DriveNTalk BHF-2000 Bluetooth Hands Free Car Kit Review

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DriveNTalk BHF-2000 Review

I will be giving away a DriveNTalk Bluetooth Speakerphone next month! (September 2011).  See details on how to enter at the end of the review.

Everybody and their grandma has a smart-phone.  Why not have a smart speaker-phone to go with that in the car?  Well you can! In fact the law in many states means that you should!  Let me share with you an example with a true story.

It was a dark and stormy February night here in Los Angeles.  I was inching along a side street to the 101 which was all but a standstill at that point.  The rain was not letting up and visibility was really low.  A flash of lights and sirens were blaring off in the distance.  It’s well know that many people in LA don’t know how to drive, but you don’t hear too much about the stupid things pedestrians do during rush hour.  Some idiot was jay walking, in dark clothing, across the sloping and slippery street and almost got run over by a SUV in front of me.  One really has to keep their eyes on the road 100% of the time in situations like this.  Talk about stress!

I needed a break.  My equally tired friend was frantically searching through her phone for a nearby bookstore where we hoped to take shelter to let traffic run its course.  She was getting really frustrated searching on the phone for information so that I could make an informed decision on staying the course, waiting it out, or...

Then, like a flash of lightning, I suddenly remembered that I could get this information, (with the help of my BHF-2000 bluetooth speakerphone) and not violate the hands-free law here in California.  (You never can tell who is watching - I got pulled over once for simply touching my phone to use the GPS at a stop light).

Me: Hello Driventalk!
BHF2000: Say a command.
Me: Information.
BHF2000: Activating call information.
BHF2000: Bing 411.  Say a city and state, or service.
Me: Los Angeles, CA
…

Minutes later...

I got the information I wanted about the traffic congestion and delay.  The current fastest route turned out to be too slow for my taste and patience at the time.  I found the nearest Borders, and confirmed that they were open.  I got the address, and had my friend route us there.

My friend, who normally calls me a huge dork when I bust out gizmos and gadgets actually looked at me and said: “Woah!  That’s cool!”

I did all that without lifting a finger from my steering wheel.  The key here was doing it both safely and effectively.

The BHF-2000 is not unique in being able to use voice commands (see my Blu-Ant S4 review for instance), but voice commands aren’t the only thing it can do, and do well.

Here are my top favorite features of the BHF-2000:

  1. Top notch speaker quality so that I can hear over the phone, and hear my GPS instructions from Navigon on my iPhone.
  2. Excellent battery life, supported also by the built-in solar panel, and the G-sensor.
  3. Voice commands.  I only use a handful of them, but that’s all I need.  The ones I use the most are: Call Favorite (1-5), Answer (answers the call hands free, Battery Level (so that I know where I stand), Call Home, Ignore (reject incoming call - damn telemarketers), and Phone Command so that I can use the iPhones voice recognition.
  4. Touch sensor.  All it usually takes is one touch to accomplish what I need.  I use this when I want to conserve battery life as the ‘always listening’ mode uses up more battery life.

Let it be known that the BHF-2000 has even more features, but that’s all I regularly use over the course of several months so far.


Sound quality: 9/10

The sound quality from the A2DP is so good, loud, and crisp that I regularly clip it to my belt and walk around with it listening to podcasts.  I don’t even need to turn it up max volume unless I’m outside with all the traffic noise.  Even then, its more than loud enough.

Speakerphone: 8/10

It’s full duplex, and noise cancelling.  It works great in the car, and also on my desk.  While the speakers do get loud, I do find that sometimes the environment is just too loud for me to hear what the other party is saying.  That itself is more an issue with the call quality and reception issue (AT&T and iPhone 4) than what the BHF-2000 can output because I know from playing podcasts that the speaker definitely gets loud enough.

I have never had a complaint from a caller about being on a speakerphone when I use the BHF-2000.  Although, for myself talking to soft-spoken people through the speakerphone, I have wished the volume could be amplified even further.  I find that throwing 200 watts of power achieved through the FM transmitter to my car stereo solves that problem.

I’ll be sharing samples of some calls like I usually do here and on youtube.

Voice Commands: 9/10

There are two ways to initiate voice commands.  One, with voice trigger mode on, you simply say: “Hello, DriveNTalk!”  Two, you touch the sensor area.  Both respond with, “Say a command.”  

There’s a lot of commands you can give, but first time users can simply say: “What can I say?” to get the gist of it.  If you wait too long to say a command, it will remind you that you can always say, “What can I say?” for a list of commands.  It walks you through it.

For the main commands I like to use, it’s a breath of fresh air.  Don’t expect it to make any new phone calls directly for you via voice.  For instance, you can’t simply ask it to dial 123-456-7890.  But like in the above story, I called Bing 411, asked it for the nearest Borders, and then asked it to go ahead and connect me.  That’s not a problem.  

