Apple and BMW?

[iMeowbot]

Wouldn't be caught dead in a Bimmer??? Why? I'm a landscaper, visual designer, as well as a bmw owner (1987 5-series E28) - the bugger has lasted me 260K miles; the transmission is 100K miles older!

Yep, back in my day we didn't have no fancy BMWs, we had to drag bare transmissions 35 miles to work each way, in three feet of snow!

 

[a_iver]

Soon you will be able to bluetooth your iPod in your VW, Saturn, Ferrari, or even motorcycle. Welcome it.

Ahh yes, but the question is will I be able to surf on Safari in my Safari and stream it to a Ferrari Firewirelessly. Woo!!!

Yep, back in my day we didn't have no fancy BMWs, we had to drag bare transmissions 35 miles to work each way, in three feet of snow!

But did you drag it 35 miles to work through the snow, and uphill on the way to work and uphill the way back.

I'm in a good mood tonight

 

[bousozoku]

You need friends with better taste then. Personally I wouldn't be caught dead in a VW.

You probably wouldn't be caught dead in a BMW 2002, the most beloved of all models, or for that matter, a Bavaria. They weren't about status, they were about driving.

 

[asthmaticinhale]

mini in a mini

i dont think apple is going to be putting ipods in bmw's. i see them putting minis in minis.

 

[zglass]

alpine

I don't think I saw this mentioned yet (quick perusal), but what about the Alpine deck that has been announced (UK release this summer, I believe?). Supposed feature set sounds similar to what BMW may be offering:


TORRANCE, Calif, January 6, 2004 -- Alpine Electronics of America, Inc., the industry-leading manufacturer of high performance mobile electronics, will demonstrate at CES the world's first solution that enables consumers to connect and control their iPod from their in-vehicle sound system. Alpine's iPod Ready strategy is part of the company's overarching mission to create innovative in-vehicle electronics that are easier to use and provide great sound in the mobile environment.
"The integration of iPod control into selected 2004 Alpine in-dash receivers addresses the growing market of portable digital audio device users who want a safe and easy-to-use solution for playback in the car." said Stephen Witt, Alpine's vice president of Brand Marketing.
...

 

[Trimix]

most of the mac people i know drive vw's and the others wouldn't be caught dead in a bmw. at least my designer friends.

i agree, bmw has always been an ersatz-merc
btw, your height is inversely related to your beemer and male pattern baldness is spotted more often in a bmw too

 

[iMeowbot]

I took out the cupholders, put in a eurotray and will hide all the wires..

Nifty. I went ahead and got one of the dash clippy attachment things they were selling, for that busybox effect. There can never be too many buttons, knobs, levers and dials. If the NRA[1] permit for an atomic pile wasn't such a pain to have approved, I'd get me a Batmobile, I would.

You won't be able to do playlists and stuff from the head unit, so keep that in mind when mounting.

[1]The nuke agency, not Charlton's pals.

 

[belair]

2002 it is

Quote : You probably wouldn't be caught dead in a BMW 2002, the most beloved of all models, or for that matter, a Bavaria. They weren't about status, they were about driving.


Preach Bousozoku!

That BMW is just the neatest yougtimer out there.
I am saying this cause I own one with my brother.

And I use my ipod in it.
I bought an original 70's BMW FM radio in mint condition on ebay. And I use my itrip in it. That way the car keeps its original look and I can listen to wathever I want. I agree the the itrip is not amazing sound quality but I defintately dont like it when people put huge stereo systems with neons and LCD displays and god knows what in their oldtimers.

I would love to buy a BMW one series with idrive and a new ipod all running OS X interface, that would be a dream come true. Go apple!

 

[davecuse]

i dont think apple is going to be putting ipods in bmw's. i see them putting minis in minis.

Interesting, the more I think about this, the more I agree. It definitely fits in with their entire marketing campaign that Apple has used for it's iPod, and the age group they are focusing on. There's a similarly sized car for sale across the pond DaimlerChrysler Smart that has an iPod built in.

I hope some more automakers jump on the bandwagon.

 

[rt_brained]

i agree, bmw has always been an ersatz-merc
btw, your height is inversely related to your beemer and male pattern baldness is spotted more often in a bmw too

I don't know where all this hostility over BMWs came from. If they're such lousy pieces of crap, then the writers of all of the major automotive magazines wouldn't consistently rate them among the world's best sports sedans. In fact, cars like the 3- and 5-series BMWs (particularly the M versions) are the standards by which all other sports sedans are judged.

BMWs, Mercs, Land Rovers and Porsches are as numerous as flies in SoCal. But the vast majority of folks driving them are hard-working successful professionals, not short bald guys with penis envy.

 

[Porchland]

Perhaps this is a synergistic tie-in?
control your ipod via your bmw, plumb the bmw's radiator fan and water cooling pipes into your ipod to liquid cool the updated ipods G5 processor?

Reminds me of that New Yorker cartoon of two pilots in a cockpit and one says, "I'm running the whole thing from my Palm Pilot." A G5-iPod could have the dual purpose of playing music and running your car!

 

[sinisterdesign]

Perhaps this is a synergistic tie-in?
control your ipod via your bmw, plumb the bmw's radiator fan and water cooling pipes into your ipod to liquid cool the updated ipods G5 processor?

NICE!

i'm excited to hear this b/c i just bought a 330CiC late last year & have been wanting a cleaner solution to connecting my iPod than what i have currently.

right now i have a line coming out of the AUX IN in the back of the head unit, running into the glove box where BMW installed a headphone AUX jack. i plugged a headphone extension cord (male/male) into that, have it hanging out of the glove box & into my iPod which does fit nicely in the ashtray. kinda kludgy, though.

i think my car is already Bluetooth capable (anyone confirm this?). i wonder if that's the route they would take. is BT high enough bandwidth to stream toons?

