Product review: MOTOROKR T505

FM transmitters that let you play tunes from an MP3 player through a car radio have been around for years, as have hands-free speakerphones that allow drivers to make and take calls safely.

Now Motorola has bundled the two together with the MOTOROKR T505.

You pair the T505 with your mobile using Bluetooth, tune your car radio into a particular frequency and, hey presto, you can make and receive calls hands-free. The voice of the person you are calling comes over loud and clear on the speakers of your radio while the T505 – which you clip to the front edge of the sun visor – picks up your voice.

And, between calls, you can listen to music streamed from your mobile to the T505 via Bluetooth and then transmit it to your car radio.

To make the most of the T505 you need a mobile that supports Bluetooth stereo and headset profiles and has a music player and voice dialing. And it works with other makes of phone, not just Motorola models. The packaging suggests that some buyers might want to use the T505 with a Bluetooth adapter-equipped iPod rather than a mobile. But this would be an unnecessarily elaborate way because if that's all you want to do then buy a Dh200 FM transmitter rather than spending Dh499 on the T505 – otherwise you'd have to be, well, off your ROKR.

Set-up is easy. The Bluetooth pairing process is straightforward and the device detects the clearest available FM frequency. A voice prompt tells you what frequency to use and you tune in your radio accordingly. To make a call you tap a button and say the name of a contact – "Fred", for example. Within seconds you're connected to Fred.

You tap the same button to end a call. If someone phones you their number is read out by the T505 and you can decide whether to tap the button and take the call.

The sound quality is generally good, though people I called reported that I sounded like I was underwater when I turned my head away from the T505 while talking. Music sounds fine too.

And let's face it, anything that encourages drivers in Dubai to go hands-free instead of constantly jabbering into a mobile wedged precariously between cheek and shoulder has to be a good thing.



What's hot

We live in a touch-screen world now and we all need to catch up. Samsung says its latest offering, the TOUCHWiZ F480, is just one in a series of touch-enabled mobile phones they are planning to launch. And we are mighty impressed. This nippy number also features a 240 MB internal music memory, a memory card with up to 8GB storage, an FM radio and a 5 megapixel camera. Priced at Dh2199, it's now available at all leading electronic stores.