personal calling with onstar

[knutsblue]

Was wondering if anybody uses this feature as it has become available in my area and was going to try it.Does it work better than a cell phone like they claim???

[TarheelZ]

My wife has an '02 Impala with On-Star and she loves the personal calling feature.  As far as a comparison to cell phones, I think the signal is clearer with the On-Star...but it's more expensive, too.

[Zane]

It works better in the fact that you can just drive and talk. As far as if the quality is better, i can't tell a differnce.

[cowboy02]

I too believe the quality is a-lot better.  Think of this.....  The technology they use works anywhere... No brown out points and there is a satalite dedicated to that phone.  So if more and more people start using it just like cell phones eventually the service will start to turn to crap.  So what does on-star do?  They charge a premium for it so that not very many people would use it.  I was up in the mountains last week had no cell service punched the button and talked clear as a bell...........  I LOVE IT!!!  But I only have 60 minutes per year for like 50 bucks......

[sgiangregorio]

It probably depends on your area. I've tried it and didn't think it worked that great. I like having OnStar, but only for the safety package. Even when I call OnStar, they sometimes can't hear me. I think the Microphone is too far away in a truck. It's mounted near the rear view mirror. For safety, I like it, for everyday use, no thanks.

[sgiangregorio]

Oh, one more thing. The biggest pain is that there's no keypad. You can't call into voicemail or check answering machines because you can't dial once your connected. I found that very limiting.

[Markeaux]

I too believe the quality is a-lot better.  Think of this.....  The technology they use works anywhere... No brown out points and there is a satalite dedicated to that phone.  

OnStar uses cell phone technology for all calls, not satellite - it has better auto-roaming functionality than some other cell/pcs phones.  Even the salesman got this wrong when we were activating OnStar (the truck was inside their shop building nonetheless - sat freqs don't go thru buildings).  The only satellite technology are the GPS that reads sats (receive only) to determine location coordinates which the OnStar system can read and forward to their comm center (via cell) and/or XM satellite radio (receive only).

[WEFs99]

I never paid attention to anything about Onstar so I don't really know the purpose.  What is it for?  It sounds like it is a GPS/cellphone??

[ClipperSkipper]

My truck has a hands-free wireless installation with a mike and speaker, one shout and the wireless is dialed however with the continous hiddens on Wireless plans we went Two-Meter FM. We have a tone for inbounds, tone for calls and we can talk anywhere in the World, for free. Neat stuff and took a bit to learn, and you do need an FCC Amateur license but this is neat stuff!

 

Have a great one!

[Markeaux]

I never paid attention to anything about Onstar so I don't really know the purpose.  What is it for?  It sounds like it is a GPS/cellphone??

OnStar http://www.onstar.com is available for a number of vehicles http://www.onstar.com/visitors/html/va_availability.htm .

 

The basic plan is free for 1yr on new GM vehicles with OnStar.   It will callout if the airbags deploy, send the gps coordinates to OnStar monitors and they will ask if you are ok or need help.  You can also press a button to get medical etc, help at any time.  And if the keys are locked inside they can remotely unlock it.  They can keep your personal records on file like in case you're unconscious and are allergic to some medications they will tell the attending medical team.

 

I upgraded to the higher plan to get the concierage just to try it out.  With this you can additionally push the OnStar button to get directions, restaurant/hotel/etc locations and reservations, order tickets, etc.  This came in handy a few times but I don't travel much so just dropped back down to the basic service.  

 

In some locations there is also Personal Calling which basically is a voice activated cell phone.

 

Having the button to push in case of medical emergency is nice ... if having a heart attack I may be unlikely to be able to communicate effectively with 911 on my portable cell phone.

[Z71Adrenaline]

My grandmother has a 2001 Z71 LT with OnStar and she had me program her names into it last weekend...it was SWEET!

[Black02Silverado]

It is a nice feature and a safe way to talk and drive since it is hands free.  The service here is with Alltel. It is an Onstar service but they still use others for connection, at least the is what it seems.  

 

I feel the price will go down on the service once there is a flooded market out there. The compatition will be to the point that it will have to. IMO

 

I like it, gives me a piece of mind when the wife is driving since it alerts the emergency service if your airbags deploy and you don't respond to their call to you in the vehicle.

 

[Import Hater]

I get the 100 minutes for 2 months deal for 30 bucks.  That seems to be about what I use.  And it's cheaper than a cell phone package.  As a former employee in the retail electronics biz, I've had pretty much every major service provider over the years. And I'd say OnStar has the least amount of dead zones.

 

Rob

[k1500chevy97]

Heard a radio ad for onstar today

Airbag deployed in a vehicle and the onstar person dispatched emergency services to the vehicles location and asked the lady inside the vehicle if she was all right then proceded to ask her if she wanted them to phone a family member    

[ShimanoFisherman]

I love it.  I had to change my address to my dad's residence b/c it wasn't available to me out in the sticks (but I can get DSL, how's that possible???).  I use it when my cell phone battery is dead or if it doesn't have any signal.  Works great and then of course we get the ancillary benefit of it calling the OnStar command center in the event of air bag deployment.