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      01-30-2011, 07:56 AM   #23
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From a U.S. Dealer Bulletin - looks like April for the X's

BMW ConnectedDrive: BMW Apps (6NR)
In keeping with BMW’s leadership in technological advancement, BMW is proud to announce the availability of “BMW Apps” as a single option (6NR). Coming as the next advancement in BMW’s ConnectedDrive strategy, BMW Apps will provide a new, unique way of connecting the driver, vehicle and iPhone. For the first time owners will be able to experience the latest app technology via iDrive. Please be advised that adding option 6NR to any vehicle will automatically add Smartphone Integration (6NF) without an additional charge. 6NF will no longer be available as a standalone option.
At the time of launch, BMW Apps will offer three functional areas (Apps, PlugIn, and Video Playback).
Apps will consist of the BMW Connected App and BMW Certified 3rd Party Apps. The BMW Connected App is a free package available for download at Apple’s App Store and currently includes Web Radio, Facebook and Twitter. Announcements for BMW Certified 3rd Party Apps will be forthcoming.
PlugIn allows the user to take advantage of Apple iTunes features (such as Genius, album art, compiling playlists, etc) that were previously unavailable. In essence, this function brings the look and feel of Apple’s iPod interface to the iDrive display (requires snap in adapter).
Video Playback enables the user to view any video playback from their iPhone via the iDrive display when the vehicle is stationary (requires snap in adapter).

BMW Apps will be available on all BMW vehicles as of March except for X3, X5, and X6 models, where availability will begin as of April. iPhone models supported include 3G, 3GS or 4 enabled with the “BMW Connected” app available free of charge at Apple’s App Store.
More details will be provided in the upcoming bulletin “B-1-0111-12-All-02 BMW Apps (6NR).”
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Last edited by ksoze; 01-30-2011 at 08:21 AM..
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      01-30-2011, 08:03 AM   #24
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Ok, here is my question: As a USA buyer, should I wait until late March / April to place my order OR can I order now for a late Feb / early March build and get the application installed/updated later?

That is my question.
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      01-30-2011, 08:34 AM   #25
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As sfax's message #21 in this thread points out

http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...4&postcount=21

It should be possible to order now and then upgrade for a nominal fee. As long as the product is announced in the US, since apparently it consists of a software upgrade and an iPhone cradle, I'm sure BMW will not miss the opportunity to upgrade your car, for a fee - it's good for the bottom line. Plus, it looks like if you order now you may have to wait until the March production - in which case, you'll have it by default, especially if you max the car's options (an expensive proposition I know).
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      01-30-2011, 08:42 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jijioben View Post
As sfax's message #21 in this thread points out

http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showpo...4&postcount=21

It should be possible to order now and then upgrade for a nominal fee. As long as the product is announced in the US, since apparently it consists of a software upgrade and an iPhone cradle, I'm sure BMW will not miss the opportunity to upgrade your car, for a fee - it's good for the bottom line. Plus, it looks like if you order now you may have to wait until the March production - in which case, you'll have it by default, especially if you max the car's options (an expensive proposition I know).
Although that is hopeful for those ordering now or having just received the cars, BMW has in the past moved forward with no upgrade path. The September 2010 Combox add left many behind and there is not official word from BMW that post-Combox cars will be able to get this functionality.

It would SEEM possible, as it does not appear to be hardware related as was Combox (aside form the 6NF option now being bundled), but we just don't know yet and BMW has been very silent on this topic leaving it up to us to speculate, guess and hope.
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      01-30-2011, 08:47 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesmachine View Post
Ok, here is my question: As a USA buyer, should I wait until late March / April to place my order OR can I order now for a late Feb / early March build and get the application installed/updated later?