You can also utilize your ‘phone commands’ by asking it to dial a contact in your address book on say your iPhone.

So here’s how that would work connected to an iPhone 4:

Me: Hello, DriveNTalk!
BHF-2000: Say A Command.
Me: Phone Commands.
BHF-2000: Activating Phone Commands:
iPhone 4: Beep Beep (phone commands activated).
Me: Call Barack Obama Mobile.
iPhone 4: Beep beep.  Calling Barack Obama mobile.
BHF-2000: Phone ringing.
Secret Service: Mr. Mu, how did you get this number?
…
Moments later, I’m pulled over and frisked by secret service...

It should be noted, the quieter the environment when giving the commands, the better.  For example, muting Lady Gaga for a moment will result in much better voice recognition than her screaming “...Papapa Poker Face!”; closing the windows on a busy street in New York City would help as well.

There are times when it simply misinterprets what you are saying, but thankfully for me, that’s not a common occurence.  Also, if you have a heavy accent, I can see how this is really going to really limit ‘what you can say’ and ultimately the usefulness of a true hands-free in-car device.


Gesturing and Proximity Sensor: 7/10

You germaphobes will appreciate this.  People that have been accused of violating the hands-free law too.  "Your honor, I didn’t even touch my phone, because I don’t need to!  Watch this!"  *Wave your hand in front of the unit and command it!*  Surely the judge will throw the case out after seeing a demonstration - well there’s still the matter of the speeding...

You can initiate commands, change volume, answer, hang up calls just by waving your hand in front of the unit.  You know, like you have the power of ‘the force’ on your side.  I’ve used it a few times, but I prefer to just slide my finger across the touch sensitive sensor to get the volume changes done.

This feature is unique to DriveNTalk BHF-2000.

Touch Sensor: 8/10

There is one main touch sensor area marked by the transparent stick on.  It’s smack in front of the unit, and hard to miss.  You simply touch it with your bare finger / skin and the BHF-2000 comes to life.  If you slide across it left or right you can turn the speaker volume up or down.

I’m the first to admit that I haven’t mastered the other taps.  Double tap to mute etc, press and hold to transfer the call from device to mobile (I just use my iPhone to do that and I suspect most users will just turn off the unit.)  Plus what happens if you meant to mute but tapped it incorrectly?  I’ll stick to a visual confirmation of a mute on the iPhone, but the BHF-2000 does give an auditory confirmation that it is in mute mode in the form of two short beeps.

I’d have preferred a separate button for mute and also separate buttons for volume adjustment.  



FM Transmission: 7/10

So you have a $2000 stereo system in the car?  Why not utilize some of those speakers and get full on surround sound on your calls?  I can tell you why not... who wants to hear their wife nagging on the phone in surround sound?  All joking aside, its nice to be able to stream music from any A2DP device to your car over FM.  I don’t use this feature much for phone calls because... well, the signal is not encrypted and anybody within range can pick up your conversation in grid-lock traffic.

But if you need it; want it; it’s included!  It works.  If you’ve seen my reviews on the Jabra Cruisers, it works the same way.  It has auto-tuning to find the next clearest station for your use, as well as manual tuning.  FM transmission is not audiophile quality, but in some areas it will get the job done very well but not so much in major metropolitan areas which have FM radio stations fighting to over-transmit each other.  I use the FM transmitter mostly on long drives up and down the Interstate where there are very few quality radio stations to listen to.

What I’d love to see is a physical audio line out from the BHF-2000 so that you can stream music through it via bluetooth, and then out to your auxiliary line in jack on your in car radio.  That would be awesome!

G Sensor: 10/10

I don’t worry much about leaving the unit on when I leave the car.  Why?  It goes to power saving standby mode when you exit your vehicle and go out of range.  It turns on when you get in your car.  It works beautifully in all cases but one.  Sometimes I get to a meeting early, and I get a phone call just as I have exit the car but still within range of the bluetooth (incredible range BTW).  I have to remember to direct the call to my iPhone 4 (in this case) to get the call.

 

Phone Book: 8/10

The BHF-2000 supports up to 2000 contacts and upon first pairing with your phone, (and if your phone supports PBAP,) it will download all that information.  So... when you get a call from your friend, it will say your friend’s name, etc.  This feature is now found on all the other top bluetooth speakerphones now.


Bluetooth: 10/10

The range is simply incredible.  I think it’s because of the antennae design that makes use of the mounting clip but I haven’t verified that with the engineers.  Anyway, one time I went into the post office a good 200 feet away, albeit direct line of sight through glass windows, and it was still connected!

