How It Works: GM's Bluetooth
A quick view of GM's new-for-2009 Bluetooth.
www.gminsidenews.com
September 8, 2008
By: Nsap
Bluetooth connectivity has been the plight of General Motors enthusiasts for about two years now. The Bluetooth cries started trickling into GM back when the luxury marquees started putting it in their vehicles, but the floodgates opened wide when Ford announced that they were going to have their Microsoft-designed SYNC in-car communications system in basically every model within a year. In typical GM fashion, they were late to the in-car Bluetooth connectivity party, but when they arrived, they arrived in full-force it appears.
We assume that one of the main hang-ups for GM with getting Bluetooth was OnStar. Not only would Bluetooth likely cut down on the amount of money-making OnStar calls, but it also proved to be a technical challenge. The interface buttons, such as those on the steering wheel of many models, were for use on the OnStar Personal Calling System. Obviously GM did not want to create an inconvenience by pushing OnStar to the back of the boat by having the interface be for Bluetooth only; leaving customers to use only the OnStar “phone” button on the mirror. Plus the Bluetooth system can utilize the same microphone and sound system input as OnStar.
Their solution: mesh Bluetooth with the OnStar hardware. For 2009, almost every GM vehicle from Cobalt on up have Bluetooth optional or standard. Initially some questions were raised at how well it would work being tied to the OnStar hardware, but reactions so far have been very good.
Once your phone is paired with the car’s Bluetooth system, you perform the following to utilize it. Hold down the “mute” button on the steering wheel and the system says “Ready.” At that point you can say “Dial” to utilize your OnStar minutes or “Bluetooth” to access your device that is paired with the car. Once you are in the Bluetooth menu, you can access your phone’s voice commands by saying “Voice” and make a call using the phone’s phonebook and voice-dialing system. The other option is to say “Call” and read the number digit-by-digit to the system. To hang-up a call you hold down the “seek down” button.