I took delivery of my new Jazz on March 1st. It's a Manual 1.4 EX with Elite pack + navi. I'm interested to know if anyone has yet bought the bluetooth option. But first, here's some info on the compact satnav, in case anyone is considering it:
It's a rebadged Garmin 760, with a custom bracket designed by Garmin for Honda. The 760 is close to the top of the Garmin range and, considering the neat design of the bracket and tidy installation, it's not a bad deal as an enhancement to the Elite pack, if a little pricey as an individual optional accessory. You'll save a lot buying a more basic aftermarket device with generic bracket, but it probably won't be as elegant a solution.
It's got lots of features that you will never use, because you will probably have other devices that do the same thing better [eg MP3 player etc]. However, IT DOES NOT WIRE INTO THE CAR AUDIO SYSTEM, so the direction announcements, or any other audio generated by the device, do not mute whatever recordings or radio broadcast you are playing. Unfortunately the audio from the satnav speaker is very poor, and only just suitable for the directions, never mind music or 'phone conversations .... and that is a vexed topic because ....
The satnav unit has bluetooth, and can connect with your 'phone for a hands free system. It can synchronise your entire address book [at least it did from my HTC Windows Mobile device], and you can dial from the satnav screen. So, I thought, it would be a waste of money to get a separate Honda bluetooth system. I'll come back to that later.
Well, I'm afraid, after 2 days use, I've given up on using the Garmin for hands-free 'phone calls. I've realised that, for security reasons, it's better to detach the Garmin unit when I leave the car. I only need it for satnav assisted journeys [maybe once a week], whereas I use hands-free bluetooth for about an hour every day during my commute. So I don't want to keep fitting up the satnav on my daily commute to support bluetooth hands free.
In addition, dialling from the satnav screen was not such a great experience. It's a stretch, across the wheel, which may not be safe, and the address book offers no shortcuts and an age to reload every time you use it. Worse than this, as I've explained above, the 'phone/satnav audio does not mute the car audio, and it's awful sound quality anyway. I did try attaching a small active speaker through the 3.5mm jack on the Garmin, and sticking it to the dashboard. It worked quite well, but was a poor compromise.
So I need a separate bluetooth system, as a hands-free car 'phone is essential for my work. I've had lots of aftermarket solutions in other cars, and it's always been a fairly messy business. In fact it was impossible to get aftermarket devices to integrate with [and mute] the audio in my 06 Jazz at all, even though I was able to do so with my previous Stream. So, I'm looking at getting the Honda bluetooth unit. It's pricey - I just hope I can get someone to discount it!
- Has anyone else tried the bluetooth unit, supplied for the new Jazz, or similar in other Hondas?
- How does it compare, say, to an aftermarket Parrot or other similar device?
- Am I correct in thinking it has a steering wheel control on the lower left hand side of the wheel?
The dealers are not yet well versed on this one. If anyone knows please post here. If nobody does post, but I do get the bluetooth kit ... I'll let you know how good it is anyway.
And yes, I know you can save by doing all this aftermarket. But spend a little more to do this stuff with purpose designed Honda kit, bung it in the EX, and you end up with a car that feels every bit as good as an upper range BMW at less than half the price and running costs ... and more reliable with it!
