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Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
It's pretty simple.....I would do just about ANYTHING for a bluetooth "Siri" button that activates siri while I'm driving without having to fumble around for my phone and hit the home button. Just a simple, small unit with a single button (and maybe a microphone....we'll get to that) that clips to your visor or will strap onto your steering wheel and allows you to activate siri for use while your phone is attached to your car audio system (Via bluetooth, sync, 3.5mm, etc)

Currently, most (maybe all) in-car systems don't allow you to activate siri via the buttons on the steering wheel. They'll recognize siri as a new call once activated, but you still need to actually hold the home button on the phone itself to activate it.

All we need is a simple little unit that allows us to activate siri remotely, and maybe even include a microphone so we can tuck the phone away and still have complete access while driving.

Anyone with me?
 

wrinkster22

macrumors 68030
Jun 11, 2011
2,623
7
Toronto
the included headset has a mic, and button to activate it. Perhaps you could use that? although it is not wireless.
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
the included headset has a mic, and button to activate it. Perhaps you could use that? although it is not wireless.

It's illegal to drive with headphones (I'm not sure if that applies everywhere).

And I'm not driving around with one earbud in like the commercial....first it would inhibit my ability to listen to music on my phone through the car audio system, second it's just silly, and third apple's earbuds suck pretty hardcore and I don't own any third party pairs with the little remote/mic piece.

Can't you just hold down your bluetooth call button and it'll activate Siri?

That's how it used to work for voice commands in iOS 4.

As stated, it doesn't work in many systems (Audi, Ford, Kia, and others). Those systems DO recognize Siri as an incoming call when activated via the phone itself, so a separate button like I'm talking about would allow you to patch-together functionality.
 

brand

Suspended
Oct 3, 2006
4,390
456
127.0.0.1
Currently, most (maybe all) in-car systems don't allow you to activate siri via the buttons on the steering wheel. They'll recognize siri as a new call once activated, but you still need to actually hold the home button on the phone itself to activate it.

Have you tried contacting the manufacture of your car to see if they plan releasing any type of upgrade for their in-car system?
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
Have you tried contacting the manufacture of your car to see if they plan releasing any type of upgrade for their in-car system?

Because getting massive, multi-national organizations with a track record of not giving a damn about this sort of thing to release a software update for thousands to millions of cars specifically for Siri is much easier than getting a simple bluetooth button made?

I'm really not understanding these responses.....it's as if I'm asking for the impossible. How would it NOT be a good thing to have CONVENIENT access to siri in nearly any car?

My car is a POS. I currently connect my iPhone via a sync cable which plugs directly into a usb port on the front of a third-party receiver. I can use my phone fine through my audio system, but it requires manually controlling from the phone itself (Not good while driving). A LOT of cars only offer a 3.5mm audio in jack....which works fine, but again....you have to access siri from the phone itself.

There are plenty of people with similar situations to mine OR have a system which doesn't integrate with Siri fully (Again: Audi, Ford, and Kia I know for sure only work partially and require activating siri from the phone itself). It's just a simple little bluetooth button to remotely activate Siri....it's would be fantastic for a lot of people who want to fully integrate Siri into their lives but don't own a car that supports it fully.
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
This product by Belkin might solve your issue. It connects via AUX to your car and via Bluetooth to your iPhone. Also included is a usb cable to charge your iPhone should you need it.

Link: http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=525857

YES, that's essentially what I'm talking about. While I don't know if it will work with Siri, it's pretty expensive, and it is a step back in some ways (My audio would be limited to bluetooth quality....inferior to the audio quality I'm getting by plugging directly into my phone).....it's essentially the same sort of thing I'm talking about.

All I need (and anyone else who has a car that takes a 3.5mm aux input or can sync via USB) is a way to remotely activate Siri. Like I said, just a simple, tiny little bluetooth button with a built-in microphone that I can clip to the visor or attach to the steering wheel (Some sort of unobtrusive velcro strap the secure around the grip of the steering wheel) and everything would be perfect.

Also, It looks like Infiniti, BMW, and Lexus can be added to the list of cars that have built-in bluetooth pairing, but won't activate siri through the on-board system and just treats siri like an incoming call.
 
Last edited:

Avatar74

macrumors 68000
Feb 5, 2007
1,611
404
YES, that's essentially what I'm talking about. While I don't know if it will work with Siri, it's pretty expensive, and it is a step back in some ways (My audio would be limited to bluetooth quality....inferior to the audio quality I'm getting by plugging directly into my phone).....it's essentially the same sort of thing I'm talking about.

