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Parrot EasyDrive
Reviewed by
Brian Cooley
on 06/09/2005

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The good: Easy setup; robust Bluetooth operation; great sound quality.

The bad: Ugly trumpetlike design; blind control interface makes for dicey use of advanced functions; would be nice if the control unit and audio unit were connected wirelessly.

The bottom line: With excellent audio quality and easy setup, the Parrot EasyDrive is a strong choice for the person who wants a Bluetooth hands-free system for their car.

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CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed by:
    Brian Cooley
  • Edited by:
    Bonnie Cha
  • Reviewed on: 06/09/2005
  • Released on: 03/14/2005
Paris-based Parrot's latest Bluetooth hands-free kit, the Parrot EasyDrive, is a winner. Affordable ($99) and easy to handle, this product makes sophisticated use of voice recognition and verbal prompts to get around its lack of a text display. During our road tests, we were immediately impressed by the quality of sound on our end, and our callers said they could hear us with great clarity and loudness. Parrot says the EasyDrive is compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, and if you're looking for a simple plug-and-drive solution, the EasyDrive is a solid choice.

The Parrot EasyDrive consists of two main parts: the audio/speaker portion and the control pad. The primary controls for the EasyDrive are not contained in the speaker horn but are actually mounted on an attractive control pod that consists of a "turn and click" knob and two flanking buttons with red and green companion LEDs. This control panel, which can be mounted on your dash with the included Velcro tape, is connected to the speaker/mic module by an 18-inch wire. There is no visual display, so all system menus are navigated via voice prompts from the device, including pairing, language selection (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, or Dutch), and storage of memorized numbers. EasyDrive also lets you use voice commands to operate your cell phone's functions, such as accepting or hanging up on a call, so that you never have to take your eyes off the road.


The Parrot EasyDrive's minimalist control pad lets you access the device's many functions, including volume and redial.

Rotating and clicking the main knob lets you access features that include storing numbers for voice dialing (up to 200 names). This feature and about a dozen other commands and basic controls, such as volume, are all driven by the one knob and two push buttons. We found this interface almost too simple to handle all these commands; if you want to get maximum functionality from the Parrot EasyDrive, you'll need to become instinctively familiar with what each control does in a given mode. No single control is dedicated to a particular task; it completely depends on the current state of the device, which can be confusing. It may also discourage some users from taking advantage of the advanced features, such as automatic answer and caller ID. However, none of this takes away from the EasyDrive's exceptional performance as a wireless speakerphone for your mobile with the things that matter: volume, clarity, and ease of connection.

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Parrot EasyDrive

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