Some of us are lucky enough to be able to splash out £40k on a BMW X5 or new Audi, complete with full screen OEM navigation, Bluetooth phone prep, and so on. But for the rest of us impoverished gadget heads, we've mainly resorted to the PARROT bluetooth car kits or occasionally the little Nokia CK7W - a tiny buttoned, no-frills device for making and accepting calls whilst on the move. Even more of us don't install car kits but instead use awkward fitting Bluetooth headsets that we forget to charge, fall out of the ears and are sometimes even ripped out the ear in frustration because yet again a call is dropped or audio quality just isn't good enough.

Ok, I'm generalising a lot here but these are all familiar situations. In recent times, due mainly to legal crackdowns on mobile use whilst driving, we've all been pushed into some form of Bluetooth hands free solution. Many of the Parrot kits have been sold on the strength of their external displays - offering caller ID, a jog dial to select contacts from your paired mobile phone and in some cases the displays are in colour, can display wallpaper or even the photo associated with a contact when they call.

Both Parrot and Nokia, as well as newcomer THB Bury, all offer Bluetooth kits with fancy external screens. The THB Bury CC9060 even provides a touch screen. But these manufacturers are in some ways missing a point - not everyone wants to simply hide their mobile in their pocket and use an external screen. Where to fit the  thing? Why do I want to drill holes or ruin the dashboard of my lovely new (secondhand) motor? Or add yet another item to an ever growing list of items I have to remove from the car when I park it as I'm worried about theft?

In my case, I've always wanted to see my mobile whilst driving - I want to not only know who's calling but check my emails, messages and, if you're like me and use your Nokia N95 8GB as a navigation unit, why on earth would you leave it in your pocket?

In the past the simple Nokia CK7W would have done the trick - allowing simple but great quality audio and phone functions whilst being able to route calls through the car's own speaker system, mute the radio and hang up/accept calls as well as offering voice dialing by holding down the centre button, waiting for the 'beep' and speaking the name of the caller. Any phone centric functions would have been performed by actually using the phone's own buttons and hardware.

But Nokia released (although to no fanfare whatsoever!) the ingenious CK 300 car kit in April and I've only just been able to source one. I've found it hard to believe there's not been more hype for the CK 300, especially for Nokia Nseries users. 

The CK 300 looks simple enough and resembles the CK7W in that the 'kit' consists simply of a jog dial and button-based unit that is subtle enough not to be really noticed in the vehicle whilst the brains of the car kit remain hidden under your dash trim somewhere. The remote control differs from the 7W in that there are five buttons as well as a push/rotating NaviWheel. The buttons are all backlit and the NaviWheel is surrounded by a smart looking white LED circle of light. Just from looking at the control unit you can see that there's a voice dialing button, a mute button, mode button and green and red answer and hangup buttons. It looks and feels very well made.

This is where Nokia has really taken a leap forward and implemented a fantastic piece of software in the CK 300 solution. Called 'Car Menu', it's a piece of software that links directly to the CK 300 control unit and provides handsfree call handling, music features and navigation via Bluetooth - all using the screen of your mobile device! The software runs on S60 3rd Edition or later devices with a QVGA display (two versions are available, for landscape/portrait devices).

In practice, the combination of hardware and software works brilliantly. Crank your car's ignition and the Car Menu software appears on the mobile phone screen - big fonts and a completely customised look and feel are the order of the day here. Upon starting up, the network screen is displayed but press the NaviWheel and a clear and easy to read menu appears with items being easily selected by simply rotating the wheel and clicking. It goes without saying that the most important use of the software will be to make and receive phone calls. This works like a dream - a call can be automatically answered or the NaviWheel can be clicked to answer the call. The menu allows for the usual call register functions so you can easily, with one click, bring up a list of dialled numbers, missed calls and received calls. 

Selecting a contact to call is again a piece of cake. If you don't want to use voice tags to dial a number with one push and hold of the respective button, you can scroll through your contacts in a large font list using one letter or a series of letters. The system is fast and intuitive.

Call functions are all present, from call waiting right through to muting the call or even transferring it from the car kit to the mobile phone itself if you wish to have a more intimate conversation or if one of your passengers wants to make a private call.

The CK 300 also effortlessly streams your music selection from the phone via Bluetooth through to the car stereo speakers. There's a special Music Player menu that's accessed with one click of the central MODE button. From there you can search for albums, artists, and tracks, with anything being paused when a call comes through or is initiated.

The NaviWheel and Car Menu software also allow you to scroll through emails or text messages, and to control Nokia Maps - and all of this without actually touching the phone at all. The buttons double up as left and right soft keys for the respective applications on the phone and there's no lag between pressing keys and function execution.

Included in the kit is a 3.5mm jack, allowing you to connect additional audio devices to the car kit and, wait for it, the icing on the cake - Nokia have even provided their 2mm car charging cable so you'll not be without power! And I am not talking about a car cigarette lighter charger but a hard-wired power cable to your vehicle's battery.

After a week of using the CK 300, I have been more than impressed. Nokia seem to have covered everything here - the telephony and hardware is excellent. The NaviWheel is solid and chunky and a joy to use and the software seems remarkably bug-free, fast and responsive. Being able to use Nokia Maps and having the car radio muted when it's reciting directions is a really neat idea.

The CK 300 is a great example of thinking outside the box. Not having to worry about yet another screen or item to remove in your car will be a big bonus to many concerned drivers out there. It also shows how powerful the new Nokia mobile phones are in (literally) being good at 'everything'. With my Nokia N95 8GB and the CK 300, I can scroll through my emails, messages, call lists, voice dial any of my contacts or spin through them with the NaviWheel; I can load up and control Nokia Maps to find my way all over Europe and beyond; I can stream over 7GB of music from the phone through to my car's speakers... and more. All for less than £100! (Not including the phone or fitting, of course).

A remarkable package and something I would certainly recommend, especially for N95 users.