[JSpira]

I am en route to the auto show now so will report back later but BMW is announcing its MOST iPod adapter today.

BMW Announces New Interface for iPod With Expanded Model Availability and Features

System will be Available for new 3 Series Sedans and Sports Wagons as well as 5, 6, and 7 Series

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- BMW today announced the debut of a new BMW Interface for iPod that will enable seamless integration of the iPod for the newest generation of BMW models. With the new BMW Interface for iPod this means that seamless iPod connectivity will be available for every current BMW model.

The new BMW Interface for iPod will be available for owners of the new BMW 3 Series Sedans and Sports Wagons as well as the 5, 6, and 7 Series. It will also be available for the new M5 Sedan and M6 Coupe. It will enable audiophiles to bring their entire music collections with them, plug directly and effortlessly into a superior sound system while maintaining uncompromised control over their driving experience. Since the new Interface is compatible with SIRIUS satellite radio as well as the recently introduced HD Radio, owners will be able to enjoy a broad selection of high fidelity broadcast music sources as well. The original BMW iPod Adapter will continue to be available for 2002 and later BMW models: X3, X5, Z4, and previous generation 3 Series.

The original BMW iPod Adapter was the world's first seamless integration between iPod and a vehicle audio system. The new Interface will also allow users to incorporate their iPods directly into their car's sound system, but with the newly available capability to sort their music according to their own playlists, as well as by artist, album, genre, podcast, and finally, a random selection of 500 songs from the user library. Artist, album, and song title will appear in the Display Monitor.

The seamless integration of iPod makes it effortless for drivers to control their music through their existing audio system and the multifunction steering wheel. The new BMW Interface for iPod enables drivers to easily access their entire music library, shuffle songs, skip between tracks and adjust volume -- all of this with no loss of sound quality or driving control.

The new Interface is compatible with all iPods with a dock connector, including the iPod nano and the fifth generation iPod. The BMW iPod Interfaces integrate the iPod through a direct connection in the BMW glovebox, providing outstanding sound quality and constant power to the iPod all while your iPod remains protected and out of view.

The new BMW iPod Interface will be available for customers to purchase at BMW centers beginning in July 2006. Pricing has not been determined.

Features and operation may vary depending on vehicle model and option content. Consumers should check with their BMW centers for specific application restrictions or log onto www.ipodyourbmw.com. Installation is performed by authorized BMW centers only. iPod players are sold separately. Please visit www.ipodyourbmw.com for additional information.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car centers, 334 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

[325 Baller]

MOST?

[Rocket850]

any specs yet?

[JSpira]

Not yet but it´s so close I can taste it.

[KL2DC]

Cool Finally, a more elegant ipod solution is on its way...please keep us posted.

[EnI]

BMW Announces New Interface for iPod With Expanded Model Availability and Features

System will be Available for new 3 Series Sedans and Sports Wagons as well as 5, 6, and 7 Series

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- BMW today announced the debut of a new BMW Interface for iPod that will enable seamless integration of the iPod for the newest generation of BMW models. With the new BMW Interface for iPod this means that seamless iPod connectivity will be available for every current BMW model.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060412/NYW021 )

The new BMW Interface for iPod will be available for owners of the new BMW 3 Series Sedans and Sports Wagons as well as the 5, 6, and 7 Series. It will also be available for the new M5 Sedan and M6 Coupe. It will enable audiophiles to bring their entire music collections with them, plug directly and effortlessly into a superior sound system while maintaining uncompromised control over their driving experience. Since the new Interface is compatible with SIRIUS satellite radio as well as the recently introduced HD Radio, owners will be able to enjoy a broad selection of high fidelity broadcast music sources as well. The original BMW iPod Adapter will continue to be available for 2002 and later BMW models: X3, X5, Z4, and previous generation 3 Series.

The original BMW iPod Adapter was the world's first seamless integration between iPod and a vehicle audio system. The new Interface will also allow users to incorporate their iPods directly into their car's sound system, but with the newly available capability to sort their music according to their own playlists, as well as by artist, album, genre, podcast, and finally, a random selection of 500 songs from the user library. Artist, album, and song title will appear in the Display Monitor.

The seamless integration of iPod makes it effortless for drivers to control their music through their existing audio system and the multifunction steering wheel. The new BMW Interface for iPod enables drivers to easily access their entire music library, shuffle songs, skip between tracks and adjust volume -- all of this with no loss of sound quality or driving control.

