Product: Motorola T325 In-Car Speakerphone
Supplier: Motorola
MSRP: $80     Find Lowest Price @ PriceGrabber
Author:  Nick
Date: February 1, 2010

More and more laws are being enacted to require a hands-free device to be used when using a cellphone will driving.   While some people do not mind a Bluetooth headset hanging from their ear, many people find this unbearable.  While there are a few other options, one popular solution is a Bluetooth speakerphone .  Today we will be looking at one such product from Motorola, the T325 In-Car Speakerphone.

Specification / Features (provided by Motorola)

Sensor Activated - You can stash away your Bluetooth headset because the Entry On/Off feature automatically powers up the unit upon opening the car door and then turns it off when exiting. It is always on when you need it, and off when you don’t.

Loud & Clear - T325’s powerful dual speakers allow you to hear conversations in your car loud and clear. Plus, advanced DSP noise reduction, full duplex and echo cancellation technology allows you to be heard in noisy car environments so your conversation doesn’t have to be interrupted.

Calling All VIPs - Scroll through your phone book with ease and save your favorites. The T325 automatically prioritizes your 25 most frequently used phone numbers into a convenient Favorite Contacts List, allowing you to speed dial your VIPs with the push of a button. And, when your VIPs change your contact list is automatically updated to assure you never miss a beat.

Designed to Please - The T325 is easy-to-use with a slim profile that clips to the sun visor for a clear view while driving. The strong lightweight clip needs no installation and prevents slipping while the visor is down. The T325 is also equipped with EasyPairTM technology for easy connections to your phone. With up to 17 hours of talk time and 2.5 weeks of stand-by time you’ll never need to cut the conversation short.

Packaging:

The sample I received was a pre-release sample so I cannot comment on what will be included with the retail product, or how it will be packaged.  Also I should note there may be minor changes between the pre-release sample I received and the final retail product.

First Impressions

The T325 is roughly 3.5in (W) x 3.5in (L) x 0.5in (D) and installation is as simple as clipping the device to the sun visor in any car.

A common gripe I have with other Bluetooth speakerphones is that often times I would find myself getting out of the car and forgetting to turn off the device or Bluetooth on my phones.  There were times I was still in range for Bluetooth to remain connected and receive a call.  This was a major inconvenience as it would take me a few seconds before I would realize why the audio on my phone was not working properly.  Motorola came up with a novel solution to this problem.   The T325 uses an accelerometer to sense when a car door is open and automatically turns itself on and connects to one of the previously paired phones.   The T325 also shuts itself off and disconnects once it senses a movement which it interprets as the occupant leaving the vehicle.  While this sounds good in theory, I have noticed that it doesn’t always work as planned.   Every time I opened my car door or even the trunk, the Motorola T325 would turn on.  Also I noticed on several occasions that the T325 would randomly turn off and turn back on while going down the road.  Motorola believes this was caused by the device temporarily lose its connection with the phone and attempted to re-pair with the phone.  I can believe this as I have had a variety of Bluetooth devices disconnect only to instantly re-pair with my phone.  Also since the sample I received is a pre-release sample, I am hoping this problem will be resolved by the time the product is officially released.

One down side to using a Bluetooth speakerphone that there is no privacy in regards to the conversation if there are passengers in the car.  At least when using a Bluetooth headset, the passengers can only hear half the conversation.  While I do not care for the complete loss of privacy, this all amounts down to a personal preference, and whether or not you drive with passengers frequently.

The button layout on the T325 is fairly straight forward.  The largest button of the buttons is the “Talk” button and is used for answering calls and activating the phone’s voice commands, as well as a few other functions.  Volume buttons can be found on the right side. Located on the front edge of the device is a power switch, mute button, and VIP button which allows the user to speed dial their most frequently called numbers.  I however found little use for the VIP button since all the phones I used with the T325 had robust voice commands already built in.

Testing/Performance

To test the Motorola I clipped it to the visor of my truck and drove as speeds of 25, 35, 45, 55, and 65 with both my windows opened and closed at both speeds.  I also tried both these test with my heater vents on as well as my radio on.

I found that during the testing, found the sound quality to be almost exactly like the using the handset itself in all these circumstances.

Those I spoke to while using the T325 noted that background noise from passengers and the radio was slightly less than when using my phone handset.  Where this device really shines though is with heat vents and wind noise.  Since the T325 is on the visor, and not in the path of the air flow (like the handset would be), callers on the other end were not affected by any noise.

Conclusion

I found Motorola’s T325 to be a worthy product for anyone who is looking for a hands free device to use with their cellphone but does not like the intrusion of a Bluetooth headset in their ear.  While sound quality was nowhere near as good as Bluetooth headset with background noise cancellation, it was still slightly better than using the handset itself.   My only major gripe with the T325 was with the way the auto on/off feature worked.  While it was slightly annoying to having the device randomly turn on/off, it never happened while I was actually using the device.  Again, the sample I received was a pre-release sample so these problems could very well be fixed by the time the Motorola T325 reaches the hands of consumers, which is expected to be sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

Pros

+ No wires to install
+Automatically turns on and off

Cons

- Less privacy than using the handset or a Bluetooth headset
- Randomly turns on and off

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Tags: Bluetooth, hands free, Motorola, Speakerphone, T325