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Review: Parrot MINIKIT+ Bluetooth Handsfree Kit

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Handsfree kits are an essential while driving. With the law getting stricter, and your own safety first, there is no real excuse to be fiddling with phones while driving. Parrot have been a long term solution provider in the game, and here we look at the Parrot MINIKIT+ device.

Look and feel 

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Shaped like a clip, this device is designed to fit on your visor, and an added belt allows you to put it on your visor both when it is up or down.

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Unlike most conventional Bluetooth devices, the Parrot devices always offer you more control and capabilities. This means that instead of having just one call button, you have a Green ‘connect/accept’ button, a red ‘disconnect/cancel’ button, and a dial that can be used to go between options and press to accept them.

Rest of the front is a big speaker, and microphone is placed on top of the dials/buttons.

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At the bottom is a metallic clip, which can be attached or detached, and this clip slides into the belt that goes on top of your visor. This means that you don’t have to worry about any clip marks on your car.

Also on the side is a mini-USB connector. Yes, this one still features a mini USB connector, which means you will need to hang on to that charging cable! On the upside, it has a battery life/standby of up to 6 months, so you won’t need to use it much.

Setup

The setup is fairly basic on this one. Turn it on, search for it on your phone, and off you go. You may need to enter the pin (0000), but that’s easy.

On pairing, it will normally download your phone book and call register and let you access those during use.

After that, it will pair with your phone every time it turns on (and you are within range). It can store up to 10 devices, and pair with up to 2 at the same time.

Functions

  • Phone book to let you call your contacts
  • Advanced voice recognition to let you ring your contacts
  • Redial last called
  • Plays music or sat nav instructions from your phone
  • Vibrate to wake feature turns the device on when you get in your car

 

Sound Quality

Sound on calls and sat nav instructions is great. It speaks clearly and there is no distortion. On top of that, it is loud enough even when you are driving at a high speed on a bumpy road.

While it can also play music, the limitations of the speakers do get noticeable at that stage, and this mode is not recommended.

During calls though, I did notice that the microphone required some loud speaking. While this is normal for such devices, it should be remembered while using as often you say things which people may not have heard. Of course, if you are a soft speaker, you may want to use a headset instead.

More information

More information on the Parrot MiniKit+ is available on the MobileFun website:

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/parrot-minikit-bluetooth-hands-free-kit-p32603.htm

It retails for £50.

Verdict

A feature full device at a great price.

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