course, is when you upgrade your phone you’re left with a car kit thats looking for an old phone, and a new phone that can’t find the car kit.

If you’re anything like me, user manuals get thrown in the back of a drawer, never to be seen again, so figuring out how to get your new phone to work with your Parrot car kit could be quite a challenge. To help you out, We’ve put a quick guide together on how to pair your phone with some of the most recent car kits. So as long as you know how to search for Bluetooth devices on your phone you should get connected again in no time at all.

View the Pairing Guide for Nokia Car Kits

View the Pairing Guide for Parrot Car Kits

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Car Kit Buyers Guide – THB Bury System 8

Monday, January 5th, 2009

One of the biggest investments you can make for your mobile phone is a fully fitted car kit. They allow you to use your phone safely and legally in the car, and in some cases keep it charged so you’re never with out power, but with each new phone that comes out, the connections change and eventually render your car kit unusable. So what do you do? Pay to get the kit replaced? Keep your old phone and hope your mates down the pub don’t notice? The THB System 8 Car Kit solves all these problems by allowing you to quickly and easily update it.

THB System 8 Car Kit

The Kit:
The THB System 8 Car kit is made up of the same basic parts as every other car kit, but with one noticeable exception – the cradle that holds your phone is interchangeable. When you buy the THB System 8 Car Kit, you need to buy two parts – the System 8 Base Unit and the System 8 cradle thats right for your phone. Fitting the kit involves hardwiring the control unit into your vehicle, but when its time to change your phone, simply unclip the phone cradle and attach one for your new phone. Its that simple!

THB Cradle

How does it work?:
Depending on the phone you are using, your phone connects to the System 8 car kit using either a Bluetooth connection or your phones handsfree port. To use the car kit, you simply slide your phone into the cradle and all calls will switch over to the car kit. To make a call, just use your phone as you would normally. While your phone is in the cradle, the System 8 cradle will charge your phone (some older or folding handsets will need you to plug a lead into the phone in order for it to work). Phones that use a Bluetooth connection to the car kit only need to be in the cradle to charge but in order to answer calls you will need to press the answer button on your phone, so its best to keep it in the cradle when ever you’re in the car. The audio for calls is then routed through a loudspeaker that is normally mounted in the passenger footwell. It is possible to connect the System 8 car kit to your car stereo for improved audio quality.

THB Cradle Installation

Easy to change:
Unlike wired car kits by most other manufacturers, the cradles on the System 8 are interchangeable. The kit was designed to make it easier for people to replace their cradles when the change their phone. There is no need to remove fascia panels in your car, or try and trace wires back to control boxes. The cradles simply click into place and are removed in seconds.

THB System 8 Universal Bluetooth Cradle

Compatibility:
The System 8 Car Kit is designed to be compatible with as many phones as possible, and there are currently over 50 phone cradles available for Nokia, Sony Ericsson, BlackBerry and HTC phones. For all other makes there is the Take & Talk Bluetooth Cradle which will work with most Bluetooth enabled phones on the market. For a list of all compatible phones, take a look at the compatibility chart. THB carkits are only designed for voice calls and can’t be used for playing back music from your mobile phone.

Installation:
If you’re planning on fitting the kit yourself, you can purchase additional cables to make installation easier. You can use an Elan Intelli-mute to power the kit and route the audio through your car stereo. You will need two cables to do this, the Intelli-Mute and the Accessory Harness. For more details on how the Elan Intelli-mutes work and can make installation easier read our blog post on “Making the most of your fitted car kit“. If you don’t feel confident in fitting the kit yourself, why not let us fit it for you?

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