Reminder: The hands-free driving bill (SB1613) signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger goes into effect on Tuesday, July 1st. The law prohibits California drivers from using a handheld wireless phone while driving unless it’s in “hands-free” mode. Further, drivers under the age of 18 are not allowed to use a wireless phone at all–even if it’s in hands-free mode—unless it’s an emergency. According to a study released just this month from the Public Policy Institute of California, SB1613 could save an estimated 300 lives a year.
California isn’t alone. Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington DC all prohibit handling mobile phones while driving, and five other states–Illinois, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington–are outlawing cell-phone use and text messaging on the driver side of the car this year (Cellular-news.com, April 22, 2008).
Palm smartphones fully support hands-free use: they are equipped with speaker phones, work with wired headsets and are compatible with a number of Bluetooth hands-free accessories, including car kits and wireless headsets. They also come with a Voice Dial app that makes it easy to dial your phone, open apps and execute other tasks.
For more information on the new law, see the California Highway Patrol’s comprehensive Q&A.
Please drive safely.
-Paul Loeffler
Is there a good definition of "hands free"? How can I answer an incoming call, adjust the volume, or hang up, without using my hands?
What's the best way to make the built-in speakerphone louder on a Treo 680?
Posted by: MikeTeeVee | May 29, 2008 at 11:23 AM
The combination of statements made give an appearance of compliance when using BlueTooth.
In fact, Voice Dial will NOT function via a BlueTooth headset.
Hands free operation REQUIRES voice dialing.
Palm's only offering is to require using a wired headset, requiring the driver to in advance to use two hands and setup the wired headset.
This is a serious flaw, and one that owners of PalmOS products hope will be remedied in the very near future.
Posted by: ReadOnly | May 29, 2008 at 11:27 AM
I own a Treo 650. Does it support voice-activated dialing through Bluetooth wireless technology?
Everything I've read to date seems to indicate that it does not.
Does Palm have a solution for it's Treo customers to enable voice dialing from a Bluetooth headset?
Posted by: Barry P. | May 29, 2008 at 06:55 PM
@ReadOnly - great point! yeah, I feel like I'm back in 1997 with the lack of voice dialing via bluetooth on my 755p...
Posted by: qrius | May 30, 2008 at 10:03 AM
I was unpleasantly surprised when told at a Sprint store that my Centro didn't have voice dialing, unless I subscribe to a third party ap.
Palm is WAY behind the curve here!
Posted by: Bill Hodges | June 08, 2008 at 11:23 AM
I was unpleasantly surprised when told at a Sprint store that my Centro didn't have voice dialing, unless I subscribe to a third party ap.
Palm is WAY behind the curve here!
Posted by: Bill Hodges | June 08, 2008 at 05:35 PM
Will the new version of the VZW Centro support BT headset voice dialing? Even my basic feature phones supported it!
Posted by: Miles | June 11, 2008 at 08:22 PM