Which cell phone and service do I need for bluetooth?

I'm not sure how they would block it. I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that the gps connects to the phone using the bluetooth handsfree protocole and that's the same thing that a bluetooth headset uses. Seems to me that if a bluetooth headset can connect using handsfree, then the gps can.

My reccomendation is to take the gps into the verzion store and get the to power up the phone and see if you can pair it. On the http://razorbiker.com/zumo/ zumo forum somebody talks about test pairing a couple of verizon phones to his garmin zumo.

Rusty Myers
Austin, TX

I currently use a Cingular Samsung bluetooth phone to connect to my Garman c550. I originally connected a Motorola bluetooth headset to the phone. The Salesperson at cingular told me that all I needed was a bluetooth phone to connect to another bluetooth device.

The combination works great. I have the gps unit set to automatically detect my other bluetooth devices around it. I have similar settings on my phone. When I power the unit on when my phone is near it (within 10-15 feet) they both automatically detect and connect to each other. I leave the phone on my belt clip when I get into the car and only use the gps for the handsfree now.

You can set up the phones to block all bluetooth devices or just the ones not listed on your safe device listing on the phone. You can add your own devices to the safe device listing. This might be what the Verizon person was thinking of.

Ozoneman - I have a 550 and Verizon Wireless - triedd it in the store in D.C.... aside from the store reps saying it would work fine - it did work fine....

Unless Indianna Verizon does magic to Bluetooth, your reps were either misinformed, do not understand Bluetooth, or Lied...

I'd go try it on site...
Best,
Paul

I have sprint and it has bluetooth and it works good in L.A. I had no drop calls as far as hooking it to my gps i don't know.

I'll take your advice about trying it at the store. After hearing the stuff about Verizon not working at 3 different stores, I thought there might be something to it. Not only did the Verizon store rep tell me this, a salesperson selling Verizon phones at Circuit City told me the same thing. And then a salesperson at the Cingular store told me he had heard something about a class action suit against Verizon for blocking the GPS connecting ability.

Well, if I decide to go with Verizon, I will definitely check to see if it works while at the store.

Thanks guys!

I'm using a Sansung i730 from Verizon w/ my Nuvi 660 w/ out issue.

There is a definite problem with the Garmin SP2820 and some Treo 650's. Specifically, you will have problems with Verizon and Rogers, here is in Canada. I have spoken to tech support several times and they are trying work out a solution.

I have a Nuvi 360 and a Motorola e815 phone through Verizon and it works fine. I was surprised to see that it can access the cell's phone book, takes voice dialing and of course will dial POI phone numbers without a problem.

It even handles the +1 prefix that Nuvi puts on the numbers and dials numbers just fine. I am still working that issue to determine if it is the Nuvi sending the "+1" or the e815 inserting it for some reason.

Love that Nuvi!

Same exact thing,
Nuvi 360 and moto e815 match

all functions work besides SMS, but im not planning on texting while driving...

Ozoneman, My first GPS was a garmin C550 which I later gave to my son. It worked great with my Verizon Cell phone and my wife,s Verizon Cell phone. It worked here in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Deleware. My GPS 7200 doesn,t support Bluetooth, I figured it was not that important in exchange for a larger Screen, but I miss not having it.

Oh and it,s a Verizon Motorola cell phone

I have a Nuvi 660 and have it paired with a HP IPAQ 6320 and have Cingular as my provider. The phone works very well as a speakerphone. I'm less than thrilled with the FM transmitter capability, but that could be due to the number of stations in the Norfolk, VA area.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Joe

I have a Motorola RAZR with Cingular, works great except for the audio to phone feature.

My Verizon Motorola E815 works perfectly well with my nüvi 660. The only thing it won't do is receive and send text messages from the GPS unit. When the phone receives a text message, the GPS shows an incoming call from the last person to call. The only way to read and respond to a text message is on the phone itself. This is not a huge problem for me since I only receive and send text messages 5 or 6 times a day. I am very impressed with the quality of the bluetooth connection between my 2 devices.

It works as long as you have updated the Treo 650 firmware to version 1.5. There are detailed instructions at the Palm web site (for the phone upgrade) and at the Garmin web site for the pairing. I agree with the other posts that it is unlikely Verizon in your area could block Bluetooth pairing between a Verizon phone and GPS.

In rereading the original posting, I just had a thought. Maybe what the Verizon folks have done is to block the GPS from providing a position to the phone. Since the C550 (and the Nuvi 660) only communicate via bluetooth for telephone calls, that is not an issue. Neither unit provide position data to the paired phones (or any other device).

I'm betting that the Verizon phones are blocked from receiving a position from a Garmin GTM-10 or other similar Bluetooth receiver.

Joe

As long as you get a bluetooth phone that is listed with Garmin you should be ok. Sounds like a Verizon Rep that is confused.

