Re: Numbers peeling off CPT 8000 keypad!! (archive)

You guys keep forgeting that these units came with the car. All we are doing is activating them for convenience. Mine, I leave in the car always. I used as a secondary number. Simple...

This is not a BMW issue, it's a Motorola issue.

I have the Motorola TimePort which is the exact same phone without the BMW-proprietary interface for the built-in phone system.

As a long-time user of Motorola flip-phones, I think the TimePort/CPT8000 is a big step for Motorola... a big step toward cheapening their top-of-the-line offering. The previous black "regular" Startac phones were built better and had a better finish.

As soon as I got my TimePort, I thought to myself, "Great... silver painted plastic on an item that gets rubbed by clothing a lot, as well as rubbing against the plastic holster case. This will look good for about 3 days." Sure enough, mine has white plastic showing through in several areas. That's the "finish" problem.

As far as "fit" goes, the phone feels cheap compared to the earlier Startacs. It creaks when you grip it and just does not feel as solid. Plus, it's even a little thicker.

So why did BMW choose this phone? Well, think about it... for USA usage, you need an in-place repair network (which rules out the Euro brands) and you simply could not have a Japanese phone in a BMW. So BMW was stuck with Motorola's "latest and greatest" despite the failings.

Personally, I view items like this that are integrated into the car's electronics as obsolescence waiting to happen. Look at how many BMWs have useless analog phones installed. Cellphone technology is advancing too rapidly to pay for an expensive factory system. Not to say this doesn't happen with other electronics (there are still some cars on the road with factory 8-track players! Also, let's not discuss the availability of nav system CDs in five years... ugh), but I'll stick with Motorola's $300 hands-free setup (or their new $79 deal) with a $200 phone rather than spend $2500 on a factory-part nightmare.

This might not concern the new-car leaser who won't have the car after 36 months, but consider the reality of your dot-com stocks' value plummeting and that you might actually drive a car five years old with expensive and obsolete hardware.

And on a final note, when it's time for a new phone, my 6-phone legacy of loyalty to Motorola may be in jeopardy. Hello, Nokia?

- Rob Levinson

Just curious - anybody experiencing the same thing? Mine is 4 mos. old and numbers are starting to peel off. $2,000 phone!!!!!!!!!!!!
BMW just dropped the ball with the CPT 8000 in total functionality (can't retrieve call-waiting calls) and the phone itself.
Very, very disappointed. Not consistant with a $70,000 vehicle.

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