Home > Consumer Reviews > Genuine Sony Ericsson HCB-100 Bluetooth Car Kit With Free Mains Charger

I have owned 4 different types of Hands Free Kits but this one beats them all. It is not expensive, it is very easy to set up, very easy to use and is close to hand. The battery life is much longer than all my others and the one really great advantage for myself at least is the quality of sound, as I have hearing problems. My partner remarked upon the sound being excellent as she could easily follow the contact from the passenger seat with the device clipped on the drivers visor.

I have had one of these for a year now and its miles better than those earpiece jobs. The quality is excellent, battery life very good indeed and it works seemlessly with my Nokia N95. Voice dialling works a treat, however my previous phone (a Samsung) was a bit dodgy, I put this down to the phone rather than the HCB-100. It clips onto the visor and does what it says on the tin! I'm about to buy another for my partner as she never has her earpiece charged or to hand, whereas with the HCB-100 its always ready to connect and the battery lasts ages and can be recharged in the car. It automatically turns off after 10 mins if you go out of bluetooth range, and connects again with one touch when you get back in the car.

This item works well for me with a Sony Ericsson k800i.

Good:
-Battery life very good
-Good small size and very discreet, does not get in your way during driving and is not visible from the street if the sun visor is up.
-Sound quality pretty good on the move in a car. Sometimes you need to repeat yourself.

Bad:
-Cannot get voice dialing to work via the HCB-100. I have recorded the voice tag via the phone and the HCB-100, it does work with my phone.
-The mains charger is a CST-61, and not a CST-60, which is the current type of socket on most new SE phones. The 61 charger does work with it, but it's not that secure, I expect the lug to connect it will break soon.

voice dialing is very poor you have to be so accurate to the original recording it often does not work. i have found recording the names through the car kit does improve recognition slightly but not a lot. does not bother me too much anyhow as my phone is easy to scroll through contacts if it does not pic up the voice name and there is always one touch dialing

otherwise a good bit of kit very easy to use which is needed for the car if not just a bit pricey. seems though that for this level of handsfree control in your car if you dont want a ear piece then this is about the cost you have to be prepared to pay.

car charger is good (included bonus)mains does not look wonderful however my phone is also by sony ericsson a K750i and the charger for that a cst60 works brilliantly

overall i have no complaints

This car kit I have used now for over a year, it has great battery life, I only charge it up about every 6 or 7 weeks and it is used regulary. Voice clarirty is perfect both receiving and sending, the unit is small and lightweight and very portable, you can clip it to your sun visor, or sit it on your desk either way it fits in your rucksack with no problems.

You can add up to 5 phones to this unit easily and its easy moved from one car to another, if you have more than one car.

Would highly recommend this car kit.

One minor downside is that it wont work with the W550i unless you answer the call manually we resolved this by upgrading my wifes phone works a treat with the W850i and the W910i