alexvonk

Hi folks,
seems like the SE W800i can be paired w/ the BMW BT and works. Now of course the next burning question is whether or not the music stored on the phone's Memory Stick PRO DUO can be played in the car. BMW's CD changer is connected to the Aux In port on the navigation system/radio professional. If you get the iPOD adapter that is supposed to become available any time soon (I know there is already one out there in the market but I am referring to the one that works with the BMWs that come with a display, e.g. 5 and 6 series) that one need to be connected to the port instead of the aforementioned CD changer. Wouldn't it be nice if we could also connect the phone to that port. Any ideas? Has anyone tried this before maybe with another phone since SE is not the first vendor with mp3 players installed on their phones. It is said that the new generation of BMWs navigation system/radio pro can also play mp3 files.
TNX
Alex

UUronL

There are a few possible things that could be in the works. If you notice, BMW is conspicuously absent from Apple's recent announcements about iPod integration. Pair that with the rumors that Apple and BMW are workiing on a Bluetooth interconnect for the iPod (future models will have bluetooth) and it stands to reason that we might get partial or full wireless capabilities on our E60s.


Possible permutations:


1. Plugin jack like you mention. The iPod sends its audio and control/display information via a cable to a Bluetooth enabled brick that contains the BT radio and the intelligence to parse the screen information and transmit it via Bluetooth (it would also receive control input from the car via Bluetooth and pass it back to the iPod using the cable). This would require the AVRCP profile to be spoken between the "brick" and the car. The audio would still travel by wire.


2. Plugin jack that only sends audio to the car, and the iPod has native Bluetooth support. This would allow the screen and control information to pass directly back and forth to and from the car and the iPod.


3. Audio is passed via Bluetooth (A2DP profile) and control/screen information is also passed via Bluetooth (AVRCP profile). This would be the cleanest option in my opinion.



I'd imagine that other devices -should- be able to interconnect to the car, but there is limited support for stereo audio in bluetooth phones. The new iTunes phone, the ROKR doesn't even support the stereo audio profile so it can't be used with Bluetooth headphones or a car once cars support this feature.


The A2DP profile is a little convoluted - there are many codec options, and I'd imagine to get a well supported solution it will be necessary to do pair-specific device testing and development. This means if Apple and BMW are spending time developing their solution, it will likely be the only one that works well for a significant period of time.

alexvonk

Hi,
when I talked to BMW I also asked them about their plans to adopt A2DP like Audi. There are no plans to do so in the near future as I was told and I did not talk to a marketing guy but rather to an engineer.
TNX
Alex

mixterk

I can play MP3's on my SPV-500 like an IPOD, fitted it with a 512Mb memeory card, got 300 MP3's. I can also play MP3's via the CD player built into the dash and in relation to the functionality of the Pro Radio i can see all of the MP3 info on screen....I just love technology

alexvonk

Can you tell us how you actually connect the phone to the entertainment system from the car?
TNX
Alex

UUronL

Interesting but I hope inaccurate - although I'd settle for AVRCP just to get control from the car's buttons and screen updates to the iDrive screen.

UUronL

Right, I can too and it's great.

I'd still like to be able to connect a portable player and have it integrate nicely. Specifically, I would like to be able to use the steering wheel buttons, radio controls, and iDrive controls to navigate and operate a portable player. Also, I'd like the car to receive screen updates with what is being displayed on the player so that everything can be displayed on the iDrive screen. The Bluetooth AVRCP profile does this and should be relatively easy to implement IMO.

mixterk

Can you tell us how you actually connect the phone to the entertainment system from the car?
TNX
Alex
[/quote]

SPV-500 plugs into the Aux In port, track info and control via the phone. Sound out via the Logic 7....nice