With local and state governments passing laws requiring use of hands-free devices to prevent distracted driving, Bluetooth phone integration is a must-have feature for new car buyers who need to talk on the phone while their vehicle is in motion.
But since it’s not practical to purchase a new car just to have in-vehicle Bluetooth navigation and fumbling around with a corded headset or having to charge a Bluetooth headset each night as well is idea, a professionally installed Bluetooth car kit is a great option.
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| Parrot MKi9200 |
Parrot makes aftermarket car Bluetooth integration kits that allow you to update your car with Bluetooth and digital music playback capabilities at an affordable price. Parrot systems features iPod/MP3/Bluetooth streaming audio capabilities and voice dialing that works with your car’s current stereo system.
We’ve been using the Parrot MKi9200 system ($198.99 from Amazon![]()
), Parrot’s most full-featured kit that features Bluetooth phone integration, voice dialing, iPod/USB MP3 playback, and even Bluetooth streaming. Their kits are compatible with just about any vehicle.
The MKi9200 consists of two visible components, a control pad, and a LCD screen. The 2.4 inch color LCD displays caller ID, address book names, and status information while using the phone. For music playback, it displays artist, song, and album version as well as full color album artwork. Nice! Most car manufacturers are starting to offer iPod docks, but most are quite primitive. Few, if any, display album artwork.
The control panel is a black panel with your familiar red-green cell phone buttons to place or end a call, as well as fast forward, rewind, pause, and a knob. It’s a compact panel with just enough buttons to get the job done quickly without looking down at the panel. The basic idea is that you mount the screen up higher on the dashboard so it’s easily viewable without having to take your eyes from the road while the control panel is mounted in an easy-to-reach place.
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| Example of Parrot MKi9200 dashboard mount |
I was concerned about putting something this fancy/nice into our car and whether it would be a magnet for thieves. Honestly, this system is pretty invisible to those strolling past cars. The Parrot is installed so all of the wiring is internal rather than being strung across the dashboard to draw attention the device. The control pad is mounted on the center console where it’s not easily seen from a distance. The screen is mounted on the dashboard and it has a quick-release so that you can take it off if you’re worried about it. We take ours off when parking in a sketchy area or when leaving the car for long periods of time, such as the airport. The screen pops off easily, leaving only a boring looking black piece of plastic and tiny USB connection. Given all the black plastic on most vehicle dashboards, it really blends in and has a very low profile even when still on your dashboard. Parrot includes a soft pouch for keeping the screen safe in your purse, under the seat, or in your laptop bag.
Car integration
So how does this thing integrate with your existing car stereo?
I believe there are several options, but I will describe how ours is hooked up, which I’ve come to think is the best method. In our car, the Parrot sits between the car stereo and its speakers. If a call comes in, it cuts off the audio from your stereo and plays a ringtone. You press the green button on the dashboard to answer it. When you’re done, you press the red button. About as simple as using a 10 year old cell phone. Green button. Red button.
When you use the buttons on the Parrot to play your iPod, it does the same thing. When it has audio to play, it overrides your existing car stereo. The Parrot has its own built-in amplifier and doesn’t use your stereo for anything. In our case, I think the Parrot’s audio quality is superior to our factory installed car stereo. The only slightly confusing thing is that in this setup, you the car stereo volume has nothing to do with the Parrot volume. It takes a day or two to get use to it, but it works great.
Pairing
Without any fuss, we were able to pair the system with an iPod and an Android phone. The Parrot will download the address book from your phone and store it locally. This is useful for several reasons. First, it allows the Parrot to display caller ID with name for incoming calls. Secondly, it allows you to use the address book entries for making outgoing calls, most importantly, through voice recognition.
The Mki9200 pairs with multiple phones, allowing multiple family members to use the Bluetooth system when driving. If the whole family is in the car, the Parrot talks to only one phone at a time, preferring the one it talked to last.
