[classyfast]

Sure wish this was like the GMC Yukon Denali where all you have to do is drop the phone on the armrest cubby thing and it charges. Kudos to GM for having this a year already. Lol BMW fanboys all pumped on late tech!

[Jamesomania]

sweet! is there a part number for this yet?

[PARTS@STBMW]

Awesome! When are they releasing it?

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by BEMR

They should definitely design this in the cigarette lighter/ash tray compartment, NOT the center glove box, seems very often you wind up leaving it in car and have to come back for your cell.

Correct you are often because its out of sight. However turned sideways will give more room overall.

[JasW]

Originally Posted by jphughan

Agreed, I bought a Scosche USBC242M 12Wx2 charger and it's amazing, so at this point the only time I ever connect my phone is when I want higher quality audio than Bluetooth streaming offers, but that's only on the very rare longer road trip. I've thought about the flash drive option, but playlists don't work as well (or at all?), it's one more thing to remember to update when you add new music to your library on your PC, and of course you can't pull from Pandora that way.

Playlists can be tricky on a flash drive, but once you know what's going on, it's easy. Basically, the car memorizes the directories of flash drives, but can only keep four such drives in memory at a time. You have to have four USB sticks (any size) with one song on them. Plug them in one at a time, wait for the car to recognize the one song, then do the same with the other three. Once that's done, you can plug in the actual (much larger sized) USB you want, and it will replace one of the four simple USBs in memory. It may take a couple of drives for everything on the larger USB to be recognized. Playlists take the longest -- and you can't have a playlist with more than 1500-2000 songs (exact amount unknown). Once it's recognized, you're set. Album art, playlists, and as many 256kbps, 320kbps or whatever kbps mp3 files you can fit on a 128GB stick. If you do add new music, you'll generally have to go through the 4 USB stick routine again, but it's worth it. There is currently no better or more convenient way to have music in your car. Not streaming, not hooking up your phone.

I haven't explained it as well as I could, but a guy in the F10 forum on another site wrote up a guide (applies to all Combox BMWS, not just F10s) which is quite thorough. I've attached it here.

[SamS]

BMW should have put more focus on Apple CarPlay and less on stuff like this

[dclowd9901]

Stupid question: where on earth can I get a snap in adapter for my iphone 6? They don't seem to have them on the BMW site and I can't find them anywhere.

[psedog]

Originally Posted by JasW

There is currently no better or more convenient way to have music in your car. Not streaming, not hooking up your phone.

I'll slightly disagree with you. In my previous car I setup a Mac Mini hidden in the dash. I moved the IR port to behind the HVAC LCD. I threw in a 750GB SSD and had all the music and movies I wanted. It kept my kids entertained as well. Now I need to figure out how to tap into the system of the F80 so I can put this into my new car.

[flyga3]

Great, a BMW case. What's that going to cost? $395? Oh wait, that can only be ordered in conjunction with the Premium and Tech packages!

[Zeroblade]

Center glove box ports, docks, trays for cells phones are getting old quick IMO. GM's idea as mentioned above is good. Toyota's idea for charging area at the bottom of center dash for their Camry (*shudders*) is a even better idea honestly.

If it were me I'd try to mod the sliding cup holder door the LCI 3 series has for a simple wireless charging matt and run the cables properly and code the rest of the features.

[330iToy]

Originally Posted by psedog

I'll slightly disagree with you. In my previous car I setup a Mac Mini hidden in the dash. I moved the IR port to behind the HVAC LCD. I threw in a 750GB SSD and had all the music and movies I wanted. It kept my kids entertained as well. Now I need to figure out how to tap into the system of the F80 so I can put this into my new car.

