I so wish that it was possible to remove the GSMIII phone stuff in my Elegance, and go back to the Octy bluetooth module.

Has anyone tried this, or know if it would be possible?

I'm so fed up of having to use substandard Nokia handsets in order to get the phone kit to work. Someone needs to tell VAG that the whole rSAP approach is a dead end. Hardly anyone but Nokia is ever going to support it.

Sure, my E71 works okay, but the internet experience is lousy. There are so many great handsets coming up, but most of them will totally fail to work in the Superb. I'd love to be able to use a Palm Pre, iPhone 3GS, HTC Hero to name a few.

Instead, I'm stuck with either the Omnia HD (great hardware, crap software) or the N97 (lousy touchscreen, slow processor, crap keyboard layout and buggy software). I've been trying both of these phones over the last few days, and S60 5th Edition just sucks compared to the competition. The underlying Symbian OS might be good, but the touchscreen UI needs loads of work.

(Before anyone asks, I did unbrand the Omnia with the latest non-Orange firmware, and it's still buggy and unreliable).

Oh well, maybe the N99 will finally be up to scratch........

Bagpuss.

P.S. I've deliberately not mentioned WinMobile handsets here, as they suffer the same problem as the Omnia....great hardware marred by a p*ss poor OS.

The Superb has the best car kit i've ever used by far , i'd rather have a crap phone than a crap car kit anyday

I use a Orange SPV with WM6 on it with the Bluetooth kit in my Golf, same kit as in the Superb, I find it works very well and I esp like the fact you can read your messages

Not used Nokias for a while so can't really comment.

I agree. The car kit is great, but the range of phones it works with is too small.

Pioneer have proved that you can have a great car kit without needing rSAP. Specifically, they have integrated Parrot bluetooth software into the AVIC-F900BT, and it works brilliantly.

I know that I could carry two devices, but that's a pain in the ****. I want a phone that works well as an internet/e-mail device and which does rSAP. Sadly, that combination seems to be a bit hard to come by.

Bagpuss.

its too complicated for its own good - i agree. luckily i have no need to anything on my phone other than voice calls so can live with a basic nokia.

what i find annoying with rsap is that the call register and message log is not visible once you have disconnected from the car - ie if you get a text whilst driving and want to read it later you cant as the text is not on the handset when you disconnect. also list of last dialled calls on the car is not the same as last dialled calls on the handset. whats that all about ?

When using RSAP your phone is not used for anything. The RSAP protocol reads the sim card data from your phone and uses that in the kit. Basically the RSAP kit in the superb is a mobile phone that reads the sim data from your handset rather than using a physical sim card. The SMS texts, call data etc are all stored on the rsap kit. RSAP stands for Remote Sim Access Protocol.

I like the RSAP stuff in principle, but the comparative lack of handset support is what makes it a problem.

Incidentally, Jonathan, you can copy text messages received in the car onto the SIM card of the phone. It's in the phone menus somewhere (don't remember where at the moment). Once you've done that, then my E71 has a copy option to move the text from the SIM into the main phone memory. It's a bit of a pain, but it does mean that you don't lose any texts.

Personally, I think the iPhone , Palm Pre and Android (particularly the HTC Hero) are getting close to being my ideal handset. The trouble is, none of them support RSAP. I'm pretty sure that Apple will never support it, but there is talk of the next version of Android implementing it. As for the Pre, then nobody seems to know.

Bagpuss.

I wonder if it's possible to write an app for the iphone that will allow rsap?

It's been talked about, and there is a third party application that implements bluetooth file transfer on the iPhone now.

I'd look at it myself, if I didn't have more than enough to do already.

Bagpuss.

I'd look at it myself, if I didn't have more than enough to do already.

The guy who bought my Octy has just got the latest iPhone - I'll see if I can try this for you.

Ray.

Thanks Ray, but I know the new 3GS doesn't work with the Superb. We've got a couple at work, so it was the first thing I tried.

It needs someone to implement the RSAP protocol on top of the third party iBluetooth application. I suspect that this would not be a trivial task, given that there is very little documentation about this technical area of the iPhone (it's not covered by the official Apple SDK).

Bagpuss.

The common sense says to change the phone, not the car...

I retro fitted the blue tooth unit, will be easy for you just change the box under your seat, but updating maybe required (Works brilliant on iPhone 3g s better than nokia E51!).

"Which is factory kit option for Bluetooth in Bolero" is the link.

Edited 30 June, 200917 yr by BurialConstant

In the UK, all superbs supplied with phone kits are the RSAP variety no matter what headunit is fitted. Other markets have the option of the earlier GSM kit or RSAP.

At the risk of sticking my head above the parapet, has anyone considered the safety benefits of NOT using a phone (even Bluetooth) whilst driving? The company I work for actually banned the use of phones whilst driving, irrespective as to whether a handfree device or Bluetooth connectivity was used.

