W211 i-phone cradle

[D200VOO]

Hello there,
I'm new to the forum but not new to MB ownership. I've recently bought a 2007 W211 E320CDI Estate.

It has the appropriate preparation for a phone cradle but I cannot seem to track down the correct one for the car and my i-phone 3g 8gb. Naturally I could ring a dealer but would rather avoid paying £250+ especially when mobile phones don't have a very long life span.

All of the used phone cradles listed on ebay are listed on the EPC for other models but not the W211.

Can any one steer me towards the correct cradle? Any help gratefully received!

Cheers
Simon

 

[richard]

Hello

Firstly, you need to check if your car has the UHI Phone option (which is option 386 or 388) - this is easiest done in the 2007 E class by looking in the top section of the centre armrest for a half moon shaped connector, into which the cradle will plug. On 2008 E class the glovebox is a single bay not split in 2.

For the iPhone 3G/3GS you then have 3 options
a) Mercedes Generic Bluetooth adapter, which will provide bluetooth hands free with address book transfer. This is known as the Mercedes HFP, there is an old and new one, the new one supports PBAP address book transfer which is needed for the Nokia smartphones, but not for the iPhone so that will work with both
b) Non Mercedes Generic bluetooth adapter, such as ViseeO MB-2 - equivalent to (a) but cheaper
c) Mercedes iPhone 3G/3GS cradle - this does bluetooth but when the phone is plugged in it will charge it and uses the car's external antenna. There are 2 versions of this, one with a cable that hangs out the side that can connect to an iPod kit in an E class with COMAND, but thats quite difficult to install. This will only pair with iPhones though.

Given iPhone antenna isnt great and battery life a bit short, i'd go for (c) assuming all users of the car have iPhone

If you want a new one, read my signature below for a link. However I'm sure there are plenty of those on eBay as many people bought the iPhone 4 to replace the iPhone 3 ..

The one issue with older iPhone 3G/3GS cradles is that there has been a firmware update (which can be done by a dealer or comand online), which helps with address book transfer - and Apple regularly break the iPhone address book transfer process which causes trouble sometimes. The firmware update fixed an issue in an earlier version if iPhone firmware when they broke things, but I have a feeling that it improves current iPhone phone book transfer.

Cheers

Richard

 

[D200VOO]

i-phone cradle

Richard,
Thanks for your very comprehensive reply.

I had made the decision to go for "option c" as the car has the plug in the armrest.

I may have to bite the bullet and buy new to be sure of getting the correct one.

Cheers
Simon

 

[rascalmaster]

Hi Simon...
I got mine from command online about a year ago, works like a charm!
We have iPhone, 3 g, 3GS and 4, and it works with them all.
However the iPhone 4 won't fit into it for charging... ( I tried cutting into the cradle plastic etc but no joy)
I have a work around for the iphone4... I bought a extension lead from amazon female to male... Plug the female into the cradle, male into the iPhone, and presto! it now charges and links up with the cradle as usual.

Point of the story is; if you're thinking of buying a new cradle, and arguably you might change to an iPhone 4 in future... maybe worth buying the iphone 4 cradle and using it with an extension while u have the iPhone 3GS?

Here's a link to what I got from amazon...

Black Dock Extension Cable for iPhone 4 3GS 3G iPod: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

[D200VOO]

Hello
Thanks for your reply and for the good advice.

I think I'm due for an upgrade so will have to bite the bullet and ring O2 when I have a spare 3 hours! I'll make my decision based on that call.

Cheers
Simon

 

[rascalmaster]

Hello
Thanks for your reply and for the good advice.

I think I'm due for an upgrade so will have to bite the bullet and ring O2 when I have a spare 3 hours! I'll make my decision based on that call.

Cheers
Simon

Or else change to tescos. ( they use O2 )
12 month contract, so you can change to the iPhone 5 sooner.
U can change tour clubcard vouchers for phone vouchers@ 2 for every pound worth of clubcard vouchers( so the handset is half price)