This sounds great. Do you have a DIY for this? I would like to try it. Thanks

[psedog]

Originally Posted by 330iToy

This sounds great. Do you have a DIY for this? I would like to try it. Thanks

Here is a link to my project in my last car.

http://g35driver.com/forums/audio-vi...-speakers.html

[330iToy]

Originally Posted by psedog

Here is a link to my project in my last car.

http://g35driver.com/forums/audio-vi...-speakers.html

Thank you very much! That is slick, might be out of my capabilities though.

[psedog]

Originally Posted by 330iToy

Thank you very much! That is slick, might be out of my capabilities though.

Thank you for the compliments. I had the car for only a few months when I started that project. I've been working with electronics and computers forever. That was my first Apple product, lol. It's an early 06 model that held up strong in a Black on Black car in So. Cal. I've upgraded the CPU, RAM, and Hard Drive several times. Not because something broke, but because I wanted more, lol. I wish the F80 had a video input, but from what I've heard it doesn't. I don't know if I'll be able to figure out a way to make it work in this car.

I might make it a rear seat only setup for the kids... I can make a switch for the rear speakers so it'll be the computer when they are in the car or the radio when it's just me... That would be pretty slick.

If you do decide to put a computer in a car, make sure you put a SSD in it. Hard Drives work, but they don't like the heat and bumpy roads can sometimes make them skip.

[shivaswrath]

Way to proprietary...

[BwoodBMW]

Wait... how does snapping my phone into a little case in the arm rest save me any time over just plugging it in.... its literally no more convenient.

[apptest]

i need this

[Mikster]

Originally Posted by BwoodBMW

Wait... how does snapping my phone into a little case in the arm rest save me any time over just plugging it in.... its literally no more convenient.

+1.
I have to use their bulky iPhone case? No gains there.
Pass.
M

[Ray knight]

i have all my music loaded from a USB stick. Sounds way better than BT audio. more reliable than through USB connection to the phone. so i am very excited to just toss my phone on the wireless pad! No more wires needed. Awesome! I ditched my iPhone for a Galaxy S6 earlier this year and already have wireless charging. i wonder when we can actually get these.

[Ray knight]

Originally Posted by JasW

Playlists can be tricky on a flash drive, but once you know what's going on, it's easy. Basically, the car memorizes the directories of flash drives, but can only keep four such drives in memory at a time. You have to have four USB sticks (any size) with one song on them. Plug them in one at a time, wait for the car to recognize the one song, then do the same with the other three. Once that's done, you can plug in the actual (much larger sized) USB you want, and it will replace one of the four simple USBs in memory. It may take a couple of drives for everything on the larger USB to be recognized. Playlists take the longest -- and you can't have a playlist with more than 1500-2000 songs (exact amount unknown). Once it's recognized, you're set. Album art, playlists, and as many 256kbps, 320kbps or whatever kbps mp3 files you can fit on a 128GB stick. If you do add new music, you'll generally have to go through the 4 USB stick routine again, but it's worth it. There is currently no better or more convenient way to have music in your car. Not streaming, not hooking up your phone.

I haven't explained it as well as I could, but a guy in the F10 forum on another site wrote up a guide (applies to all Combox BMWS, not just F10s) which is quite thorough. I've attached it here.

are you playing off USB sticks? Why not load it to the music library? I keep a music folder on my PC, load it to my USB stick and upload it to the library in the car. if you add a song or two later you can upload more at any time. leaves the USB port open for charger cords and such.

[FogCityM3]

BMW makes these press releases on electronic accessories and then the product comes out 12-18 months later. If it's not ready for prime time, then don't make a press release. Appalling how business 101 principles are completely discarded for high-margined accessories. E.g. are the go pro mounts available yet?

[BEMR]

Originally Posted by JasW

Which is why I don't care that there is no snap in adapter for my phone (a Note 4), other than the fact the space in the center console is wasted. I just use an angled ProClip mount to the right of the nav display for the phone, and a 128GB USB stick in the console for music. If I have to charge, I'd much prefer the rapid charger I can use in the lighter over the regular speed of the snap in. And I never forget my phone.

I'm note 4 also