The new Interface is compatible with all iPods with a dock connector, including the iPod nano and the fifth generation iPod. The BMW iPod Interfaces integrate the iPod through a direct connection in the BMW glovebox, providing outstanding sound quality and constant power to the iPod all while your iPod remains protected and out of view.

The new BMW iPod Interface will be available for customers to purchase at BMW centers beginning in July 2006. Pricing has not been determined.

Features and operation may vary depending on vehicle model and option content. Consumers should check with their BMW centers for specific application restrictions or log onto http://www.ipodyourbmw.com. Installation is performed by authorized BMW centers only. iPod players are sold separately.

Please visit http://www.ipodyourbmw.com for additional information.

[cobradac]

Originally Posted by 325 Baller

MOST?

Uno, the buss in our cars

Media Oriented Systems Transport is a multimedia fiber-optic network optimized for automotive applications. It is a network developed by the automotive industry for the automotive industry. Its design allows it to provide a low-overhead and low-cost interface for the simplest of devices, such as microphones and speakers. At the same time, more intelligent devices can automatically determine the features and functions provided by all other devices on the network and establish sophisticated control mechanisms to take away distractions from the driver of the car as different subsystems try to communicate information to him.

The features of MOST make it suitable for any application, inside or outside the car that needs to network multimedia information along with data and control functions

BMW is a partner in the MOST Cooperative along with Audi, DaimlerChrysler, Harman/Becker, and SMSC. Then there are about 12 car mfr Associated Partners and about 70 suppliers.

[dencoop]

Jonathan - take lots of pics.....

[yuggy]

darn..the site says "not available on 2006 series sedan"..but the article that GregA says it is..i hope the article is right =)

[325 Baller]

Im going to my dealership friday, ill ask them about it then.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by yuggy

darn..the site says "not available on 2006 series sedan"..but the article that GregA says it is..i hope the article is right =)

Site just isnt updated yet, because its only available in July

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by 325 Baller

Im going to my dealership friday, ill ask them about it then.

They wont have a clue about it

Bet most wont have a clue about it even after it is released in July


Ill post part numbers and Installation instructions as soon as they are out, and i bet most people will have to take a copy to the dealer to get the thing installed

[bimmer4me]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Site just isnt updated yet, because its only available in July

I've been really waiting for this. This is great news! And by July there will lost likely be a new iPod (or iPods) available.

[stressdoc]

This will be cool with the MacMini set-up too.

[yuggy]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Site just isnt updated yet, because its only available in July

ohh! only in July! thanks for the tip...i was so excited I emailed my dealer asking about it already..maybe he won't even know what it is..
but yeah..that's awesome news.

[325 Baller]

does it work with idrive?

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by 325 Baller

does it work with idrive?

Has to, since they said its for 5,6 and 7 Series aswell, and they all have Idrive

[cobradac]

I noticed a conspicious absence of any refereence to configurations and / or cd changer. Hopefully that means any and all configurations.

Interesting that Denison may / might beat BMW to the MOST ipod integration by a month. I say may / might as this is a long time after their original claimed release date of March 2005 plus I believe they did not deliver all that was promised on the e39/e46 versions ipod integrations.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by cobradac

I noticed a conspicious absence of any refereence to configurations and / or cd changer. Hopefully that means any and all configurations.

Interesting that Denison may / might beat BMW to the MOST ipod integration by a month. I say may / might as this is a long time after their original claimed release date of March 2005 plus I believe they did not deliver all that was promised on the e39/e46 versions ipod integrations.

I doubt it. From what I can tell, the interface will have to be coded, and dealers won´t be able to code a dension device.

[325 Baller]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Has to, since they said its for 5,6 and 7 Series aswell, and they all have Idrive

good point.

[hkj]

Finally...

I've been waiting for this since I ordered my car last year. I had pretty much given up any hope that BMW would come up with something like this.

Thanks for bringing us the news guys. Now it remains to be seen what "seemless integration" means. I'm hoping for song title/info display on iDrive but I am not exactly holding my breath.

-hkj

[325er]

Originally Posted by yuggy

ohh! only in July! thanks for the tip...i was so excited I emailed my dealer asking about it already..maybe he won't even know what it is..
but yeah..that's awesome news.

A friend of mine got a 325 two months ago, and says this sytem has been available in Canada for a while. Town and Country BMW told him $900 installed (so he did not get it). They described it exactly as you guys do i.e. Ipod in glovebox, steering wheel controls etc.....what gives???