Widespread iPhone Bluetooth Echo Problems
Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under Apple iPhone, Mac Stuff | Leave a Comment
In January of 2007 it was time to replace my older Verizon Motorola phone with no bluetooth support because the new car had hands-free bluetooth integrated into the sound system.
My dilemma was that I wanted to wait for the first iPhone but I was too impatient to wait six months. So, I went to AT&T and got a 3G Motorola planing on ditching it in six months time.
It was a pretty decent phone and then I started thinking about what it might be like giving it up for a first generation iPhone. I have had many years of experience as an early adopter of technology. What I have learned is that early adopters are like pioneers — they end up with all the arrows in their backs.
My decision was to wait for the second generation iPhone.
I got the new new 3G iPhone on July 11th and I am loving it except for one major flaw — a defect in the way it performs with hands-free bluetooth in cars.
There are threads on the Apple forums that show how widespread a problem this is.
I decided to send a brief bug report to Apple iPhone Support. I hope they make fixing this a priority.
Here is the bug report:
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Dear Apple iPhone Support.
Most of us 3G iPhone users that use hands-free bluetooth in our cars are having a major problem.
Here is a thread that says it all:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7566755
I have a 2007 G35S sedan with navigation but it seems to affect a many other makes and models of cars with hands free bluetooth built in.
Just to clarify, the caller and I hear an echo of my voice but not an echo of the caller’s voice.
My previous phone (Motorola V3xx) did not have this problem at all.
The echo is bad enough to render the phone unusable in the car unless I try to hold it to my ear while driving. That is not a great safety solution for people who have chosen cars that have hands-free bluetooth.
I imagine that it would be bad PR for Apple if and when people start getting tickets for holding the handset to their ear or when they start driving with ear buds which is illegal in many locales.
Worse than that — what about some attorney that tries to have Apple share in the liability due to an accident in which the jury finds that product liability contributed to the “at fault driver” not using the “safer” option of hands-free.
Now, I know that it may sound like a bit of a stretch but lawyers do stretch things when there are big settlements on the table and there is a company with deep pockets that may have contributed to the hazard which caused the accident.
I am hoping that my hypothetical scenario just helps to bump up the urgency of fixing this bug.
There is no downside to Apple fixing this quickly — you will only make a lot of 3G iPhone customers very happy.
Regards,
T. Dante DeAngelis