I have updated my phone every year for the last 10, my 16g iphone with the new updated software walks all over anything and everything, specially blackberry.

A simple handsfree for EMERGENCY calls only is adequate when my son isnt in the car to answer for me, regardless of business how many deaths/accidents/near misses are due to people not concentrating due to taking/making calls or texts? I totally agree with Veloplus. . . . . . . .

I personally dont buy the media hype any driver should be more than capable of talking while driving if they cant they shouldnt be on the road, perhaps we should ban passengers next just to be safe ??

A well operating handsfree kit is an essential imo , if the standard one wont cut it then there are plenty of alternatives

A few years ago a manufacturer supplied kit meant never changing your phone , my Mercedes had a great kit in it but only took a Nokia 6210!!

At the risk of sticking my head above the parapet, has anyone considered the safety benefits of NOT using a phone (even Bluetooth) whilst driving? The company I work for actually banned the use of phones whilst driving, irrespective as to whether a handfree device or Bluetooth connectivity was used.

My employer has just done the same, use of phone is forbidden and must be switched off.

Think it's to do with corporate manslaughter.

Not too bad actually, it's like the good old pre mobile days where my boss can't get hold of me!

Dan

My employer has just done the same, use of phone is forbidden and must be switched off.

Think it's to do with corporate manslaughter.

Not too bad actually, it's like the good old pre mobile days where my boss can't get hold of me!

Dan

I have heard if you have an accident the police will check your phone bill and take it in to consideration:eek:.

The true benefit of the rSAP is that fact that the car has an external antenna. For years VAG manuals have had big scary warnings about not using a mobile phone inside what is, in effect, a Faraday cage, without an external antenna.

The rSAP Premium bluetooth phone I have in my Passat is quite simply the best car integrated mobile phone I have ever used (the pop-up keypad is still a thing of wonder) and there is even a centre console unit for the iPhone now if anyone feels the need.

Because of my job I have a twin-phone contract with Orange where the calls are sent first to my handset in my pocket and then, if that doesn't answer after 4 rings, to the Nokia 3109 in the car centre console.

It works very well and I never have to worry about swapping phones or anything.

When using RSAP your phone is not used for anything. The RSAP protocol reads the sim card data from your phone and uses that in the kit. Basically the RSAP kit in the superb is a mobile phone that reads the sim data from your handset rather than using a physical sim card. The SMS texts, call data etc are all stored on the rsap kit. RSAP stands for Remote Sim Access Protocol.

On the VW implementation you can use the rSAP phone without another phone but you can only call the VAG concierge service or the emergency services. I suspect that the Skoda has a couple of buttons that let you do the same as well. In theory, if you knew the incoming number of the phone in the car, I'm sure it would take calls too.

Bagpuss my unit is just like your old Octavia unit and I bought it because of better compatibility and cheaper than factory fit (but did not work properly with a Nokia E51 or N95). on the iPhone 3g (with 3.0 software) works brilliant! I have just bought the S version (does not work on the original iPhone).

I have an iPhone 3G and love it. I have a new Superb, and love it. The two won't talk. so....

I've put an old Nokia 6020 (I Think) in the boot with a Cigar Lighter power supply with the ringer turned off and block caller ID and a PAYG SIM.

Updated the SIM card in the Nokia with my addressbook on my Mac ( the one I synch with my iPhone).

When I get into the car I set my work iPhone to redirect incoming calls to the PAYG Nokia in the boot.

95% of my calls in the car are incoming if I need to make an outgoing call I have the addressbook in the Columbus.

When I get out of the car I turn off call forwarding.

Far from perfect but a good compromise for the moment.

Has the added benefit that my wife and I both know the PAYG number and it is just stored as CarPhone for ease of dialing in case one of us forgets to forward calls.

Mike

I agree it is a continuing issue for many of us who have to consider changing phones from time to time, and who need to stay in touch safely when on the road. I would have hoped Skoda (and/or VW) would have been a little more proactive in checking latest phone releases for compatibility.

I phoned the Customer Support line today to ask if they had a list of current phones that were known to work with the in car Columbus system and was told to refer to the latest brochure released this month. When I pointed out that I had done this only to find most of the phones listed are no longer supplied by operators and all the latest higher spec Nokia's are missing I was simply told only those listed will work. Not too helpful!

One can only hope that Skoda will wake up to the fact that many of their customers buying the new Superb require good communication capability in car and are faced with the need to update mobiles on a regular basis thus need guidance on current compatibility.

The kit was designed by Nokia and is actually by Cullmann. If you check out ebay Germany, there are a great many more phone adapters available than listed by VAG for use with the premium phone kit.