David

Yes Verizon is not very nice when it comes to full fuction bluetooth.

I pair my Nuvi 660 and VX8300 (not on Garmin list) from Verizon with no problems.
Verizon reps may not even be getting the proper info. I have problems getting answers from store reps regarding phone capabilities or software upgrades. In fact they still tell me that there is no software upgrade to my phone even though I installed it last year. Sometimes it might be best to contact them directly via email or phone.

Just my 2 cents...

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol. Within the Bluetooth protocol you have profiles. These profiles enable certain features (hands-free, headset, LAN (ftp) for data transfer, dial-up networking etc... Check the manufactures website to see what profiles are supported on the phone, and then check your cell provider to see what they allow.

From what I have seen is Verizon conditions all of their phones to have the same firmware. I have a co-worker with a Motorola and a Samsung; both menus of the phones are exactly the same. Both phone have Bluetooth and can only support the headset profile (did not test hands-free profile).

I have a Samsung a900 on Sprint. Sprint does not condition the phone. The a900 can support several profiles. With my laptop I can transfer files (mp3, word docs) via Bluetooth (ftp) and even use it as a dial-up CDMA modem. My Nuvi 360 recognizes the a900 perfectly as a hands-free device.

I paired my Nuvi to my laptop via Bluetooth and it is recognized as both a hands-free and headset device (you can choose which to use). The headset profile only allows you to speak/hear conversations and initiate Voice Dialing (if phone is equipped with this feature). The hands-free profile allows address book lookup and other features.

So, I guess your phone and Nuvi pick the best one to use...

dyeman12: In response to your question about the + dialing prefix. It is the Garmin that in inserting the + prefix. Check out my post on this issue: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/1150

I have a Blackberry 8703e (Verizon) and have no problems with connecting or transferring the address book. Maybe bring your unit in the store and pair up in the store to verify

I have a Verizon Samsung SCH-a930 in CA and I can use blue tooth with my Nuvi 360 even though it's listed on the manual (purchased in Oct 2006, so I don't think they would have 'blocked' blue tooth from it). My phone is not in the manual of OK to use devices, but it worked.

If you get a phone, you can return it and cancel the plan within 14-15 days without penalty from verizon, in case it doesn't work.

Just about all the bluetooth features on Verizon phones are blocked, with the exception of bluetooth headsets. It's part of the specs when manufacturers like Motorola & LG produces a bluetooth phone for Verizon.

I don't remember if it's a hardware block, or a firmware/software block.

The main reason Verizon has these bluetooth features blocked is they offer content at a fee where otherwise would be free for the consumer. Connect your cell phone to pc via bluetooth to get ringtones? Nope, Verizon wants to charge for a ringtone. Hook up your cell phone to GPS via bluetooth? Nope, Verizon has a GPS download phone program with a monthly fee.

The Garmin Web Site lists compatible bluetooth phones for its various GPS units
at:

http://www.garmin.com/bluetooth/compat-gps.jsp

It seems to be a bit of both depending on the phone. I have a VX8300 and the first release of software had BT blocked for a lot (along with other features turned off like MP3 player allowing only WMA to be played).

It appears that under pressure they are releasing more capability for BT. There are some simple hacks (not that I am recommending that by any means and I surely never would ) that enable "blocked" features. Also check with Verizon to see if there is an upgrade to the firm/software of your phone as there was for mine which enabled more features and BT connectivity.

BTW - Garmin's compatibility list is not totally up to date as my phone is not listed, but works save for texting.

As I said on my post above. I had no trouble using BT with the Garmin C550.I got my verizon cell phone last March and the GPs last April and they paired great together. My son who I gave the C550 GPS to just got the newest verizon model cell phone and when I asked him if he had any trouble pairing up the BT's, He said it worked fine.

I think all you need is a cell phone that is bluetooth capable. I have the StreetPilot C550 and I am using my Motorola Bluetooth capable phone and have not had any problems this the unit or the phone.

Just got a nuvi 660 and it paired with my Verizon Motorola E815 with no problem. Works pretty well as a hands-free speakerphone.

Tom, NJ

I have a Cingular Treo 680 and it works exceptionally well with my Nuvi 660 on B/T. I can use my "Favorites" phone book, too.

My Sanyo 8400 cell phone with Sprint service works just fine on our Garmin C550.

Just wanted to add here that I have a Motorola V3xx Razr from Cingular/AT&T and it paired to my Nuvi 660 in seconds, with full compatability. I've even done txt with it with no problem (not while driving of course ).

I'm thinking that maybe you are also using a Bluetooth earpiece or other device. If this is the case you need to turn them off before you pair your phone and GPS (i.e.) you can only use one Bluetooth device with your phone at a time.

i have the lg vx8300 and have been unable to connect to the nuvi 660 PLEASE HELP