That is my question.
100% you can get the upgrade later IMO, providing you order the professional multimedia package. I wouldn't wait.
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      01-30-2011, 08:55 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfax View Post
100% you can get the upgrade later IMO, providing you order the professional multimedia package. I wouldn't wait.
That is a bold statement. Although it makes sense, I hope you are correct. Might want to get a backup user name started here in case however
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      01-30-2011, 09:12 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ksoze View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by sfax View Post
100% you can get the upgrade later IMO, providing you order the professional multimedia package. I wouldn't wait.
That is a bold statement. Although it makes sense, I hope you are correct. Might want to get a backup user name started here in case however
Haha, I'll come over and install * it for you myself if I'm wrong

* costs of transatlantic flights will need to be met by X3 owner
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      01-30-2011, 09:27 AM   #30
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On a serious note, I find it so frustrating that we even have to have this discussion. The information on upgrading should be available now and should be clear and concise.

Instead we have dealers that are clueless, but worse than that, they actually give you information that is completely wrong. Thank God they're not surgeons!
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      01-30-2011, 09:30 AM   #31
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+1 on sfax above.

Can't understand why they're not able to provide advance details for those of us it matters to. And shouldn't that be in their interests? Could the design/requirements really change that much in the next month that they have to worry more about having given us wrong info more than no info?
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      01-30-2011, 09:35 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfax View Post
On a serious note, I find it so frustrating that we even have to have this discussion. The information on upgrading should be available now and should be clear and concise.
+1000

This issue has been badly handled, beginning with the December iPhone app release that would essentially only work on cars produced four months later. This app and the surrounding PR campaign put focus on the option and could have stalled sales as buyers waited or been handled better with a clear message on what cars it will work in and when. I remain optimistic it is just a software upgrade, but past id year options like this generally appear to not look rearward and are chalked up as advancing for the good of all.
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      01-30-2011, 09:49 AM   #33
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I share your optimism about it being a software upgrade. A number of folks have suggested that, it generally makes sense, and might also be why BMW hasn't seen a reason to say much about it since they know there are no big requirements.

Here's hoping . . . .
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      01-30-2011, 10:04 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nahoa View Post
I share your optimism about it being a software upgrade. A number of folks have suggested that, it generally makes sense, and might also be why BMW hasn't seen a reason to say much about it since they know there are no big requirements.

Here's hoping . . . .
I have two theory's on the deafening silence from BMW on this subject:

• One is that it is not upgradeable, so they only speak of the future and hope the focus moves to the new cars.

• The other is that it is software upgradeable, but only for Combox and 6NF equipped cars, which means really only a small segment of cars in the scheme of things, built between September 2010 and now and who also ordered the Smartphone Integration option (6NF), which previously was a questionable option to add. Specifically announcing that it is upgradeable only for those specifically optioned cars would probably incite even more of a larger unhappy group who do not have the Combox cars and have had a vocal and growing customer issue since that has been all over BMW.

He's hoping it is the latter.
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      01-30-2011, 11:17 AM   #35
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There's one more thing I'm curious about. In the press release, BMW mentioned other applications from separate vendors coming in the future. This introduces a potentially huge liability for BMW - as the app is part of the car as a whole, it may be argued that a malfunction of the app that is damaging in any way can be ascribed to the car as a whole and thus either be covered by the warranty or, worse, be the subject of a lawsuit. What this hints at is that the apps will have to be tested really thoroughly - and not by the producers, but by BMW. To me, this means that the number of apps available will be pretty low.

An alternative to the car-installed app (or seemingly car-installed, which is what the 6NR is all about I guess) would be a to provide an interface to the screen so that the car is not affected in any way. I thought initially that this was what 6NR was: an airplay extension for Apple's iPhone/iPad. That to me would isolate any liability (although not stymie any lawsuit in the beginning). It appears that 6NR is brand specific as well, so this would not be so different from today.

All in all, I think that what is keeping 6NR from being widely available in North America is the legal dept, not engineering.

Last edited by jijioben; 01-30-2011 at 11:19 AM.. Reason: typos
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      01-30-2011, 11:26 AM   #36
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Hmm, I understood 6NR was an interface allowing iOS apps to access a limited set of functions and data (performance; service; navigation details) through iDrive Connected along with an upgrade to iDrive that better presented data available from the phone itself.

