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
E90post.com member PAMidge has the first review of the iPhone/Bimmer implementation up on the web (as pictured above). The car used was the poster's 1-week-old 2007 328xi. The verdict: "Fully functional." Read the whole thing.
[Sources: BMW, E90Post]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stoneman @ Jun 30th 2007 7:43PM
We need someone to pool cash together, buy an iPhone from an Apple store, and then smash it with a hammer in the store. Sweet.
stonemanautoreview.com
Blake @ Jul 1st 2007 2:02AM
That's really, really dumb.
rv @ Jul 1st 2007 2:43AM
Always interesting to hear what the more simple-minded folk do with technology, eh? As an Apple stockholder, I'd buy one and do a Snoopy dance. Interesting, folks mention other phones; the thing with the iPhone - its actually fun to use - it kicks a lot of a55. Get used to the future, folks - your Blueberrys and Sony-Ericksons are landfill, you just don't know it yet...
Scott @ Jul 1st 2007 1:46PM
@lithious
How about a gorgeous interface that is both intuitive and easy to use? I have yet to see a PalmOS or Windows Mobile device that meets that criteria.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jul 1st 2007 12:03PM
rv: It is fun to use. I hope you have two hands free to use it though. When driving or walking through the airport with a coffee, you're pretty much stuffed. Apple seems to have paid more attention to fun factor than to utility with the iPhone.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 30th 2007 8:37PM
I can already do all this stuff over Bluetooth to my much cheaper, much older Sony-Ericsson phone.
And you can too. It works great with a Garmin Nuvi or an Acura TL.
Now, if the car combined its GPS with the iPhones Google Maps and gave me better routing and up-to-the-second databases of businesses and such (instead of getting discs one a year), now that would be amazing.
chop @ Jun 30th 2007 10:00PM
how is this possible? users are reporting that the iphone only has 1 bluetooth profile, which is the headset profile which isnt allowing alot of built in bluetooth enabled cars to utilize it. in order for all the information to be displayed in the picture above the iphone would need more than a few profiles to display the reception, phone book..etc
fyi. most phones can already do this as its already been said
prolix21 @ Jun 30th 2007 10:18PM
i've got a 2006 330i and my iphone works fine. address book downloads, no issues so far. not sure what would be different about the 07 models?
Mike @ Jul 1st 2007 9:47AM
The difference is with 07 models built after March 1st you can get full iPod integration into the radio with the 6FL USB/iPod integration option. I have this on my 335 coupe. I plug my video iPod into the special cable you get from BMW and it goes into my center console and I never have to touch it. I can control all the songs and playlists through the iDrive. The point of the users review is that the music playing part of the iPhone works fine through the iDrive. Not just the phone part of the iPhone.
fortwo @ Jun 30th 2007 11:36PM
It works fine with a Range Rover Sport as well.
Here is a video:
http://gadgetcaptain.blogspot.com/2007/06/iphone-incar-bluetooth-video.html
Knucklehead @ Jul 1st 2007 8:18AM
Can’t wait to hear from the first person who has dropped this darn “supertoy” that has a glass screen and a hard-drive...
Yesterday, some reporter from a local channel flaunted one of these toys on the early 6AM news, and all the closeup shots confirmed exactly what I wanted to know: this thing is simply filthy with all the gunks and fingerprints all over the screen that nobody bothered to wipe off before showtime. Frankly, this “supertoy” looked like it just came straight from a garbage dump. And it was just half-a-day ago that they got it in their hands. Now I finally understand why “they” have all been holding this ginger toy the way they do: like a girl. Really.
“Live Free Or Die Hard” got a smirk out of me when McClane was shown using a Nokia Communicator. A movie prop phone doesn’t actually need to be in working order, so whether the iPhone was ready or not at the time of the filming is not an excuse.
What’s so great about this lousy toy again?
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jul 1st 2007 12:05PM
I don't get your displaced anger here.
But note the iPhone doesn't have a hard drive.
ricosuave @ Jul 1st 2007 10:09PM
You sir are a Knucklehead. Get a job hippie and let us enjoy the future.
AMGoff @ Jul 1st 2007 3:20PM
Oh look, the Microsoft-fanboys are out in full force. Let's take a look at one of the iPhone's closest (not so)smartphone comptetitor - the BlackBerry 8800 and compare:
First off it costs $299, so one save's $200 right off the bat. But what does one give up by pinching those 20,000 pennies? Well you loose 3 hours of talk time (5 vs. 8), 76,800 pixels of screen real estate (320x240 vs. 320x480), 4032MB of disk space (64MB vs. 4GB or 4096MB), not to mention a camera, wifi, an iPod, a full-featured browser, and OS X. All of that sure makes the $200 price a lot easier to swallow, doesn't it?
It's amazing how Apple releases a phone that completely blows away the competition and everyone is so quick to bash it, because it's an Apple product. Had Mr. Gates & Co. released this very same device and called it the ZunePhone you'd all be salivating over it. You're probably the same people who bashed the iPod and look how that turned out.
