The Motorola Roadster 2 addresses the most important characteristics of a Bluetooth car kit – speakerphone performance and comprehensive hands-free control. It provides high-quality phone calls on both ends of a call with HD voice and effective dual-mic noise reduction. You can stream music and transmit your audio to your car stereo so that you can use your speakers to listen to music or amplify a call. The companion app keeps you connected to your social networks without disconnecting your focus from the road. For these reasons, the Motorola Roadster 2 earns the Top Ten Reviews for best Bluetooth car kit.
Speakerphone Performance
The Roadster 2 has one of the best call qualities for a Bluetooth car speakerphone because it combines HD voice with a large 2-watt speaker. The expanded frequency range of HD voice produces a clearer, more natural-sounding voice. You don’t have to ask your callers to repeat themselves as much because they sound like they’re in the car with you. You can understand people with accents much easier with HD voice than with the standard narrowband.
One of the best features of the Roadster 2 is the FM transmitter. If the 2-watt speaker doesn’t provide enough volume output for you, you can hit the FM transmitter button and have the audio amplified through your car speakers. The FM transmitter simply converts the audio to an FM signal that your car stereo can pick up. Since the FM signal can be inconsistent, especially if you’re in a big city with lots of FM signals to contend with, the audio quality isn’t as good as the audio produced by the speaker alone.
The speakerphone picks up your voice using a dual-microphone system with excellent noise reduction. The two microphones are able to differentiate your voice from the background noises so that your caller hears you and not the air conditioning or the traffic around you. The echo cancellation is also very effective. However, we heard some minor echoing, which occurs when the microphone picks up the audio produced by the speaker, when using the FM transmitter.
Hands-Free Performance
With the free MotoSpeak companion app, you can dictate text messages, status updates, emails and tweets without laying a finger on your phone. The app also reads text messages, emails, status updates and other text to you. This allows you to stay connected to your social networking sites without taking your eyes off the road. The only problem with the app is the lack of iOS compatibility.
The Motorola Roadster 2 features all the common Bluetooth profiles associated with hands-free Bluetooth car kits except the Audio/Video Remote Control Profile. This means that it has voice command capabilities, audio streaming, voice dialing, vocalized caller ID and vocalized GPS. Overall, you can perform almost every function and feature without taking your hands off the wheel. The only function that it can’t perform is skipping songs if you’re streaming a playlist.
Battery Performance
The battery has a talk time of 20 hours, which is among the best talk times for Bluetooth hands-free car kits. However, the standby time is only three weeks, which is the shortest standby time available.
It also features an automatic on and off feature. When you enter your car, it automatically turns on and pairs with your phone. It also turns off a minute after you’ve left your car so that it conserves battery power.
Help & Support
Motorola provides exceptional customer support for the Roaster 2, which includes a one-year warranty. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact support representatives through phone, email or live chat. You can also access the user manuals, FAQs page and a user forum. Motorola also provides firmware updates and downloads that help keep it running with current trends.
Summary
The Motorola Roadster 2 is one of the best Bluetooth car kits because of its versatility, hands-free controls and HD voice call quality. The FM transmitter is a nice option for amplifying your calls and streaming music. The MotoSpeak app is a great tool that keeps you connected to your online social networks, but only if you have an Android or BlackBerry device. Overall, it’s a great car speakerphone for personal and professional use.