# [SOLVED] JVC KW-NT1 review, hands free fatally flawed



## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

Call it 2 out of 5 stars

Pros: Good A/V and Nav performance, fast route calc, detachable face
Cons: Hands-free calling capability is useless due to illogical firmware; Nav POI database a little skimpy

I won't dwell on the basic A/V and Nav performance. Summary: Plenty of power/flexibility, good connections and intuitive controls. Suffice it to say that it is as I expected and I am happy with the KW-NT1 in that regard.

However, and this is a BIG however.... the bluetooth hands free calling capability is fatally flawed to the extent that is is ALMOST USELESS. The hardware works fine... voice is clear and connection is stable. BUT YOU CAN NOT ACCESS YOUR SAVED CONTACTS/PHONE NUMBERS WHILE DRIVING! The KW-NT1 uses its GPS to provide vehicle speed sense and locks out VITAL basic hands free calling controls when moving greater than 6 mph! To make matters worse this is totally unadvertised. The user manual says that "When driving at speeds greater than 6mph some screens on the navigation menus are not available". No mention of restricting hands free dialing.

It is totally illogical. In the main dialing menu you can access "received numbers", "dialed numbers" and "phonebook". Each menu choice displays 5 numbers from which to choose. You can go back and forth between these menus as many times as you want and dial any of the numbers displayed with the press of the appropriate soft button. But you CAN NOT access subsequent screens of 5 phonebook entries. So unless the number you want to call is one of the first 5 in your phonebook you are OUT OF LUCK. Unless you stop, that is... in which case you could just as well use your handset. So why did we pay for hands free capabilty??

You can also scroll an infinite number of times between radio bands, each presenting 6 soft buttons for station choices. No restriction there, either.

Here is the logical disconnect: You are allowed to dial certain numbers while the vehicle is moving. So, apparently JVC doesn't think one button dialing of a saved number per se is a problem. And you are allowed to scroll infinitely through certain menus of choices (like any and all radio bands and stations or between "dialed", "received" and "phonebook" top level screens) and make selections. So scrolling and making selections doesn't appear to be an issue for JVC. But you CAN NOT scroll to subsequent phonebook screens of 5 entries and then dial them?? So dialing is OK... scrolling/selecting is OK, but scrolling to dial is not OK?? Huh?? All this does is pretty much guarantee that you can not access and dial the number you actually want.

And to further highlight the ridiculousness, the phonebook entries are likely to have actual names by them and thus more easy to select than the numbers that appear in "called" and "received" menus that can appear without any identifying information.

Another example of quirky firmware: in the Nav screen you can hit the button for menu->functions->vehicle info which displays the satellite constellation along with color coded signal strengths. BUT the "back" button is non functional so you can't even back out of a screen that they let you into in the first place!!

Anyway, there are probably better choices out there, especially if hands free calling is important to you. Good luck.


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

*Re: JVC KW-NT1 review, revised*

OK, I incorrectly assumed that the GPS speed sense that impairs certain functions while driving would continue to be active even if the parking brake wire (for the required video playback lockout) were grounded. I had read that another brand had taken that step in their latest models. So at the suggestion of another owner I grounded the wire (it was easily accessible where I had tapped it into the PB wire in a harness at the fuse panel, just cut it, extended it and ran to ground) and all functions are operable... even some which should not be used (like manual address entry, manual phone dialing, etc.) while mobile. But I had to do that to get access to some that should not have been locked out by the GPS speed sense, like one touch dialing of numbers saved to the phonebook. Oh, well....

So, I have to say that with the caveat that you need to bypass the parking brake interlock to get even basic hands free functionality, the JVC KW-NT1 is a very nice unit. Call it 4 stars.

It has fast sat acquisition, fast route calc, and solid a/v performance. And the detachable face is an extremely nice piece. Very solid and comes with a nice softcase. No, I don't live in a bad neighborhood but who knows where I will be parking this vehicle for the next 10 years I plan to own it. I'm sure there will be times I will be glad I have the detach feature. If anyone has any questions feel free to post or PM me. I'll call this one solved.

BTW, I am not recommending that anyone here disable any safety features designed into their equipment. But anyone shopping for one of these needs to understand the limitations and that expected capabilities might not be available... and that the documentation (users manuals and such) do not explicitly tell you what features will or will not work while mobile. And I have checked several brands' manuals and at most they have a blurb that "some features" or "some screens" will not be available while moving. So I suggest finding one to try, asking a current owner, or calling the company's tech support. But you usually have to get to 2nd level at least before you can find someone who can answer this question accurately.


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