I've already played with one and it's amazing. Personally, I've got $250 already put aside and in two weeks I'll have a matching amount to purchase one of my own. Not only will this be a cool device to own, but as a Technology Director for a nonprofit organization it will be an extremely useful business tool.
chop @ Jul 1st 2007 6:05PM
um you're comparing a blackberry to an iphone. a blackberry is a corporate device first off. the iphone cant even handle as many features as the blackberry has. sure you can do email with the iphone, but how about you compare the iphone to a phone that is more closely related like say the nokia n95. heck apple actually compared the iphone to the n95 in one of their charts and although they made it seem the iphone is more superior it is not. first off the n95 supports micro-sdhc which currently is at 4gb and sandisk announced 8gb to be shipping as we speak. so lets see...the n95 has 120mb of on board memory, and as of now upto 8gb via expandable memory...already beats out the iphone there. google maps on the iphone eh? n95 has built in gps navigation AND the you can even download google maps too! camera? how about a 5mp camera with an auto focus carl zeis lens? and how about VGA (nokia calls it dvd quality) 30fps video capture? iphone doesnt even have a video recording function. sorry but the only thing the iphone has is a pretty GUI, its features are far behind even the most basic phones. you cant even use custom ringtones or speed dial. i on the otherhand stream music from my n95 with 4gb of memory to my car wirelessly with bluetooth. funny because the iphone is called a music phone, yet doesnt even have the a2dp profile for stereo streaming.
AMGoff @ Jul 1st 2007 9:15PM
Amazing how you would actually pick a more expensive phone to compare the iPhone. I picked the Blackberry because they are a good representation of the smartphone market. While they may have originally been designed as a corporate device they're market surely isn't limited to such.
The only thing I will actually concede to is the video recording, it was stupid on Apple's part not to incorporate the function. I love how people constantly talk about megapixels, unless you are a high-end photographer a 2MP camera is just fine. And if you are a photographer why would you be using a phone to take pictures anyway. The screen is smaller and still has half the number of pixels. GPS, yes the N95 has GPS but the last I checked you still have to pay extra every year to get the Navigation services. It has a shorter battery life and from all accounts the phone's system has an overall sluggishness to it. But all of this is moot, we could go tit for tat like this for days.
Whether you like it or not Apple is going to sell boatloads of these. I'm glad you're happy with your Nokia, I'll be happy with my iPhone. Another thing, how many years has Nokia been in the business? For their first try in a market they've never competed in before they've done a damn good job. The best part about the iPhone isn't its current feature set but the versatility it's basic design brings. One software update and Apple could change the entire look and feel of the device.
Is it so hard to give Apple just a little bit of credit?
chop @ Jul 1st 2007 11:28PM
um actually...the n95 and iphone are in the same price territory. the 8gb iphone is 599 SUBSIDIZED with a 2 year contract. authorized reps usually get around $200 for each 2 year activation last time i asked my buddy who owned one. so figure 599+200 subsidized and the phone retails 799 which is actually MORE than the nokia n95. and im sorry but 2mp is fine if it had an autofocusing lens, but the iphone doesnt even have that. its fixed focal. yes the preinstalled gps navigation app is a subscription based service, but there are plenty of applications out there made to utilize the internal gps to offer FREE gps navigation. battery life is something that is an issue though, the phone uses a 950mah battery that drains after about a full days of use, which is all i need, but others dont charge their phone everynight and see it as a real problem? anyways the n95 actually has no real sluggishness to it, its has a dual core ARM11 cpu and a dedicated graphics chip so its actually very speedy.
yes i did give apple credit. they made a very spiffy looking device with a pretty GUI. thats it. i will actually be looking forward to their future iterations of the iphone though.
AMGoff @ Jul 1st 2007 11:49PM
Like I said, I can understand the gripe about the camera, but for me it's a non-issue since I'll hardly ever use the thing. Other than that we seem to have come to an equal ground as I have nothing against the n95. As far as the price goes the iPhone is not a subsidized handset, it goes for retail and that's it, otherwise you probably couldn't buy direct from Apple. If for some reason someone wanted to buy the iPhone simply for the widescreen iPod without cell activation they could (although I have no idea why anyone would do such a thing). By all reports AT&T made a lot of concessions in order to land this deal, to the point they're even sharing revenue with Apple on the service contracts. Personally, I've been waiting to replace both my 2G iPod and my cell phone so this makes perfect sense for me. But I'll be buying with full knowledge that a better model is in the pipeline, just like everything else we buy today.
Phil @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:11AM
BMW has to announce these things to try and cash in on the Apple hype? LOL! There are two other makes from Germany that already offer the compatibility and don't even have to brag about it.
Irv Robinson @ Jul 14th 2007 1:50AM
Actually, I was the first one to report this article :) I asked the user from e90post to take some pics and post a review. If you wanna read more and some suggestions and fixes, go to http://edbmw.com/blog/2007/06/29/bmw-3-series-and-iphone-compatibility-user-report