 

[g4cubed]

That BMW is just the neatest yougtimer out there.
I am saying this cause I own one with my brother.

What's wrong? Can't afford your own
Just joking, I agree, as stated above by someone, that the reason they pick high end companies is to have the original cost pasted on. A few hundred dollars added on to these babies won't even be noticed. Then, on to eveyone else. It's just the damn waiting that bothers me.

 

[sinisterdesign]

most of the mac people i know drive vw's and the others wouldn't be caught dead in a bmw. at least my designer friends.

i agree, bmw has always been an ersatz-merc
btw, your height is inversely related to your beemer and male pattern baldness is spotted more often in a bmw too

speaking as a 5'11" graphic designer w/ male pattern baldness, i love my BMW as much as i love my iPod. they make sweet music together. i had the top down & the iPod cranked up on the way to work this morning as i do most mornings. i would hate to give up either one, especially for a Merc (exceptions being the SL55 AMG, the SLR McLaren or, of course, the '57 300SL).

 

[Lord Bodak]

You probably wouldn't be caught dead in a BMW 2002, the most beloved of all models, or for that matter, a Bavaria. They weren't about status, they were about driving.

Although I've never been a big fan of the 2002, but the Bavaria is a gorgeous car.

 

[Macurious]

Correct me if I'm wrong ...

Cars are starting to have the bluetooth interface like the Acura TL for example. Does apple have any plans to integrate bluetooth into the IPod? Is there significant quality loss this way? Seems like an obvious solution to support many future car models.

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

Appleinsider provides some more information that Apple and BMW may be partnering to allow new BMW owners to interface with their iPods.

The integration is said to allow the iPod to connect to the BMW, allowing drivers to control the iPod, view playlists and charge the iPod.

Interesting concept, but this is about as practical for most people as is wireless internet on the international space station...

 

[rog]

Personally, i won't buy a BMW until they come with a free G5.

 

[iMeowbot]

Cars are starting to have the bluetooth interface like the Acura TL for example. Does apple have any plans to integrate bluetooth into the IPod? Is there significant quality loss this way? Seems like an obvious solution to support many future car models.

Yeah, some cars are getting bluetooth interfaces limited to implementing a hands-free phone protocol. It really doesn't offer the right controls, or the bandwidth to do CD-quality music properly.

You could just about squeeze enough into Bluetooth using something like the lossless codec that was stuffed into the Airtunes toy, but carmakers and audio manufacturers would have to agree on a protocol and codec; Bluetooth would only be a carrier.

Even with all that, aren't you going to want somewhere in the car to put the player and supply it with power? At that point you've got a cradle and might as well wire it.

 

[J. Charles Holt]

I own a BMW

I'm another graphic designer who owns a BMW (and has for a little over a month). I'm not rich by any means, nor am I balding (yet). I've only owned Hondas up until now, and I've always been into practicality.

Lest anyone think that BMW is only for rich snobs, consider this: I got a 2001 Z3 Roadster with 34K miles on it, in pristine condition, for $21,000. That included such nifty things as heated washer nozzles (!!), cruise control, a Harmon Kardon soundsystem with speed-sensitive volume... the whole nine yards. More importantly, it came with a 3-year bumper-to-bumper warranty on it. Sure I could find a car for cheaper, but not one with nearly the fun factor of this car. I'd never even considered a BMW before (I was even ashamed to even say I *HAD* a BMW for the first couple weeks). But trust me, after driving this car for a while, I may not be able to go back. There's a reason why they call it the "ultimate driving machine." This car is so well engineered, that the aftermarket performance enhancements can only squeeze out another 10-15 HP. Straight from BMW it's about as responsive as it can get.

BMW is to cars what Apple is to computers. They're tremendously well-engineered, they're a bit more in the pocketbook, and they're worth every penny.

My Z3

 

[garymw]

iPod and Mini Cooper

Didn't bother to read all the posts, but BMW makes the Mini Cooper. Once the iPod Mini came out, I figured it would only be a matter of time before the two hooked up. The only reason I'm bringing this up is I'll bet the Mini Cooper will likely be the target for the iPod integration, not the regular BMW line-up, at least not right away.

 

[PPC970FX]

The onely reason for BMW and Apple working with iPod have to be that the iPod G4 have Wi-Fi. I don`t see a BMW man do a electonic. It have to be realy simple to do.

 

[iMook]

MacMinute has a story about an apparently leaked two-page magazine ad spread for the new iPod-BMW convergence package. Pretty clever ad design, though the touchwheel and steering wheel seem a bit off at the right edge, which casts a bit of doubt on the ad's authenticity.

leaked BMW ad

 

[applemacgal]

yes, that's the ad!

MacMinute has a story about an apparently leaked two-page magazine ad spread for the new iPod-BMW convergence package. Pretty clever ad design, though the touchwheel and steering wheel seem a bit off at the right edge, which casts a bit of doubt on the ad's authenticity.

leaked BMW ad

That's the ad, it's true!

I just got the July issue of "Maximum PC" in the mail yesterday. This ad is on the first two pages of the magazine, exactly as pictured in the MacMinute story. I can post a picture, if anyone wants to see it.

This is really exciting for Apple!

 

[wdlove]

You probably wouldn't be caught dead in a BMW 2002, the most beloved of all models, or for that matter, a Bavaria. They weren't about status, they were about driving.

I drove a BMW once. Really impressed by its quick response and solid ride.