Fw: OnStar and Analog Sunset

[Michael O'Dell]

Robert E. Seastrom wrote:
> "Michael O'Dell" <mo at ccr.org> writes:
> 
>> my wife's Mercedes ML500 has the MB version of OnStar and
>> it too uses an analog cellphone. she got a nice letter in
>> the mail the other day cheerfully informing her that
>> the cellular module could be upgraded for a mere $2000.
>>
>> needless to say, that won't be happening
> 
> pity that they didn't offer her the option of saving $2000 at purchase
> time by not getting it in the first place.
> 
> my gwagen has no built-in cell phone, sat nav system, or anything like
> that.  and i like it that way.
> 
>                                         ---rob
> 
> 

Omit the ticket-buying-service??? Heaven forefend! It's a FEETUUR!!!

and the actual savings is probably on the order of $500,
even allowing for the ruinous Bosch OEM markup.

it does have a navatronic device onboard and it's
considered to be quite useful by both of us.

however, the BGP (Big Green Pickup - a Chevy 2500HD
crewcab with the Duramax diesel and Allison 6-speed)
doesn't have anything like that, so Judy decided
to buy an aftermarket chartplotter. she went through a
couple of "learning experiences" but she ended
up with a TomTom GO 910 and she just loves it.
(very useful when finding county fairgrounds with
over two tons of horses and trailer in tow.
if the truck had a masthead, it would be flying the
"restricted ability to maneuver" dayshapes.)

the interesting question becomes whether or not
to go "factory installed" or aftermarket
"best of breed" when we replace the ML.
at least in the case of a "factory integrated cellphone"
(meaning the fone plugs in to the Special Cable)
Bluetoothery has made that a no-brainer - buy
best-fit with Bluetooth. whether Bluetooth becomes
an adequate integration platform is an interesting
question. at the moment, it's more than slightly
dicey - especially with the KordlessFonKompaneez
ice-picking the frontal lobe of their cellphones.

	cheers,
	-mo