It’s standard 2.1 and EDR compliant.  Pairs with up to 8 phones, and up to 2 at once.  My one pet peeve with this multi point function is that it will use the later currently connected and obviously paired phone to be the default phone dialing out when initiating a call using the BHF-2000.  On more than one occassion, I used the wrong phone to call out.

Battery Life: 10/10

No complaints in this department.  Given the features, power, and solar recharging capabilities, and how light weight it is, the BHF-2000 really is in a class of its own.

Still, here are the stats:
Battery is a Lion Polymer rated at 1000 mAH.
15 Hour Talk Time.
Standby time is 250 hours.
Standby time with voice trigger on is 65 hours.

Solar Charging: 8/10

How cool is it that the unit can be completely self-powered from the sun?  Well, it will depend of course on weather, how much you actually use it, etc but at the very least, it cuts down on the number of times you have to connect the included car charger.

Solar charging say here in California, on a sunny day or 7 hours of sun you can expect the battery to charge up approximately 9%.  

But, it’s too bad that you have to face the unit and the visor out towards the sun typically.  And that also invites thieves to break into your car to steal it.

*As a side note, the beta engineering sample unit I was using had a defective solar charging circuit.  I’ve been told that the issue has been resolved in production.  


Dial2Do Text Messaging, Twitter, Email: 7/10

I’ve tried the text message hands free feature, and twitter through the Dial2Do partnership but I never really got into it.  There wasn’t anything important enough for me to text message over the voice interface versus just calling them.  Dial2Do can do so much more for you over the phone so that’s always an option for you power users out there and its integrated well with the BHF-2000.

You get 90 days free trial with the Dial2Do service with the BHF-2000.

Style and Build Quality: 8/10

I gave it the creak test where I squeeze the unit with my hands and I rate it an 8/10.  It creaks just a bit.  The fit and finish are top notch though and it would not look out of place attached to any luxury vehicle’s visor.  I think it’s one of the best looking in it’s class.  Although to go all out, I’d have given it an OLED screen too!

Like all most other portable units designed for the car, you can’t get it wet, don’t let it get too hot (I’d stay away from using solar charging in 100+ degree intense sunlight in an enclosed car if I were you), and it’s not designed to be shockproof.

With that said, this isn’t a fragile device.  I can easily drop it on the carpet floor from standing height of say 3 feet and know that nothing is going to happen to it.  I’ve dropped it on concrete by mistake getting out of the car and it still works just fine.  Still, I wouldn’t play catch with it outside in the parking lot, that’s just asking for trouble.

Firmware Upgrade and PC Software: 8/10

The unit is completely firmware upgradeable.  New fixes or features come out, you can download them and upgrade your unit. Right now you can pre-program your favorite phone numbers into the unit.  In fact, if you don’t like Bing 411, you can change the “Call Information” command to call “Tell Me” etc.

Unfortunately, the software only currently supports up to Windows XP, so Windows 7 users will have to wait and see.  And no, checking off compatibility mode won’t do the trick either.

Luckily, you can still configure some of your favorite phone numbers right on the unit as long as they call you first.

Warranty and Support: 8/10

It’s a pretty standard one year warranty for defects in material and workmanship.  

DriveNTalk the Company: 9/10

DriveNTalk and parent company Enustech are no amateurs in the bluetooth market.  Chances are you may have used or seen their products since they are one of the biggest ODM suppliers for one of the biggest BT accessory brand in Northern Europe, and ODM for a major North American mobile brand.  Over the past few months I have provided my personal feedback on a beta sample and they have always responded promptly, professionally, and with great interest in how I feel they can improve their product.

DriveNTalk knows their stuff, and they are serious about getting their products known here in the United States.


Bottom Line: 8.7/10

The DriveNTalk BHF-2000 is quite possibly the smartest portable bluetooth speakerphone you can buy.  There is no other speakerphone on the market that handles your bluetooth speakerphone needs with such capability, features and finesse for under $100.  Things can only improve with firmware updates, so consider the BHF-2000 an investment in your truly hands-free future.  


Special thanks to DriveNTalk for providing the review unit, and the giveaway below!


Giveaway!

To enter:
1. 'Like' this article on Facebook. (Just click the like button.)
2. Follow me on twitter.
3. 'Like' the DriveNTalk Facebook page found here.
4. Comment below and answer the following: What feature about the BHF-2000 is the most important to you and why?  Click here to visit DriveNTalk page on the BHF-2000.

Prize:
(1) DriveNTalk BHF-1800 bluetooth speaker.  (The one I’m giving away is currently being tested, don’t worry it will arrive as good as almost new :).  

Winner will be announced here, and also on the DriveNTalk FaceBook page.  Your chances of winning will depend on the number of entries, and will be selected at random by the end of September amongst all qualified entries.  

Stay tuned!