[jmonier]

Originally Posted by wdogan

My 328xi is scheduled for week 10 production. I added the 6FL iPod integration option to my order last week, but it's not showing up in my order summary on the owner's circle. Every other option I ordered is showing up so I'm concerned. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thanks!

That's the normal thing right now probably because there was no price for it.

[petros15978]

So, as it was mentioned above, in Europe the 6FL option will not include the adaptor cable!!! How is that possible? Is there a different part number for the cable itself! The wait for my new bimmer is killing me and I would rather not wait another month or so for the cable afterwards. Thanks in advance

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by trifona

Very interesting reading. How will this work without iDrive?

I'm considering ordering a 328xi and trying to figure out how to option the car entertainment wise. I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of an in-dash 6CD, but I'm not keen on going back to a trunk mounted changer either. I do not own an ipod or any mp3 player but I use iTunes to organize all of my mp3's.

The idea of having all of my music on board with me via an iPod that can charge in the car sounds very convenient. However without the Nav screen how will the music be accessed? Does the stock radio scroll text?

Thank you.

trifona - Without iDrive, the items will display in the radio's LED panel. Obviously, this is not as big and you would have to do some scrolling - but it does not take any functionality away.

Depending on how much you drive, an iPod (or other MP3 player) is great to have in the car. I always had the CD changers, but having virtually my entire music collection with me in my iPod is great!

Originally Posted by wdogan

My 328xi is scheduled for week 10 production. I added the 6FL iPod integration option to my order last week, but it's not showing up in my order summary on the owner's circle. Every other option I ordered is showing up so I'm concerned. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thanks!

Don't be too worried, the 6FL option does not show for anyone yet. You might call your CA or the 800 customer service line and just ask them to verify it is on there.

[parkpo31]

Will the shuffle truely shuffle or is the shuffle the same as the MOST ipod connector where the first song is randomly played but if you skip to the next track it does not select the next random track but just selects the next song in the playlist?

I know some people reported that with the MOST ipod connector that it was a real pain to scroll through a long list of songs as it was very slow and you were also limited in the number of songs you could have in a playlist. Does anyone know if these disadvantages have been over come with the new factory installed connector?

Thanks!

[LEDZEP]

Good question. We won't know until someone (Jonathan?!) gets their hands on it and is able to write a meaninful review.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by parkpo31

I know some people reported that with the MOST ipod connector that it was a real pain to scroll through a long list of songs as it was very slow and you were also limited in the number of songs you could have in a playlist. Does anyone know if these disadvantages have been over come with the new factory installed connector?

Thanks!

Haptic feedback won't be a problem in the new cars.

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by JSpira

Haptic feedback won't be a problem in the new cars.

Is it true that they are eliminating the haptic feedback? Or possibly this is context based, so that the feedback is eliminated for certain functions (like scrolling an iPod list)?

[JSpira]

It looks like it is just being removed period.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by cisoid

Some more congratulations if you come around of some 6er or M6 with 6fl before September 2007. To my knowledge this is hardly possible. But I think the 6-series is a nice car even without the 6fl.

BMW NA has announced the option for the 6er as of March production.

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

I placed an order for 335i sedan with 6FL option, I guess we'll find out soon enough what this thing does exactly.

good choice. the 335i is supposed to be a real rocket.

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by JSpira

BMW NA has announced the option for the 6er as of March production.

i'm not quite sure if this is correct. if you plan to get a 6-series car you should check with your dealer if 6fl is realy availble in march. i thought 6-sereis would start production in september.

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

Is it true that they are eliminating the haptic feedback? Or possibly this is context based, so that the feedback is eliminated for certain functions (like scrolling an iPod list)?

in march the idrive comes without haptic feedback (force feedback function of the idrive). actually, i prefer the idrive without haptic feedback. however, you are not really informed when you hit the end of list.

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by parkpo31

Will the shuffle truely shuffle or is the shuffle the same as the MOST ipod connector where the first song is randomly played but if you skip to the next track it does not select the next random track but just selects the next song in the playlist?

I know some people reported that with the MOST ipod connector that it was a real pain to scroll through a long list of songs as it was very slow and you were also limited in the number of songs you could have in a playlist. Does anyone know if these disadvantages have been over come with the new factory installed connector?

Thanks!

limitation of the songs in a playlist or tracksession is 20.000 - should be enough for most people.

shuffle/random mode works within the currently selected tracksession. you switch from sequential playing to random mode. 6fl will shuffle the current tracksession internally and plays the shuffeled list. display shows the original list. skip forward/backward jumps within the shuffeled list. when a new selection is made, i.e., a new track session is selected, random mode is deactivated again. when the car is stoped and started again random mode is deactivated as well. in general this behavior is similar to the mp3-CD player at BMW.

if the current tracksession is really long like 5.000 songs. selection of a new song when skip is used takes a while. maybe 2 to 3 seconds.

if a ipod is used the shuffle is actually performed by the ipod itself. when skip is executed performance is dependant on the ipod as well. a 80gb ipod video takes its time to performe commands. skip can take up to 5 seconds till execution. it needs to spin up the disc. also ipod reaction to commands at the serial control interface is in general slower than when controled directly via the click wheel.

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

trifona - Without iDrive, the items will display in the radio's LED panel. Obviously, this is not as big and you would have to do some scrolling - but it does not take any functionality away.

Depending on how much you drive, an iPod (or other MP3 player) is great to have in the car. I always had the CD changers, but having virtually my entire music collection with me in my iPod is great!