I don't know that's right, but that's what I thought I was seeing. If as above, the iPhone apps would seem to be blocked from doing anything bad to the car -- perhaps only BMW's app can do things like lock and unlock.

Have there been indications of broader access by the apps? What kind of stuff?
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      01-30-2011, 11:41 AM   #37
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The only indication of what I said is that the UK remote app is not made available to US customers, but when you install it on a phone it works for most recent cars - which makes it not a technical issue.

Here's a very unlikely, but potential, scenario: the app can display album art, so if the album is switched rapidly enough, it can actually display animations on the screen as the car is moving. Let's suppose these are animated ads and are very attractive to see, the way an ad agency can do. If someone has an accident while watching this, can they sue BMW?

I apologize if I'm being too far fetched, it's just as I said a curiosity.
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      01-30-2011, 11:52 AM   #38
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I just want Pandora to play on my radio! That's all!

It would seem easy enough to have anything music-related: ipod, pandora, Internet radio, NPR, etc.. that's on your iphone/ipod to play through your car stereo.

Personally, that's all I really want.
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      01-30-2011, 12:22 PM   #39
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In terms of apps breaking stuff on your car, I would have thought (hoped!) that they will only expose some limited functionality and limited data (in each direction) so that apps can only do a distinct list of things like unlock and lock as mentioned. These are all things that can be done by other means so they should be safe but I guess if the app randomly unlocked your car without your knowledge that wouldn't be great!
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      01-30-2011, 12:34 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesmachine View Post
I just want Pandora to play on my radio! That's all!

It would seem easy enough to have anything music-related: ipod, pandora, Internet radio, NPR, etc.. that's on your iphone/ipod to play through your car stereo.

Personally, that's all I really want.
I haven't tried this but I thought that a new combox-based BMW with Bluetooth preparation should work regardless of 6NR, if all you want is audio. In my Ford, the Sync software takes a Bluetooth stream and puts it on the speakers. It does not matter if the stream comes from the iPod app, video, or a streaming service (I use Leo Laporte's TWIT TV app because Pandora is not available in Canada). I would imagine that all the iPhone sees is a receiver for its headphones output, which can be anything, even more so since iOS 4.x.

The difference is in displaying the album art, so that you know what's currently playing on Pandora, and possibly even giving you the chance to like an author or skip a song. That cannot be done at present. At least, this is my understanding from reading the docs because I did not have the chance to try it. I intend to though, as soon as my X3 is in my hands...
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      01-30-2011, 01:11 PM   #41
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That sound right. I am actually moving from a ford sync system to the BMW. I paired my phone with the dealer demo and the Bluetooth works just like the ford, you cab output audio from any app, just no ui. Having a pandora ui on the BMW is pretty appealing to me though!
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      01-30-2011, 01:27 PM   #42
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That is great. Much of the time, I simply choose a Pandora channel and thats it.

But I also remember reading somewhere, the with the 6NR reception is improved (wifi? I don't think so) and in theory you would lose your signal less.

But if its 3G, then of course depending on one's coverage, that would still be ok.
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      01-30-2011, 01:28 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jijioben View Post
I haven't tried this but I thought that a new combox-based BMW with Bluetooth preparation should work regardless of 6NR, if all you want is audio. In my Ford, the Sync software takes a Bluetooth stream and puts it on the speakers. It does not matter if the stream comes from the iPod app, video, or a streaming service
I think I read this somewhere else. You can stream any audio via bluetooth from any paired bluetooth device.
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      01-30-2011, 01:32 PM   #44
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Quote:
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That is great. Much of the time, I simply choose a Pandora channel and thats it.

But I also remember reading somewhere, the with the 6NR reception is improved (wifi? I don't think so) and in theory you would lose your signal less.

But if its 3G, then of course depending on one's coverage, that would still be ok.
Your 3G signal will be boosted through your car's antenna / aerial if you use the cradle for your phone. I assume that is what was meant by improved reception.
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