MGreen66

My bet is dealer mumbo jumbo. I bought my ES 350 2 weeks ago and XM radio was definitely a dealer-installed option (no, I didn't get it).

Yes, in a limited way. I have over 900 contacts in my database and each one has at least 2 phone numbers (i.e. work and cell) -- so the prospect of sitting in the car and "training" 1,800 voice prompts is just crazy. So -- I've created voice keys for a handful of frequently dialed numbers and I've programed speed dial keys on my blackberry for voicemail retrieval (the Lexus phone number fields aren't big enough to hold all of the pauses and numbers for voicemail access). Far from ideal, but it seems to be working for me. I still think that the next software upgrade should include an option to just use the bluetooth as a basic speakerphone - without the address book and without the complexity. In my case - thanks to the powerful capabilities of the blackberry - a simpler bluetooth interface would be much better.

What is a "clear hood bra?" Thanks!

That's what I was afraid of. Problem is that once the BB is synched to the car, the voice prompt on the BB doesn't work at all. So with all of the technology in the Lexus, I may be back to wearing my bluetooth earpiece to voice dial comfortably. Next time they update the software, my vote would be to include an option that just has the car function like a basic speaker phone -- for people like me who need a simpler solution.

Cell service by ATT, no problem loading the phone book. I'm trying to get past all of the complexity of having a duplicate address book in the car. Once linked to the car, voice command on the Blackberry doesn't work. Seems to me that there should be an option somewhere to cut out all of the complexity and have the car act like a simple bluetooth speakerphone (i.e. the same way that an earpiece works). My earpiece allows me to use the full functionality of the Blackberry - including voice command. So essentially, I've just spent almost $38k for a car that is causing me to lose convenience and functionality on my handheld.

Brand new ES 350 - love it. The bluetooth features (I have nav), I think, are way too complicated. I have a blackberry, which has been successfully synced. What I'd really like to do is have the car's speakerphone function just like my bluetooth earpiece with my blackberry. Simple and straightforward -- just push a button and the blackberry's voice recognition prompt comes up and I'm off to the races. I don't understand why I need to essentially duplicate my contact list in the nav system, and then record voice prompts for each entry (my address book has over 600 entries!) so I can use the voice command features. Can anyone help me with this? Again, I'd like the car speakerphone to function simply like a bluetooth headset. Thanks!

Brand new ES 350 - love it. The bluetooth features (I have nav), I think, are way too complicated. I have a blackberry, which has been successfully synced. What I'd really like to do is have the car's speakerphone function just like my bluetooth earpiece with my blackberry. Simple and straightforward -- just push a button and the blackberry's voice recognition prompt comes up and I'm off to the races. I don't understand why I need to essentially duplicate my contact list in the nav system, and then record voice prompts for each entry (my address book has over 600 entries!) so I can use the voice command features. Can anyone help me with this? Again, I'd like the car speakerphone to function simply like a bluetooth headset. Thanks!