Scosche solCHAT Solar-Powered Bluetooth Speakerphone with Voice Announce

by Scosche

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2 x 6.2 x 9 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0026FCCSU
• Item model number: CBHSOL
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,981 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

solChat is a handsfree, Bluetooth speakerphone for your vehicle. The integrated solar panel eliminates the need for bulky adapters and messy cables.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Use with BlackBerry Bold 9000, December 8, 2009

By 

T. LaMarche (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scosche solCHAT Solar-Powered Bluetooth Speakerphone with Voice Announce (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I've had the Schsche solCHAT for about 2 months now. I've never charged it. As other reviewers have said the battery life is fantastic and the solar option works well for me. High usage folks may need to charge it but so far it works for me. I leave it on for about 30 minutes in the morning driving to work and 30 minutes at night on the return trip home. I don't get many phone calls so at least for the ocassional user battery life is more than adequate and Scosche includes charging cables so you are still covered. Recently I took a 300 mile trip that was 8 hours of driving and had it on the entire time with no need to charge even though I used it a few times.

I am using a BlackBerry Bold 9000 with OS 4.6 with the unit. I find voice dialing isn't working well for me but I don't necessarily blame the unit. I have it located very high on my windshield behind my rear view mirror and I suspect if I had it lower on the windshield voice dialing would work better. I keep it high as to avoid obstructing my field of view and to hide it. When it is that high on the windshield the edge of tinting near the roof line is dark enough you can't see the Scosche from the outside of the car. Even with the tinting the speakerphone is charging fine so to me the compromise is well worth it.

Call quality appears to be fairly good. I am driving a 2009 Honda Accord EX-L V6 Coupe which is not a quiet car on the inside and most people can hear me well. I can hear others well too. Volume is more than adequate. I have hear my home answering machine record me from the car and I can understand everything I'm saying without problems so the microphone appears to have good quality. I would suggest to other reviewers that are having trouble hearing someone using this unit to try repositioning it to better aim the microphone.

What I was unable to get to work is the ability for the unit to download my phone address book. You have the option of sending one or the entire address book to the speakerphone unit using Bluetooth. The unit is supposed to match the incoming phone number to the address book name and announce the name. If you can't load any addresses the unit will announce the incoming phone number which is the way I use it. My BlackBerry can only send the entire address book unless you load a third party piece of software that allows you to transfer individual contacts. When I tried to send my entire address book the Scosche timed out. When I tried to send individual addresses the Sosche wasn't communicating with the BlackBerry.

Other nice features of the product are that when you start it the unit announces "power on". When your phone is connected by bluetooth the unit announced "phone is ready for use" and "phone is disconnected" when you lose connection to your phone. There is also a message when you hang up a call. Turning the unit off announces "power off". you can change the unit to multiple languages which isn't something I use but is a nice feature for many people.

The unit has only a handful of buttons and most of the time you are holding one in to turn it on and holding the same one in later to turn it off. You use that same large button to answer phone calls by pressing it once. Press it again to hang up. If your phone loses connection to the unit the Scosche turns itself off after 10 minutes which is another great feature so if I leave my car I don't have to worry about turning off the unit. Lastly there is a blue ring that pulses around that one command button when the Scosche is connected to your phone so you can see it at night to press it when you get a call.

I think the Scosche is well worth the money. It's simple interface, unmatched battery life and excellent voice annouce features which keep your eyes on the road for maximum safety while being informative are very worthwhile. I'd easily give it 5 stars if I could get the address book functionality to work with my BlackBerry.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant for iPhone 3GS, November 2, 2009

By 

J. Vandehey (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scosche solCHAT Solar-Powered Bluetooth Speakerphone with Voice Announce (Wireless Phone Accessory)

This thing is great with a 3GS. The voice dialing on it makes this a clear winner for a speakerphone option. It would definitely be less useful with a 3G or 1st gen iPhone (since no voice dialing). Battery is fantastic. I took it out of the package, and haven't charged it once. The solar charge seems to work great. The one thing that I would say is negative, is that incoming calls announce the phone number of the caller, NOT the name from your phonebook. Regardless, this is relatively minor, and this item still receives 5-stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How a product should be designed!, June 30, 2010

By 

oakland_dad "oakland_dad" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scosche solCHAT Solar-Powered Bluetooth Speakerphone with Voice Announce (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I've been using this Bluetooth Speakerphone for almost a year now, but something happened yesterday that compelled me to finally write a review. I had just gotten my iPhone 4, and in getting into my car, I pressed the button on the Scosche Speakerphone out of habit, and remembered that I hadn't paired it with this new phone. Then, while I was navigating to the Bluetooth menu on my iPhone, the Scosche unit announced in plain English to put my phone in Bluetooth pairing mode and even what ID to type in! Now that's a great user interface!

That's on top of almost a year of excellent performance. Everyone I call on this thing says that the sound quality is great. In fact, my business partner says it sounds better than when I use the Apple WIRED headset. It's been stuck on my windshield the whole time, and I've never had to charge it. More companies should design product the way these guys have designed this one!