Don't be too worried, the 6FL option does not show for anyone yet. You might call your CA or the 800 customer service line and just ask them to verify it is on there.

6fl works also with the radio professional (this radio should be the standard radio in us and ca so far i know; in europe this is an option that need to be ordered - the basic radio in europe does not come with most bus and such cannot support 6fl). this radio has a two line monochrome display with about 30 characters per line. hence, the user interface cannot be as convenient as with the idrive. also the scrolling performance in long lists is not a big hit - it's about the speed with the mp3-CD. when you intend to run a large music archive you should have a good organization and well taged songs. then you can select your tracksessions via playlists, play a genre, etc.

the user interface with the radio works basically as in the following. the main screen when selecting 6fl as audio source consists in the first line of the title of the currently played song. in the second line the main categories directory (only usb), playlist, genre, artist, album are shown. however, the display is too small to show all names un full therefore they are abbreviated. when you push the button below the category display you enter the browsing screen. E.g., when album is selected you enter list of albums where you can scroll up and down. if you select one album then titles of this album are shown. when one of the song is selected it is played. this is indicated by a check mark beside this song. next you can go on browsing in the way described as you like.

additionally there are buttons for a back function, jump to main screen, and jump to the list of the currently played song.

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by petros15978

So, as it was mentioned above, in Europe the 6FL option will not include the adaptor cable!!! How is that possible? Is there a different part number for the cable itself! The wait for my new bimmer is killing me and I would rather not wait another month or so for the cable afterwards. Thanks in advance

check with your bmw dealer. the cable is sold as retail product.

also ask your dealer for the "product information" for the 6fl. should also be available at the dealer. it many of the details discussed here.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by cisoid

i'm not quite sure if this is correct. if you plan to get a 6-series car you should check with your dealer if 6fl is realy availble in march. i thought 6-sereis would start production in september.

I'm not either but this is what BMW's marketing dept. execs are telling me.

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by cisoid

in march the idrive comes without haptic feedback (force feedback function of the idrive). actually, i prefer the idrive without haptic feedback. however, you are not really informed when you hit the end of list.

Thanks again for the great information! Since I don't have iDrive in either my current E90 or E91, I guess I won't really know the difference. But all in all, I think I prefer the idea of the controller without the haptic feedback. Since my car is currently somewhere in the production line (estimated to be completed tomorrow) I assume that I will have the March '07 version of iDrive and navigation?

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by JSpira

I'm not either but this is what BMW's marketing dept. execs are telling me.

You're listening to a marketing exec?? You know of course, he is just a salesman with a better suit!

[cisoid]

Originally Posted by rmorin49

I am still researching MP3 players as I do not own one. The Creative Zen Vision M gets really good reviews. Anyone know if it will be fully functional with the 6FL option?

i currently do not know about this creative device. however, the product page of creative says that this player can handle "WMA (inc MS PD DRM)" which means it can handle the microsoft portable device digital rights management. in general this suggest that this is a MTP device and not compatible with 6fl.

ask your dealer for the "product information" for the 6fl. it contains almost all of the details discussed here. furthermore, it contains a list of compatible devices. Compatible means that these devices are tested and work without problems. there are many more devices that may also work, e.g., most of the usb sticks. however, it cannot be guaranteed that any device on the market is working without problems.

a device class that does not work in general are devices that use the media transport protocol (MTP). it's quite difficult to check if a device is mtp or pure mass storage. however, all devices that are sold with the logo "PlaysForShure" are MTP. Some of the MTP devices can still be configured to pure mass storage and then work with 6fl.

a specific issue are harddisks. theoretically they work as long as the usb power supply is enough: 5V and 500mA. however, this is a big problem. most disc draw more current in special situations like spinning up the disc. in this moment the current is limited by the usb host and some discs do not like that and malfunctions can occure. another problem is that some discs park their disc to consume less power. when a next packet of the audio file is requested it then takes time till the disc is ready to provide the data. it then could happen the audio dropouts happen (a realy rare problem but can occure). another prolem is that some people could have the idea to connect the disc for power supply to the 12v. this is also not a quite good idea because usb communication could be disturbed (for technicians: a ground offset occures in this case and usb is very sensible to that). finally, if you drive around (and bmw's drive quite fast) the vibrations could be a problem as well.

for these reasons harddisks are not guaranteed to work. best chances for good function is given when you get a disc that is designed to operate in usb bus powered mode and is intended for mobile use for e.g. a notebook.

[LEDZEP]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you CISOID... .. when a "yes", "no", or "maybe" simply will not do.

I spoke with Customer Relations at BMWNA today and the great girl I talked to said my car is currently in assembly. She was also able to verify that the 6FL is showing nice and clear on the order.

Now I can quit worrying and just start pacing for a month while the car takes a boat ride and makes its way to my dealer.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by cisoid

ask your dealer for the "product information" for the 6fl. it contains almost all of the details discussed here. furthermore, it contains a list of compatible devices. Compatible means that these devices are tested and work without problems. there are many more devices that may also work, e.g., most of the usb sticks. however, it cannot be guaranteed that any device on the market is working without problems.

The product info (bulletin) does not list compatible devices.

I spoke with BMW NA product engineering today - they have no "list" yet either.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

You're listening to a marketing exec?? You know of course, he is just a salesman with a better suit!

Not these guys - they are product marketing and couldn't sell anything if they wanted to.