8. Bluetooth

Figure 50: Main Menu

Once paired with a compatible Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, Panasonic's Strada CN-GP50 can be used as a hands-free phone.

To access Strada's Bluetooth phone functions, tap Phone from the Main Menu.

Figure 51: Phone Menu

Strada needs to be paired with your cell phone via Bluetooth before the GPS can make use of the hands-free calling functions. Tap Find Other Phone from the Phone menu to begin the pairing process.

Figure 52: Device List, Searching

Searching for Bluetooth devices within range of the GPS takes about a minute. Any devices found will appear in the device list.

Make sure your phone's Bluetooth is turned on, and is set to "discoverable", otherwise Strada won't be able to find it.

Figure 53: Device List, Found

Once the search for nearby devices completes, tap on the device you want to pair with the Strada. In this example, I'll tap on "Fletch's iPhone" to begin pairing my iPhone with the Strada.

Figure 54: Registering the Mobile Phone

When the Strada attempts to connect with your mobile phone, you'll need to enter the password displayed on the Strada's screen on your mobile phone. This ensures that random devices cannot connect to your phone without your knowledge and permission. Enter the password when prompted on your phone.

Figure 55: Registration Successful

Pairing the Strada to my iPhone was quick and easy. I also tested pairing the Strada with 2 different Blackberry devices, both of which were able to pair with the GPS without issue.

Figure 56: Importing the Address Book

The Strada can import your cell phone's address book by tapping Import Address after the pairing process finishes. The Strada can import the address book, but it cannot automatically sync the GPS with your phone, so you'll need to re-import the address book every now and then to update the GPS with the most current version of your address book.

Figure 57: Successfully Imported Address Book

Importing the address book takes anywhere from a few seconds to close to a minute, depending on the number of entries contained in your address book.

Figure 58: Contacts

After importing the address book from your cell phone, entries can be viewed and dialed directly on the Strada. There's also a handy icon for deleting the entire address book (handy when you want to delete the address book and re-import a newer version).

Figure 59: Keypad

The on-screen keypad can be used to dial numbers not stored in the address book, or to navigate automated systems like voicemail boxes.

Panasonic's Strada has good Bluetooth support and was successfully able to pair with every phone I tested. The GPS was also able to import address books, and voice navigation prompts are automatically suppressed when navigating to a destination while using the hands-free calling feature.

It's not possible to dial Points of Interest (POIs) from the POI search menu, since the Strada's POI database doesn't include telephone numbers. The ability to dial restaurants and other POIs is a handy feature that is typically found on other Bluetooth-enabled GPS devices, and an omission on Panasonic's part.