[patilvijayg]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post. First of all, thanks to all you to keep this forum up. Its wonderful help.

I have a 2006 325i with premium package which includes bluetooth, voice recognition system etc. Lately I am planning to buy a good GPS system for my car. I am thinking to buy a garmin GPS. Now if i buy a garmin gps with bluetooth, will i be able to connect my GPS to my cars bluetooth? So if this happens, is it not that all the driving instructions from my GPS would be relayed over to my cars audio through bluetooth? I know there is a FM transmitter option but i hardly use the radio and the sound (music) quality will be a big time no if I FM transmit the songs to the radio. Everywhere on the internet, I find that bluetooth is for hands free calling. I dont need that. I already have that in my car.

Moreover, how good are the GPS system that come from garmin, but are customized for BMW. The installation charges are too much so it becomes a concern whether it is worth buying it. My dealer says there are two options,

1 - portable navigation system plus - basically garmin 760 - he will charge 750 USD.
2 - protable navigation system pro - basically garmin 880 - he will charge me 947 USD.

is it really worth that much? i seriously doubt that.

Do anyone have that in the car? Whats your review? How does that work? Pls comment.

Thanks.
VJ

[Borsig]

I think the bluetooth on a gps like that is a substitue for one in your car.

[Spydeputy]

not sure if bluetooth will inable the garmin to talk to you thru your sound system. but the garmin is top notch, in the GPS world. you will be very satisfied w/ your purchase.

[taliesen]

As stated, the bluetooth on the GPS unit is only to allow you to use it as a handsfree with your cellphone - the only way to go through the car audio is with the FM transmitter, which as you said is not a good option - sound quality on mine has never been good.

BUT - that being said, as long as you turn the speaker on your GPS on, you should be good to go. I found that in my previous car, when I used my GPS as an mp3 player and used the FM transmitter, it was incredibly annoying for it to pause my music to tell me to turn. Now that I have the built in iPod, I put the radio on Aux input, and then just let the GPS use its own speaker - it's actually much less distracting IMO.

[patilvijayg]

what abt those customized navigation system? do anyone have that in their cars. is it worth paying somuch of money if we want one installed?

[JimD]

I bought the installation kit for the Plus/Pro and investigated it pretty throughly including downloading the manual from the Garmin website. I ended up installing a Garmin 760, however, in my e88.

The integration of the BMW Plus or Pro is very complete and the last step of installation is to reprogram the computer of your car so that it recognizes the new device. Regardless of your sound source, radio, CD, or auxiliary input, if you get a phone call or the GPS wants to give you instructions, they come over the car speakers. The cradle of the Plus/Pro (the part the portable GPS snaps into) is very different from a 760 or 880. It has about a dozen wires that are hidden by the mount and are for the power but also the antenna and also the sound. The sound is taken to a connector to the radio, part of the wiring with the installation kit is the traffic antenna, and you pick up switched power so it comes on when the car is started. All quite slick. I found one guy with a Pro installed in his one and tried to get a little more information on how it works and didn't get everything I wanted to know but got enough to know it is a through integration.

With respect to communciation to the car through bluetooth, the answer is no, it doesn't do that but there is also no need to do that. Which device links to your phone will be controlled by the phone if yours is like my Blackberry 8830. I do not have the bluetooth option on my e88 but I use a jawbone sometimes and I just set one bluetooth device to link automatically with the phone (my nuvi 760) and have the other result in a question to me (so I say yes if that's what I want). I haven't used the jawbone since installing the nuvi 760 but I am pretty sure this will work, I know the nuvi works I used it on the way to work (to test placement of the remote microphone).

