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iPod Your BMW Officially Launched
chasingporsches writes "Apple today announced the iPod Your BMW campaign on their front page. According to the iPod Your BMW page, 'Connect with music like never before behind the wheel of your BMW 3 Series, and X3 and X5 SAV, Z4 Roadster or MINI. With the installation of an integrated adapter developed by Apple and BMW, you can now control your iPod or iPod mini through the existing audio system and multi-function steering wheel. Which means no loss of power. No loss of sound quality. No loss of control.' There is also a QuickTime TV ad available for streaming. Apparently it only works with 2002 or later BMWs and Minis, and the iPod connects to a cable in the glove compartment."
Rejoice!
All this effort into integrating the iPod into the car, but you're just supposed to toss it in the glove box? Please.
Why not make one for my vintage VW Beetle, you insensitive clod!
So, when's the iPod, 1994 Honda Civic campaign coming?
The perfect sig is a lot like silence, only louder
Look out for the BMW's with white wing mirrors ;)
liqbase
the most expensive iPod accessory ever!
I can count to 1023 on my hands. Ask me about #132.
Become the 600th advertiser to mention iPod to get onto the front page of Slashdot.org!
The iPod doesn't even have a fancy cradle or slot to slide into. They just want you to lay it in your glove box. I suppose that BMW owners might be different than me but I don't have any room in my glove box after all the paperwork for the car, the manual, and the road maps (GPS is great, I use it all the time, but it doesn't solve ALL problems), I don't have room for that.
As a MINI owner, I have been aware this has been possible for quite awhile. It was just done via a third party company who built a custom interface by hacking up the alpine i-bus CD changer interface.
:(
... oh well.
My fear now is that this company is getting ripped off of all their work by this venture with Apple and BMW.
I opted for Sirius over buying an iPod for hopes of having a greater selection in diffrent generes, but
Justin
why do they have the ipod flopping around in the glovebox?
Really, is it so hard to make an in-dash stereo have a slot-loading ipod?
Just slide your ipod into your stereo like an 8-track tape.
Plus, that way you don't need to buy a BMW to use it.
iPods and Beemers. Somehow it all fits (and not for the better).
I miss the old Apple days (before they became a fashion statement)
Nothing more then rich, liberal, elite, yuppy, eurotrash, scumbags. Which is exactly why my 2002 325 is getting one as soon as my dealer has them in stock!
This story is probably most likely to incite BMW owners to get an iPod to go with their car, but in my case it's actually inspired me to get a BMW to go with my iPod. :) I was close to getting one anyway, this just finalizes things for me...
dmiessler.com -- grep understanding knowledge
i really had no reason to drive my BMW until i read this... thanks apple!
My boss, with this announcement, is suddenly *really* interested in purchasing a BMW. He'd never talked about BMW before this... it's exactly the type of thing that luxury car owners use to decide which car to buy. BMW knows their market.
Peace
First we had morons fumbling for their cell phones, now we'll have morons fumbling for their iPods.
Do Not Eat iPod Shuffle
sounds just like it
read about it here
it will allow the same thing this article talks about on alpine receivers. i can't wait for it!
i saw the baby, and the baby looked at me
as I hit the horn and spin the wheel maddly in a clockwise direction to cycle through my playlist.
Come on, you have to plug in a cable and throw it in the glove compartment? What a hack! I could modify my car to do that, and put an LCD screen on the dash to show me what I'm playing. Hell, you can probably buy that already. Before I watched the video, I though the BMW would have some sort of dock that either I sat my iPod in, or even cooler, a slot, like a tape deck, that I shoved my ipod in. Now THAT would be cool. This is not what I call "Seamless integration" I think in the future car stereo's are going to come with a media bay, just like printers do now. I slap in my SD/xD/MMC/Memory Stick or whatever and the stero reads the ID3's and playlists. Off I go. And laptops will come with built in FM transmitters to broadcast their audio to my home entertainment center or car stereo... I would love to sit in my living room, play a FPS and have it all come out the stereo. No Wires.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
BMW kinda got it half right. the iDrive has a knob, but rather than spinning it to scroll down menus you press it in certain directions--something much more suited to a joystick or just plain ol' buttons. that and the menu system is apparently horribly non-intuitive.
looking at this, though, it just seems like a hack of the radio, with the iPod's connection being in the glove compartment. ??? so now you have to lean over the passenger's seat (and maybe the passenger) to plug in the iPod if you took it out of the car. and god forbid you have anything actually IN the glove compartment that might get it the way. i think it would have been much better with some type of dock in the center armrest console.
jeez i had to take out a loan to buy my powerbook and now i need a BMW for my ipod. apple needs to market products towards people like me w/ an '96 ford aspire.
