My Nokia HF-33W review:

[Treatz]

I've been using the Nokia HF-33w For a while now in my vehicle and wanted to report back on my thoughts of this device:

The Nokia HF-33W is a one stop solution for those of you who are looking for a Bluetooth solution for your cars, but don't want to go the expensive hard kit install, aftermarket head unit or new car with Bluetooth built in routes. The HF-33W is alsy very easily tranported between vehicles as well, since it's not a fixed install.

the Beauty of the HF-33W is that it has what all super villains crave. Limitless power. The HF-33w doesn't have a battery, it has a CLA plug and the idea is that you'll plug the unit into a car plug port for it's "install." The beauty of this is that the mast itself is firm, but allows you to move the HF-33W up and down to better tailor your mic/speaker performance. The HC-33W also includes a ring if you want to tighten up the connection if your car plug has become a bit loose over the years.



Performance
loudspeaker
The loudspeaker of the HF-33w is good. It's loud and clean but does have some distortion if you're at full volume. It works well in all but the loudest enviroments like when you're driving windows down at 100+km/h (which usually won't happen if you're on the phone anyway) or in a superloud car.

MIC
The Mic on the unit itself is pretty good. It did a decent job of picking up what i was saying to my callers. People could defniately tell i wasn't on the native handet, but it wasn't something that put them off the conversation. For the quick and easy solution it is it worked well. Clearly a positioned mic on the A pillar or your headliner will work better, but that's getting into a physical install which the HF-33w is designed to avoid.

Additional features
The HF 33w supports last # redial as well. Simply press the call button twice from idle mode and i'll dial the last caller

Voice dialing is activated by pressing and holding the call button until you hear a beep. This will then activate the voice controll which you'll use as per the manufacturer of the phone instructs.

Aesthetics
The unit itself is a clean format and pretty much looks like most of the other CLA solutions out there. It's got Nokia branding via a cloth "shirt tag" off to the side. The buttons are firm and easy to press and light up as well for nighttime driving.





Overall the unit worked well, and with a MSRP of $99.99 it's a great alternative to a hard install kit or the other options discussed above. What i like the most is that is runs of your CLA and not a battery that needs charging, but that can also have a disadvantage if your vehicle has CLA's that are hard to reach or hidden away.

PRO's
*No battery to charge
*simple 3 key operation
*has redail and voice control
*no power button
*clean black finish
*Mast is stiff and still allows range of movement
*Easy to press keys

CON's
*Many vehicles don't have decent CLA positioning
*requires CLA, can't be clipped to visor

[friedbrains]

i think you should have posted this in the BT forum or in the nokia forum... but good review anyway...

[Drug$toreCowboy]

This certainly looks like an interesting unit, but for these needs my Motorola T305 Car BT works perfectly. It clips to the visor, has very good incoming and outgoing sound quality & very good battery life. Here a review of this unit.

Once again, good review Treatz...

[faibs]

a2dp or mono music??

[Drug$toreCowboy]

I cross-referenced this review in the Bluetooth forum. You can see it here .

[Treatz]

a2dp or mono music??

My Guess is Mono, like most nokia headsets

[JustinCredible]

Thanks for this review. I'm going to go check it out today.

[huck-guai]

i got a bad CLA position so it wouldn't be good for me

[Drug$toreCowboy]

i got a bad CLA position so it wouldn't be good for me

... and this pretty much sums it up for many people including myself. The idea is excellent but the CLA locations in many cars don't lend themselves to practical use of this unit. It is unfortunate but there it is. That's why I like the Moto T305 but it doesn't have the "unlimited" power or light up nicely for night use like the Nokia does.

[roncito]

nice review thanks for making it

[smits282]

very useful post on Nokia HF-33w . i got to know +ve and -ve point of HF.
thanks a lot