I am seeking some general knowledge, even more so from people actually using them, of bluetooth capable head units suitable to replace my original premium factory unit.
Specifically I am curious about the auto dialing / auto answering abilities, as in if you don't have steering wheel connect / disconnect buttons installed, how simple and effective is it to operate?

To note, so far I have an interest in the three following models;

Sony MEXBT3850U
Pioneer DEH-6250BT
Kenwood KDC-U546BT

They're reasonably inexpensive ( that's a plus ) and would allow me to use the factory amp in the boot as well as offering me the bonus of USB connectivity.

I have an older Pioneer BT HU and it's brilliant for hands free calling. Obviously you pair your phone to the head unit so as soon as the HU is on, it pairs with the phone and away you go. When you get a call, you can choose to pick up or deny with the remote which is what I do. You can have speed dial and depending on the phone and HU combination you can use voice dialling; something which use to be the unique selling point with stand alone handsfree car kits. Just have to figure out exactly what is important and to you and find the HU that has what you want.

Been a while but I have had some more time to look at various head units and I have narrowed it down between two models.
The Pioneer DEH-6250BT and an Eclipse CD5030, which was a late entry.

http://www.pioneer.com.au/en/Products/Car%20Entertainment/CD%20DVD%20Players/DEH%206250BT.aspx

http://www.eclipse-web.com/us/cd/cd5030feature.html

I don't know anyone who is running the Eclipse or how reliable it is whereas the Pioneer is more of a known quantity and apparently has some decent sound chip performance.
They both have OEL displays ( which is an additional requirement I have ) as I can't stand the old segment displays.
I'm kind of torn between going for the Pioneer as I know more about it and the Eclipse which has a neat security system as well as few more features and a bigger display.

Does anyone have an Eclipse that they can talk about?

I did have an eclipse head unit that lasted me through about 2 cars and i gave it some um abuse. I had them matched with some boston competition speakers and used to run them at nearly breaking point all the time and never hiccupped. The feature that i like about the eclipse units is the ESCD (Eclipse Security CD) meaning that your "security code" is actually a cd of your choice. The other thing is the good playback on the cd's. I was able to go over very big bumps in the road at varying speeds and the cd NEVER skipped

If you need any more info. Let me know

Thanks

Well I learned recently that many of Eclipse's dealers have dropped them like a hot potato with one dealer saying that their service ability has dropped and that Eclipse's parent company have pretty much drastically reduced their support for dealerships here in Oz.
After a few more places said that they have dropped Eclipse from their range, I decided to go with the Pioneer DEH-6250BT and have already installed it in the car. The bluetooth is crystal clear and the front USB is hugely practical for me.

this really surprises me considering their parent company has a place in Melbourne (Port Melbourne) where they do all the support stuff from