Making Calls
To place an outgoing call, press the green button. The system comes alive and the little woman in the box says, “Who do you want to call?” I should note that we opted for the British female voice as she sounds more sophisticated and the kids like her accent! You speak the name and (home/work/mobile) and it calls your contact.
Unlike many built-in car phone integration kits, the Parrot gives you the option of using its internal speech recognition system, or the one built into your phone. Depending on your phone, you might to decide to use one or the other. On an iPhone, the iPhone’s speech recognition worked just as well as the Parrot. On an Android phone, with its half-functional voice recognition, Parrot’s system worked better.
While talking on the phone, the caller’s audio comes through the car’s speakers, with volume controlled by the Parrot. It’s plenty loud and easy to adjust. Your voice is picked up by a double microphone mounted out of sight (likely near the rearview mirror). The system contains DSP software that eliminates background noise. People I call when in the car using the Parrot say the quality is good and nobody has complained about road noise.
If you’re someone who ends up on long conference calls, you’ll appreciate Parrot’s physical mute button on the control pad. Simply press the play/pause button to mute. This is helpful when you need to talk to the kids in the back seat while still pretending to be paying attention to a conference call!
Listening to Music
Several years ago, we put an iPod dock in our car. It was one that made the iPod look like a 6-disc changer. It worked, but you could only access 6 different playlists, and there was no track names or other information. The Parrot is a huge step up from that original dock. With the Parrot, you can scroll through your playlists on the LCD display, picking out what you want to listen to with pin-point accuracy. Typical iPod-like menus are available to listen by album, song, genre, playlist, etc. Once the song starts playing, the artist, title, and album are displayed on the screen, along with the cover-art. The knob on the control makes it a breeze to move through the menus. The fast-forward and rewind buttons are within easy reach for moving through your music quickly.
In addition to connecting an iPod, you can play music from an SD card, a USB flash drive, USB MP3 player, or even Bluetooth streaming. If you want to play the audio from something else, like an XM radio, or DVD player in the car, there is also an AUX-input jack.
Miscellaneous
If your car came with steering wheel controls, but you didn’t purchase the radio/navigation unit that had the Bluetooth feature, the Mki9200 can interface with the factory-installed buttons using an optional kit.
Parrot makes several different car Bluetooth/audio kits. The MKi9200 is currently the top of the line. Other kits have similar features but have cheaper (or no screen), or do not include iPod functionality.
Summary
For making or placing calls, the Parrot Bluetooth kit is about as simple as it gets without buying a brand new car. No headset to put on, no separate device to remember to charge at night. You get in the car, it’s there, charged and ready to go.
It connects to your phones, it’s got voice dialing, quick and easy access to all of our music on the iPod, and excellent sound quality.
I think that if the Parrot had an FM radio built into it, I could probably just unplug the factory stereo and use it all the time. Other than listening to traffic reports and some NPR, we listen to the Parrot non-stop whether on long trips or just driving around town.
Pros
- Excellent Bluetooth kit for a professional, permanent, no wires-showing result.
- iPod integration including cover art.
- Cheaper than buying a new car, and has more features than most factory Bluetooth/iPod kits.
- Software upgradable for future bug fixes, phone compatibility, etc.
Cons:
- I wish the Parrot booted up faster when pulling out of the driveway. I’m impatient and don’t like to wait until I’m in the street until I can use it.
- I wish there was a “shuffle songs” button directly on the iPod menus to shuffle among whatever music is at that level.
For more information, take a look at the Parrot Mki9200 Manual. There are also a lot of people discussing Parrot use in different cars in various online forums.
Parrot MKi9200![]()
is available at many online retailers including Amazon![]()
, Crutchfield, and BestBuy. Consider buying the unit with installation as a package from a Parrot Certified Installer. Installation at the Parrot Certified Installer where I took my car ran $250 but it was well worth their professional opinion plus installation and the lesson about how to use it before leaving.
Parrot provided me with a MKi9200 kit and vehicle installation. No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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