Force of Will = Glue 'nuff said.
here is a way better solution plus a better vehicle
**ducks**
this sig intentionally left blank
This is neat, but certainly not a huge deal. Hopefully, if succesful, the major car companies (Toyota, GM, Ford, Daimler, VW) will take notice and do something similar. This seems like a great, lo-tech way to get your MP3s into your car, without requiring a dedicated in-dash MP3 player. I could see this option becoming especially popular in rental cars (which probably limits it to the Mini for now). I'm sure they'll start running "get a mini with your mini" promotions pretty soon.
Sadly, I know 2 people with BMWs who just miss the cut; one has a 2001 3-series, and the other has a 2003 M3.
More to the point, this will allow the driver to control the iPod form the steering-wheel controls (is the steering wheel the scroll wheel--eeks!), with a dock cable running into the glove compartment. I imagine you could install a holder for the iPod elsewhere in the car too.
A friggin' "slide in" dock connector in my car console. So I can just insert the iPod and go. I don't want cables, and I'm certainly tired of the FM iTrip transmitter that fades out whenever you get near a strong radio station.
It's ironic that a "retro-tech" tape-cassette car stereo would afford me better sound than my CD player which has no external line inputs. (It has internal ones at the back but they want about as much money as my iPod for an adapter!)
Okay, ultimately what I want is a universal and OPEN dock connector so we can all have car stereos that will handle all of our Minidisc, MP3 or XM or whatever portable sound system players we have in the future. The connectors should handle hardware connections as well as provide a standardized software interface (uPNP maybe?) to display and select the track/album information inside.
(And it should handle cellphones too!)
(I think I'm going to switch to decaf for the rest of the afternoon now...)
I love apple. I'm a zealot, this is a cool thing for your BMW but read the fine print.
Only available for model year 2002, 2003 and 2004 BMW3 Series; Z4 Roadster; X3 and X5 SAV; and MINI models. Not available on vehicles with navigation system, CD changer, DSP cassette player or satellite radio. Installation performed by authorized BMW and BMW SAV centers only. Third-generation iPod (software 2.2 or later) or iPod mini (software 1.1 or later)
Yes... How many BMW owners don't opt for the CD Changer?
--------========+++Dont Feed The Lab Techs+++========--------
...which was to get a car stereo with an auxiliary jack, and simply plug in and put the iPod in a nice holder.
Integrated controls are nice and all, but my solution was less than $200, and will work with any car with a single-DIN stereo.
My real question is why it's harder and harder to find stereos with front-panel auxiliary plugs these days. Aiwa offers them in cheap-ass stereos, and JVC in a couple models, but that's it. It could be a much cheaper solution for the masses.
yeah leave your ipod in a cradle on your dashboard while you run into the WaWa... and maybe a wallet with $400 sticking out of it. at least in the glovebox you can secure it, and it's out of sight. it's marginally more secure, but someone not knowing it is in there is the best protection short of taking it with you every time you get out of the car.
http://icelink.densionusa.com has a product that does it the same way. the car's head unit thinks it is a CD changer so the remote controls of the stereo work, and the display will show track info. it adaps to a lot of car stereos out there, so it's an option for more than just BMW owners.
these are essentially hacks to existing car stereos.... just give it some time and there will be more options to integrate better with MP3 players.
I bought a VWCDPIC auxiliary audio interface for ~$45, a female headphone to RCA y-adapter and a 20' M-M headphone extension. Plugged the WVCDPIC in to the cd changer harness, plugged the Y adapter into the WVCDPIC, plugged the extension into the adapter and ran it under the kick panels and through the trim panel under the dash.
I bought about $3 worth of square plastic tube (1/4" dia) and some thin plastic sheet. With a lot of patience and effort, I constructed an open box that the iPod slides into and attached that to a "C" shaped bracket that I wedged between the top and bottom of the center A/C vent. Works great! Some company makes the same thing but ready to go for $90+s/h.
