[bimmer_OA]

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/bmw-adds-full-i.html

"BMW's iDrive has taken it on the nose from critics and customers alike. But give the luxury brand credit for recognizing that the goo-gaws and gizmos car makers keep adding to their vehicles are making the driver interface impossibly confusing. Designers can barely find enough space within reach of the driver to stash all the new buttons and control knobs that make high-priced cars sell.

Trouble is, BMW is using its streamlined iDrive to add even more driver distraction. iDrive will soon incorporate full onboard Internet access, allowing drivers to copy maps and other information directly to their navigation systems. It will work through an EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) mobile connection, currently the fastest universal mobile connection available.

How do you use it? Read after the jump.

Drivers will surf the Web with a small joystick mouse. Maps and driving directions can be transferred to the navigation system with the press of a button. For safety reasons, drivers can only surf when the car is traveling at speeds of less than 3 mph. So you can read sports scores while oozing through a strip-mall parking lot. The sight of a slow-moving BMW should have you veering out of harm's way.

If your BMW has a rear DVD system, back-seat passengers can access the Internet when the vehicle is traveling at any speed.

As car interiors come to resemble airliner cockpits from the 1960s, it's curious that today you truly need more than one driver to operate the vehicle."

[E90330iS]

available for current models?

[solefald]

Originally Posted by bimmer_OA

It will work through an EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) mobile connection, currently the fastest universal mobile connection available.

Nice. It is already outdated before the release!
EDGE is FAR from current and even further from the fastest available. On top of that, it does not work all that great at speeds over 60-65mph.

[FastLane]

and you gotta pay 30 bucks a month for the service

[A418t81]

EDGE, bleh, so slow

[AWD Addict]

I love my iDrive. I'll never understand why it got so much flak. Probably because they debuted it in the 7 series, which is driven by a bunch of old fogey luddites.

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by bimmer_OA

For safety reasons, drivers can only surf when the car is traveling at speeds of less than 3 mph.

Originally Posted by solefald

Nice. It is already outdated before the release!
EDGE is FAR from current and even further from the fastest available. On top of that, it does not work all that great at speeds over 60-65mph.

Anyway, EDGE is easy and global. Just about anything else would require regionalized TCU's and they probably just don't care that much.

[brtnrdr1x]

i think full blown internet on the idrive is wayyyyyy tooo much..i can understand service for a wireless connection in ur car like 10-20$/month...with a laptop... LOL

[Crazy Bimmer]

As car interiors come to resemble airliner cockpits from the 1960s, it's curious that today you truly need more than one driver to operate the vehicle.

HA exactly.

[Tag]

EDGE is slow as shit. 3G UMTS FTW!

If you truly want Internet in your car keep a small laptop under your seat. Your best option is to use your mobile phone as the modem with the proper data plan. If you have bluetooth on your phone/laptop you can setup a wireless modem connection between them. Full keyboard, your choice of web browser and plug-ins, etc.

[cooldude]

i am happy with my iPhone

[Tag]

Laptop > iPhone... all day long

[JohnSprm69]

Originally Posted by cooldude

i am happy with my iPhone

[Design1314]

edge.....

[skimo]

Originally Posted by tag824

EDGE is slow as shit. 3G UMTS FTW!

If you truly want Internet in your car keep a small laptop under your seat. Your best option is to use your mobile phone as the modem with the proper data plan. If you have bluetooth on your phone/laptop you can setup a wireless modem connection between them. Full keyboard, your choice of web browser and plug-ins, etc.

+1

[AJerman]

Nah, I'll stick to my unlimited EVDO Rev A access on my phone, even tethered to a laptop should I want something bigger or more.

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by AJerman

Nah, I'll stick to my unlimited EVDO Rev A access on my phone,

Not really a product for the global market, though.

[Pinkoboe]

Originally Posted by AWD Addict

I love my iDrive. I'll never understand why it got so much flak. Probably because they debuted it in the 7 series, which is driven by a bunch of old fogey luddites.

If you have ever had the misfortune of using idrive in an E65, you might understand better. I had one as a loaner from my dealer for two weeks after they did body damage to my car that was in for service.

The E65 has the first generation of idrive that is substantially less intuitive, and at times down right frustrating. The main menu had 8 different directions you could push the controller, and after two weeks of having the car, I still could only get it right about 50% of the time. A movement to scroll up on one part of the screen would move over to another and start scrolling down.

The simplified second generation of idrive has featured in the E60 and E9x cars is light years better. Idrive certainly still has room for improvement, but I think the first generation provided a poor introduction to the technology to the press and the public.

First impressions are important...

As for the topic of this thread, I recall reading somewhere (Roundel?) that the internet access option was only for Europe, and us litigous Americans would be denied this option.

[AJerman]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Not really a product for the global market, though.

No, but I didn't mean that it was. I just mean that paying for internet service in my BMW isn't worth it if I have far faster service on my phone already.

[silversurfer]

Originally Posted by A418t81

EDGE, bleh, so slow

True. But I would still take it over nothing, especially with BMW's integration with Google Map (available right now in Europe).

[AJerman]

Originally Posted by silversurfer

True. But I would still take it over nothing, especially with BMW's integration with Google Map (available right now in Europe).

That's coming to the US for MY2009, and it's just a text message, not internet, but perhaps if the internet was fast enough (read: not EDGE) you could have a pretty nifty little nav tool with Google Maps built in.

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by AJerman

No, but I didn't mean that it was. I just mean that paying for internet service in my BMW isn't worth it if I have far faster service on my phone already.

Oh, I see. FWIW, I don't think this is something extra you pay for -- they're just letting you do more with the BMW Assist subscription. Hence the EDGE -- they already have it for Assist, and it's not a useful enough feature to justify additional expense.

I'm pretty sure this feature has been kicking around for a little while on the Continent; the news is that we can have it too now that they're replacing the North American CDMA TCUs with a global-spec EDGE unit. I'm pretty sure Jspira has posted about this changeover in other sections.