e60scotland

I was running through my spec on the configurator, apologies if this image has been shown before.



Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling

DINAN530i

first time for me. this is an over due eddition to BMW's

Leburpor

Any mention if it can be retrofitted to pre LCI cars?

bmw1986

It cannot be done....It can't even be done on an 08 if the car is not ordered from the factory. It must be ordered from the factory otherwise you must get the iPod input cable.

TC.

There is a lot of conversation about USB on the board. After having this now for over a week I can report back that the functionality is excellent however the positioning of the port is c*ap. Due to the slide cover they have put over the port and the fact that it is on the inner front side of the cubby under the phone cradle, inserting anything into the connector is a 'feel your way' exercise - once your hand is in the cubby with a device you can only feel the port, you can't see it!!!

DINAN530i

but it functions well? How is the speed of transfer?

TC.

Not bad - it seems to read the actual file from the device taking only the relevant id3 tag into the head unit to create a virtual file structure (as apposed to transfering all the music to the head unit) - play back is almost instantaneous however if you have a lot of music on a flash drive it can be a good few minutes before it has taken across all the data required to build its smart playlists (I am using a full 4GB flash pen) - you can navigate the contents before this has happened however you just see the raw data tag - it is only after the full data transfer that you get a very nice UI with the smart playlists. I have found it best to simply drag and drop albums onto a flash drive - no need to create a series of sub directories on the drive - the car will sort that for you once it has uploaded the id3 data...............I have to say that I am very impressed.

A word of caution though, it doesn't appear to like decompressed formats such as AAC - I have tried a few 320kbps MP3's (maximum quality of a standard MP3) and they sound CD quality to the untrained ear. One side benefit is that you don't need to have a data / mp3 disc in the single slot in the dash and therefore you don't have to listen to the disc spinning between tracks!!!!

DINAN530i

thank you, is the interface the same as the ipod interface...?

TC.

No - not at all, the iPod interface as I understand it operates using only the data directly from the iPod (i.e. continuously reads from the iPod without any extraction from the device) whereas the USB interface appears to extract id3 tags allowing for a much smoother track selection through the management of smart play lists - it seems to use the connected device as storage for the actual track only, using the head unit to 'manage' playback where as the iPod connection seemed to simply be a way of managing the iPod remotely.

Some one who is far more technically aware will correct my poor explanation (and also validate its accuracy!!)

michel

i have 525d 2006 so can i get this usb conection on my car or not