Bluetooth that works!
A couple of months ago, I wrote a post asking does Bluetooth suck? That's pretty much been my experience, at least when I'm the person on the receiving end of the call from a GPS. But my opinion of Bluetooth has changed some since I wrote that.
Over the past few weeks, I've been testing the Garmin nuvi 775T, one of three 7×5 series models with Bluetooth. I wanted to check out the A2DP Bluetooth feature, hoping it would allow for a three-way connection between my headset, phone and the nuvi. This would put the microphone closer to my mouth, instead of relying on the one built into the front of the nuvi. Apparently the engineers at Garmin didn't configure it to work that way, but to my surprise they've done a great job of improving sound quality, though I think that is about echo-cancellation technology and not A2DP.
My wife and I have taken turns on both ends of calls, as we do every time I have a test unit with Bluetooth, so she's been exposed to as many of these units as I have. And she agrees with me, this one is good enough for everyday use. She even went further, saying she would use it if we had one of our own (was that a hint?). It may not be as good as using your phone or headset directly, but it is a huge improvement.
So there you go, Bluetooth that actually works. It's available on the following 7×5 series models:
