rickyf

Does anyone know if it's possible to search for restaurants by name instead of only by location. I live in L.A. and if I input the city of Los Angeles and then go to restaurants it gives me a list starting with the closest one. Since the city of L.A. is huge and there are so many restaurants (and other POI's) it's nearly impossible to find the one I'm looking for without scrolling forever.

I have a 2006 550i. Any suggestions?

Thanks

AlexFW

+1

JSpira

Newer versions of Progman (from 2007) have a search by name feature.

If your car requires a Progman update, you will then get this feature.

It works quite well.

stanatl

I received the Progman update and now have the "search" feature which is a real improvement over the prior version. My only complaint with it is that it seems that if you don't put the exact name (properly spelled) in, the search feature doesn't find it. Sometimes you don't know the exact name or spelling of the POI - particularly a last minute type of search when you're already in the car. My Lexus search feature took that into account and gave me options. Not that I want my Lexus back after driving this car.

Rudy

It's true that the search by name feature is available on newer software builds but as others have mentioned, the feature is still lacking in functionality when compared to most of the offerings from other manufacturers.

The biggest problem on our cars with the POI search by name feature is that you have to choose a category first. That may work well with a restaurant but if you're not sure what category your particular POI is in, it can be a pain.

Also, I find it silly that BMW hasn't added a search by phone number function. The numbers are already stored in the database (and available to see or call once the POI is selected) so why not let us enter the phone number (if we know it) to find the POI? Our Honda does it...

ExGMan

+1. The BMW search feature does seem to require exact spelling, but it also allows a limitation in the size of the search area which is a positive thing. A Garmin Streetpilot in my Toyota Tundra searches on a combination of letters, so I frequently get some bizarre results, with the intended result hidden within the list. As to the Lexus...we had one of those once. Glad it's gone, and never really liked it much.

stanatl

I agree with everything you said. In general, the BMW Nav system is not as sophisticated as those available from other manufacturers or even over the counter types like Garmin. The inability to search by telephone number is just an example. Another annoying minor type of thing is that when you're approaching your destination, it doesn't tell you if it is on the left or right side of the road. On the other hand, it is functional and gets me where I want to go. Having it tied in with the HUD is great. A small price to pay given the rest of the positives of the car.

Rudy

I agree -- I wouldn't trade my car for anything the competition offers even though there are some little grumbles about things like nav features.

My only real beef is that BMW gets the hard part right (driving dynamics, styling, safety, etc.) but they can't seem to get the easy part (software features) right. (I know, the software part isn't as easy as I'm implying but clearly it's easier than the other stuff -- relatively speaking...)

kscarrol

Well said Rudy. It is not as if Lexus or any of the other competitors have developed some proprietary systems, they outsource it from various providers. Why can't BMW get their hands on a similar system from one of these vendors? Maybe the integration w/ iDrive and other systems make that more complicated than standalone Nav systems but surely something could be worked out...

Rudy

I just saw a commercial for a Ford Focus -- they have voice activated MP3's now. A few years ago, right after BMW added the speech-to-text recognition for the phonebook entries, it was speculated here that it would be simple for them to extend that functionality to navigation destinations, etc. They did.

Now, would it be too much to ask for them to extend it to the songs, artists, etc. on an iPod or USB drive?