If you want most of this functionality at lower cost, you can install a 760 like I did (or a 765 if you want or an 880 if you want voice control). Any Garmin will snap onto the mount after you remove a little square protrustion on the ball. I just wired in a female lighter socket using the wires indicated in the Plus installation instructions and plugged my nuvi 760 power cord with its traffic antenna into the female socket. I then tie wrapped it to a dash brace. The power wire comes out the place the bracket is fastened down as does a male to male 3.5mm cord to feed the sound to the auxiliary port of the radio, and a smaller wire for the remote microphone for the bluetooth phone. It is not as cosmetically appealing as the BMW Plus but all the wires are black so it isn't too bad. Pictures are in the DIY section of the 1 forum here.

To hear the GPS or the phone over the car speakers, I have to switch to the aux feed to the radio (if that is not where I am at that moment). That is simple to do with the button on the steering wheel. Or I can unplug the aux wire from the Garmin and use the built in speaker. I have a fully functioning GPS, a MP3 player (4 GB SD cards are supported), and a very functional bluetooth phone. All for about $300. Wires are hidden except for a few inches right at the Garmin and another short length at the aux input in the console. Garmin bluetooth phone integration seems at least as good as the built-in option. Your phone list appears on the Garmin as well as your most recent incoming and outgoing calls and you can also call destinations you call up on the GPS (hotels, restraunts, etc.).

Jim

[amlebede]

Originally Posted by JimD

I bought the installation kit for the Plus/Pro and investigated it pretty throughly including downloading the manual from the Garmin website. I ended up installing a Garmin 760, however, in my e88.

The integration of the BMW Plus or Pro is very complete and the last step of installation is to reprogram the computer of your car so that it recognizes the new device. Regardless of your sound source, radio, CD, or auxiliary input, if you get a phone call or the GPS wants to give you instructions, they come over the car speakers. The cradle of the Plus/Pro (the part the portable GPS snaps into) is very different from a 760 or 880. It has about a dozen wires that are hidden by the mount and are for the power but also the antenna and also the sound. The sound is taken to a connector to the radio, part of the wiring with the installation kit is the traffic antenna, and you pick up switched power so it comes on when the car is started. All quite slick. I found one guy with a Pro installed in his one and tried to get a little more information on how it works and didn't get everything I wanted to know but got enough to know it is a through integration.

With respect to communciation to the car through bluetooth, the answer is no, it doesn't do that but there is also no need to do that. Which device links to your phone will be controlled by the phone if yours is like my Blackberry 8830. I do not have the bluetooth option on my e88 but I use a jawbone sometimes and I just set one bluetooth device to link automatically with the phone (my nuvi 760) and have the other result in a question to me (so I say yes if that's what I want). I haven't used the jawbone since installing the nuvi 760 but I am pretty sure this will work, I know the nuvi works I used it on the way to work (to test placement of the remote microphone).

If you want most of this functionality at lower cost, you can install a 760 like I did (or a 765 if you want or an 880 if you want voice control). Any Garmin will snap onto the mount after you remove a little square protrustion on the ball. I just wired in a female lighter socket using the wires indicated in the Plus installation instructions and plugged my nuvi 760 power cord with its traffic antenna into the female socket. I then tie wrapped it to a dash brace. The power wire comes out the place the bracket is fastened down as does a male to male 3.5mm cord to feed the sound to the auxiliary port of the radio, and a smaller wire for the remote microphone for the bluetooth phone. It is not as cosmetically appealing as the BMW Plus but all the wires are black so it isn't too bad. Pictures are in the DIY section of the 1 forum here.

To hear the GPS or the phone over the car speakers, I have to switch to the aux feed to the radio (if that is not where I am at that moment). That is simple to do with the button on the steering wheel. Or I can unplug the aux wire from the Garmin and use the built in speaker. I have a fully functioning GPS, a MP3 player (4 GB SD cards are supported), and a very functional bluetooth phone. All for about $300. Wires are hidden except for a few inches right at the Garmin and another short length at the aux input in the console. Garmin bluetooth phone integration seems at least as good as the built-in option. Your phone list appears on the Garmin as well as your most recent incoming and outgoing calls and you can also call destinations you call up on the GPS (hotels, restraunts, etc.).

Jim

Get a refurbished 660 cheap.