Before anyone asks about condensation from the A/C hitting the back of the unit - It's been humid as all hell here with the A/C on solid and it doesn't seem to be affected in any way. I've also had it installed for about 5 months with no issues. The only problems are these:
I have to shut the backlight off during the day because the display washes out when it comes on. I of course also have to turn it back on at night.
Not as elegant as buying something off the shelf.
Still have to move my hands to change tracks - but I don't have the remote on the steering wheel anyway so that's moot. The VWCDPIC has some serial interface that can control a dedicated MP3 changer thingie via the CD head unit buttons that the designer links on his website - it takes a 2.5" HD and you stick it in your trunk. You could also add a LCD display if I'm not mistaken.
Oh yeah, the iPod (at least my 1G) has the WORST random track logic!
Reviews with a twist! http://www.sardonicbastard.com
it doesn't just tap the remote control options of the device.... it also relays the track info to the head unit. this uses the port in the bottom of the iPod to connect, not just the minijack on top..... and that's not standard either.
unfortunately i don't see a standard coming. icelink has existed for iPods for a while now and works like this BMW adapter. there is also an Alpine one. it's possible there is something like this for non-iPods.
i know the back of my head unit has RCA inputs then a weird Sony link cable that is intended to link the head unit with a Sony changer. unless a sony device is hooked up (or some adapter bought) the RCA ports are off.
if your iRiver has the option of an inline remote then it seems very possible this does (or can) exist for your device. another bonus of the BMW thing using the port where the iPod would dock is that it gets juice from the car, so the batteries stay alive.
God I loathe rich people marketing campaigns...
My favourite was a billboard campaign for The Economist magazine I saw in Seven Sisters, a dirt-poor part of Hackney, a dirt-poor London borough: "If you read The Economist, get your chauffeur to honk the horn." Needless to say, my salary was sub-iPod at the time...
This is where the serious fun begins.
iPod...nope
BMW...nope
Guess this means nothing to me
If God had had a computer it would have taken him 7 months to create the earth...if he even bothered to do it at all.
two things I can't afford, in one neat package!
I'd be happy with a flipping CD player.
I would be much more impressed by a voice navigation interface to the ipod that does not require you to own any particular high end car. But that would make too much sense and wouldn't nickel and dime us to death.
Now I want an Ipod AND a BMW! No fair!
Car decks with CD-MP3 players are now common.y ers/index.php
HD units are catching on. (Like the phatbox) http://www.phatnoise.com/products/digitalmediapla
But what I think would be great is a car deck that uses a DVD drive, not to play movies but to play MP3s.
One disk can 50+ hours of decent quality music and and a dvd drive is not that expensive anymore.
It should be here now...
BMW today announced that in keeping with the spirit of their Apple iPod partnership, the "i" in BMW's model names will now be placed before the number.
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
if I listened to the droning of the proles. Instead, I'm going out to shoot a peasant or a pheasant. Whichever I find on my estate first.
This won't work in my Z8 roadster? Pish-posh. Guess I'll just have to deal with whatever Jeeves puts on whilst riding in the Maybach.
For an example of real neat integration of an iPod in a car look at what smart did with the i-move
;-)
Although I must admit that I'd still prefer a BMW over Smart anytime.
If, like me, you have a Sony with a multi-changer control you can have both an iPod and a CD changer hooked up.
I highly recommend it
'Internet! Is that thing still around?' - Homer Simpson
... after taking another look at my slightly sagging SCO shares, I realize I'm a little short this month, so I have to CHOOSE between the iPod or a BMW. It's that kind of decision that makes people's heads explode.
Oh, well, after I blow my SCO money I still have my Enron, Worldcom, Martha Stewart Enterprises and Bre-X investments to fall back on. Tonight I'd better check to see how they're doing, maybe I *CAN* afford both after all!
P.S. I saved a BUNDLE by choosing my own investments and not paying an "expert" to do it for me.
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
Something's missing... track listings on the head unit. They should have hacked something together that pipes CD TEXT info out to the receiver and shows what's currently playing. Then again, do iPods with dock connectors have the ability to send track information down through their connection?
Is the iPod also easily spotted through the glove box door? After all, that's where the adapter is. ;-)
---- The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. -Thomas Jefferson
I wonder if they have plans to move this into other, higher quality vehicles in the future? While I admit that BMW's are very expensive and prestigous, independent car reviews like Consumer Reports always give them the lowest possible marks for reliability, a key indicator of quality. Any chance they're going to port this to high quality makes such as Nissan, Honda or (the king of reliability) Toyota?
