Hands on with the Nokia CK-200 Car Kit

You will probably by now have read about my recent experiences with a Maserati that was kindly dropped off to me as part of the #NokiaNav Challenges. If you havent take a look at the Delivery Day and Challenge 2 posts.

The main reason that myself and 4 other bloggers received a sports car each for the week, was to try out a Nokia Car Kit called the Nokia CK-200. This kit was fitted to each of the cars, and was the basis for the #NokiaNav Challenges that took place.

The Nokia CK-200 Kit

The Nokia CK-200 is a small car kit that intergrates with your existing car stereo. The unit allows you to wirelessly connect you Nokia mobile phone to your cars audio system via Bluetooth.

The CK-200 unit itself has 2 components, the first is a small LED display that can attach to your dash:

The other part is a remote control dial for controlling the kit which can be attached anywhere in your car using the velcro pad.

Setting-up the CK-200

The device itself is easy to set-up, just pair your Nokia mobile to it as you would any Bluetooth device.

You will then be prompted on your phone to connect to the device:

Once connected you also have the option to download your phones contact list to the CK-200 unit.

The CK-200 in use

The Nokia CK-200 gives you freedom to use certain features of your mobile while you are diving. My main experience was to use the connected Nokia N97 Mini with OVI Maps to navigate to the specified locations during the #NokiaNav Challenges.

With the contacts list downloaded to the CK-200 it also gives you quick access to your phonebook for calling friends and family, with a quick scroll to your desired contact and pressing the dial & hangup buttons respectively.

Using voice commands on your Nokia handset (dependant on model), with one touch operation from the CK-200 you are able to tell your phone a command (that it recognises) and it will perform an action, such as read new Text Messages/Email or even play music from your mobile, which of course can then be streamed via Bluetooth to your car stereo.

Unfortunately I was unable to use the cars own built-in entertainment system, due to a lock-code issue, which meant that I was unable to see how the CK-200 handled overriding the cars radio/CD for audio alerts and calls to and from the mobile.

Other Features

The display colour of the CK-200 can be changed to suit your personal choice, from white, blue, orange and green.

The CK-200 is also easily removable from it’s mount and small enough to fit into a pocket or your glovebox as not to attract the attention of unwanted eyes when your car is parked.

The same is said for the CK-200 control unit, which can be removed fom it’s Velcro mount and hidden from view.

Conclusion

The CK-200 performed as expected working with the Nokia N97 Mini, I did try pairing with my iPhone but sadly nothing happened.

The unit is very sleek looking, and doesn’t look at-all out of place sat on your dash. The display is crisp and bright, especially during night time driving, I did however struggle to see the display when wearing sunglasses in bright sunshine though.

The unit is very simple to use, and once you figure out what all the buttons do, it’s fairly easy to navigate your way around the system, without having to take your eye of the road.

If you are looking for an easy way to connect your Nokia handset to your car stereo then this could be the solution for you. That being said the ‘CK-200 to phone connection’ is the easy part – the wiring of the CK-200 to the back of your stereo may require some more expert help.

I have mixed feelings about the CK-200, while my overall experience of the unit was good, I just cant help wonder why you wouldn’t just buy a car stereo system that is already Bluetooth-enabled?

The Nokia Car Kit CK-200 will be available in the summer and is expected to retail for approximately €140.

More images of the CK-200