BMW comes first with Apple iPhone integration

BMW is first to announce integration of the Apple iPhone to some of their models. Congrats to Munich for that smart marketing move, but it's nothing more than that. The iPhone integration uses the existing iPod integration availability and the Bluetooth function of the iPhone.

Wasting no time at all, BMW announced iPhone compatibility for its passenger cars yesterday. Apple's latest supertoy will work in Bimmers equipped with BMW Assist and Bluetooth connectivity. Furthermore, the iPhone's iPod feature gets full radio / iDrive screen integration in the following vehicles that have the iPod/USB interface installed:

* 3 Series built March 2007 and later
* 5 Series built March 2007 and later
* X5 built April 2007 and later
* 6 Series built September 2007 and later

Related news: Foursprung, P4MR, BMW, iPhone

Source: BMW, Engadget

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BMW: Bringing movies to your car!

BMW is planning to bring movies and music to your car, via download to a hard-disk behind your dashboard. A protoype is already working, as spotted here in Geneva! Nice.

As I recently reported, BMW says it has a prototype X5 SUV, developed with the European Space Agency and other consortium partners, with a satellite dish that works the same way as satellite television in your home, except the antenna is attached to the car.

Now BMW claims to have taken a further lead among car OEMs with the development of a multimedia content delivery system that streams video and music via cellular or Wi-Fi connections to a car's console from which it can be viewed or downloaded for later viewing or listening. With a PC-to-car Wi-Fi link, the system allows you to select video or sound files on your PC's hard drive, which you can then transfer wirelessly to the BMW's 20-GB console. The cellular link works the same way except that data can be transferred over longer distances, of course, compared to the limited range of a Wi-Fi connection.

Related news: Foursprung, P4MR, BMW

Source: Autopia

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