Before anyone flames me -1 Troll or something, here's a link to the Consumer Reports review of the BMW 3-series. Consumer Reports does not accept advertising dollars and has been independent and objective for decades (you need a subscription). Their electrical systems and power equipment get the absolute worst rating and they managed the bare minimum "reliability check-mark" only three years out of eight studied. And that's the best of the bunch! Their SUV line gets some of the worst quality marks in automobile history.
God, why would the quality leader in portable music hook up with a quality sinkhole like BMW? People who pay the premium for iPods pay for their stuff to just work. People who buy BMW's pay a premium for prestige, and don't mind if the car breaks down twenty times a year. These are two totally separate markets.
If guns kill people, then CmdrTaco's keyboard misspells words.
This is a terrible idea! How is Google supposed to know if I'm looking for the "iPod Mini" or the "iPod MINI"?
Yes, you can control your iPod from the car's radio or steering wheel, but the integration leaves a lot to be desired. It works by emulating a 5-disc CD Changer. Hence you can have "five unique BMW playlists".
You will not be able to see the song name or artist on the radio's display. Nor will you be able to access any of the other iPod functions or features, such as browsing by name/artist/genre etc. You will only be able to FF and RW one of five playlists.
Apple and BMW should go back to the drawing board.
The adapter frees your car from messy wires
So the wire connecting the adapter to the stereo is neat and clean?
On another note, it's interesting how much they're hyping the supposedly excellent "sound quality" of the iPod. I love my iPod, but sound quality here is almost entirely a factor of the encoding of the music rather than the iPod. When it comes down to it, the iPod is just a hard drive with headphones. It stores the music and hopefully doesn't introduce too much noise in the connection to the speakers, but a crappy mp3 recording is not going to mysteriously sound so much better when played on an iPod as opposed to any other digital music player.
A dock would restrict compatibility to one type or generation of iPod. With the cable, you can use either an original iPod or an iPod Mini and it leaves Apple able to redesign the iPod form factor in the future while still maintaining compatibility with this. You don't want to have to upgrade your car stereo every time you buy a new iPod model, do you? All Apple has to keep the same in future models is the connector.
Preliminary info here.
-ted
This translation brought to you by babelfish++.
-fred
Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.
Clearly you didn't read the second part of the article where it mentions the perspex glovebox door conversion which is included with installation.
...to BMW 2002 or greater
Has anyone even bothered thinking this through?
New York banned handheld cellphones from use while driving to prevent accidents, now they want to make the steering wheel a fucking controller for the iPod?
What? Are they going to make it a "snow" steering wheel, and you turn it left/right to navigate through the LCD menu (displayed in big letters on the windshield)?
I sense high insurance rates.
I'm a signature virus. Please copy me to your signature so I can replicate.
"so there's no way of knowing that there's an iPod in the car at all"
But I paid good $$$ for my sleek and sexy ipod so people could see how trendy I am. Ditto for the Beemer. If people can't even see it, what's the point?
Can I get a sleek and sexy sticker to advertise my trendyness?
They're gonna see the Beemer, so don't worry about it. However, you might have a different problem and may want to reply to the next 'Male enhancement' message that pops up in your inbox.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Start making car stereos have a damn 3.5mm stereo jack somewhere on the front of the unit. There are so many different mp3 devices nowadays, and the last thing I want is more custom shit that locks me into brands or punishes me for not using the same thing as everyone else. Give me a standard way to plug my mp3 player into my stereo without having to fight with every FM radio station in a 30 mile radius or take my dash halfway apart and buy a $70 adapter so I can attatch a pig-tail to the back of my stereo.
(And no, I'm not hating on cool iPod stuff. I have an iPod. But I still don't want a slot-loading iPod incase my next mp3 player is not an iPod or incase Apple changes the size/shape of the iPod yet again (they will - WWDC is coming soon). )
not EVERY car is going to have an iPod waiting in the glovebox.
same way people sometimes put things in the trunk of the car as opposed to laying out on the back seat.
also somebody else pointed out that if you use valet parking or park in a garage you give them the "valet key" that does not allow them access to the glovebox or the trunk.... so it would be secure while you go out, but there when you get back.