All I need (and anyone else who has a car that takes a 3.5mm aux input or can sync via USB) is a way to remotely activate Siri. Like I said, just a simple, tiny little bluetooth button with a built-in microphone that I can clip to the visor or attach to the steering wheel (Some sort of unobtrusive velcro strap the secure around the grip of the steering wheel) and everything would be perfect.

Also, It looks like Infiniti and Lexus can be added to the list of cars that have built-in bluetooth pairing, but won't activate siri through the on-board system and just treats siri like an incoming call.

Simplest solution: Jawbone bluetooth headset. Holding down the talk button on any Jawbone headset model activates Siri. The other advantage is that with Jawbone's noise cancellation, Siri has an easier time understanding you in the cabin of a moving car.
 

d0ster

macrumors regular
May 3, 2011
100
0
I want a button too to activate Siri without touching my phone. The only solution I could think of was to get a bluetooth speakerphone (clip it on the visor, install near the center console) but essentially youd still have to push a button on the actual unit, wish it was the steering wheel. Some units run on solar power so the install would be very clean.
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
Simplest solution: Jawbone bluetooth headset. Holding down the talk button on any Jawbone headset model activates Siri. The other advantage is that with Jawbone's noise cancellation, Siri has an easier time understanding you in the cabin of a moving car.

Yeah, I've been searching around and found that plain-jane bluetooth headsets DO activate Siri....It's just the fancy phone-integration systems found in nearly every new car are wired to have the "talk" button on the steering wheel route through the ****** in-car voice system rather than route directly into the phone.

Soooo....A plain-Jane bluetooth headset will work for now, and as soon as I find a hands-free setup that doesn't have superfluous voice-enabled crap of its own that will probably be the way I go. All I want is a de-constructed bluetooth headset....the Parrot models looked promising until I saw they have their own voice recognition system which will undoubtedly conflict with siri just as the in-car systems do.

If anyone knows of a product that is just a call button and a microphone, please post it up. I'm unable to find anything that doesn't include a speakerphone, proprietary voice-dialer, LCD screen, etc.
 

mbhforum

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
766
208
What I did was purchase a holder from proclipusa.com which made the home button very easy to press when driving. It's the closest thing to a button on the steering wheel. I wouldn't expect car manufacturers to allow this functionality unless Siri really takes off. It took them years to integrate iPods into their systems. A software update would also probably never happen because how would the car know if you want to use the car voice activation system or Siri?
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,105
1,466
Most recent bluetooth speakers for the car can wake up SIRI. If yours cant, its time to buy a new one (which sure beats buying bluetooth button).
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0

That looks about right, but it's $200. I'm not spending as much as I did on the phone for a bluetooth accessory.

Most recent bluetooth speakers for the car can wake up SIRI. If yours cant, its time to buy a new one (which sure beats buying bluetooth button).

So your solution....is to buy a new car? (Even though we've already established that most (maybe all) new cars are just as much of a problem)?
Sorry, students don't exactly have the luxury of running out and buying a new car simply for bluetooth compatibility.

That's it, I give up. You people are absolutely ridiculous.....
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
Yeah, the parrot kits seem to fit the bill the best....the only problem is the only ones I've been able to find have some sort of gimmick like on-board voice dialing or a giant lcd screen.
 

FreakinEurekan

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
6,244
3,186
Yeah, the parrot kits seem to fit the bill the best....the only problem is the only ones I've been able to find have some sort of gimmick like on-board voice dialing or a giant lcd screen.

On-board voice dialing can be disabled in settings so that voice requests are handled directly by the phone. I have the MKi9200 and it works great.
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/U...akerphone-with-Digital-FM-Transmitter-US-EN-2

About $50 at Amazon, works for me with Siri like a charm. It also supports Bluetooth -> FM, but I don't use that feature. I just use the speakerphone part to activate Siri for reading/creating texts etc.

So....you can activate Siri via the button on the motorola device and use its microphone, but audio from the phone (siri, calls, music, and all) plays through your hard-wired connection between the phone and car (3.5mm, sync cable)?

If so, that's a winner right there.

On-board voice dialing can be disabled in settings so that voice requests are handled directly by the phone. I have the MKi9200 and it works great.

After further examination, it looks like the parrot kits require tearing apart the dash and installing hardware behind the scenes. Deal breaker.....I already have the phone wired in, I just need a way to activate siri remotely....THATS IT.
 
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