Review of the Sony Ericcson HCB-700 Car Kit

jyobeb · 6th November 2006, 23:37

Hi people!
I received my HCB-700, Sony's acclaimed Blue tooth car kit on saturday. I bought it on Ebay from EWAY, a shop with really good customer feedback. I paid 95 pounds for the set and paid 25 pounds for postage. Before I bought it on Ebay, i checked prices in India and found them to be in the region of rs16000/-. I checked the prices of Parrot and a fellow BHPian gave me a quote which was the best I got from anyplace in India. However i felt that the Sony was a better buy and hence ordered it on the net using Paypal.
Received the set 12 days after I paid for it and pretty much had palpitations when i had not received it on the 10th day (which was when I was promised delivery).
I hooked up all the connections (pretty easy) checked to see that everything was working fine and then took it to my installer today. Hooked up the display on my steering combination switch cover, the control unit on the console, the speaker behind the glove box, the mike on the windscreen right below the shade, tidied up the wiring and we were done.
I have a Nokia 9300 and had ben warned that some of the features would not work. The unit has the following features;
1) Voice dialling - Not supported on the 9300
2) phone book dialling - Not supported on the 9300
3) Digit dialling - Supported
4) Call history dialling - not supported
5) Caller Id - supported

The good parts;
Walk into the car and switch on the ignition and the set is connected to your phone. Works perfectly in 5 seconds everytime.
Reception is fabulous and speech quality is excellent.
Sensivity of the mike is great though you do have to train the system.
No break up of sound at all.
Extremely easy to operate.
Display is clear with changeable colours.
Digit dialling works great.
Very easy to install.
Supports upto 5 phones.
Even with the speaker hidden away, sound was fabulous.

The bad parts;
Cost is high in India.
Does not provide all features in all phones.
Rain on the windshield tend to screw up digit dialling at times.

My Sony MEXR1 has a telephone mute which is connected to the mute of the HCB700. When the phone rings or when an outgoing call is made the music mutes automatically and the mutes goes off after the call is completed. Very neat!

I used my wife's Sony phone (550i) on the set and every single feature including automatic updation of phonebook, voice dialling and memory dialling worked perfectly. Maybe its time for me to buy that 800i.

I love using my new toy and it has made driving a whole lot more easier. I do believe that even using a car kit is illegal, but then its made life a whole lot easier and safer for me.

Will post picture soon.

See the demo here www.sonyericsson.com/product/hcb-700/flashdemo/

babhishek · 9th November 2006, 11:47

Where are the pictures?
How tough was the installation for the kit?
I am looking for a kit myself, and would love to hear more from you.
Do post pictures.
What kind of wire cutting if any was required?
What is the SONY MEXR1 you are talking about?

6th November 2006, 23:37	#1
jyobeb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Madurai Posts: 1,010 Thanked: 703 Times	Review of the Sony Ericcson HCB-700 Car Kit Hi people! I received my HCB-700, Sony's acclaimed Blue tooth car kit on saturday. I bought it on Ebay from EWAY, a shop with really good customer feedback. I paid 95 pounds for the set and paid 25 pounds for postage. Before I bought it on Ebay, i checked prices in India and found them to be in the region of rs16000/-. I checked the prices of Parrot and a fellow BHPian gave me a quote which was the best I got from anyplace in India. However i felt that the Sony was a better buy and hence ordered it on the net using Paypal. Received the set 12 days after I paid for it and pretty much had palpitations when i had not received it on the 10th day (which was when I was promised delivery). I hooked up all the connections (pretty easy) checked to see that everything was working fine and then took it to my installer today. Hooked up the display on my steering combination switch cover, the control unit on the console, the speaker behind the glove box, the mike on the windscreen right below the shade, tidied up the wiring and we were done. I have a Nokia 9300 and had ben warned that some of the features would not work. The unit has the following features; 1) Voice dialling - Not supported on the 9300 2) phone book dialling - Not supported on the 9300 3) Digit dialling - Supported 4) Call history dialling - not supported 5) Caller Id - supported The good parts; Walk into the car and switch on the ignition and the set is connected to your phone. Works perfectly in 5 seconds everytime. Reception is fabulous and speech quality is excellent. Sensivity of the mike is great though you do have to train the system. No break up of sound at all. Extremely easy to operate. Display is clear with changeable colours. Digit dialling works great. Very easy to install. Supports upto 5 phones. Even with the speaker hidden away, sound was fabulous. The bad parts; Cost is high in India. Does not provide all features in all phones. Rain on the windshield tend to screw up digit dialling at times. My Sony MEXR1 has a telephone mute which is connected to the mute of the HCB700. When the phone rings or when an outgoing call is made the music mutes automatically and the mutes goes off after the call is completed. Very neat! I used my wife's Sony phone (550i) on the set and every single feature including automatic updation of phonebook, voice dialling and memory dialling worked perfectly. Maybe its time for me to buy that 800i. I love using my new toy and it has made driving a whole lot more easier. I do believe that even using a car kit is illegal, but then its made life a whole lot easier and safer for me. Will post picture soon. See the demo here www.sonyericsson.com/product/hcb-700/flashdemo/ Last edited by jyobeb : 6th November 2006 at 23:46.
	() Thanks

9th November 2006, 11:47	#2
babhishek BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 328 Thanked: 35 Times View My Garage	Where are the pictures? How tough was the installation for the kit? I am looking for a kit myself, and would love to hear more from you. Do post pictures. What kind of wire cutting if any was required? What is the SONY MEXR1 you are talking about?
	() Thanks