BMW claims to have been the first carmaker to offer an in-dash navigation system all the way back in 1994 on its 7 Series. It was also arguably the first automaker to experience the backlash that comes with poor user interface design when it introduced the iDrive system in 2001. Nav systems today have trickled down to cars costing a fraction of the 7 Series these days, and iDrive has matured to become a competitive infotainment platform among the luxury set. This week, BMW is unveiling the latest generation of its infotainment platform that includes so much more than just navigation and a clever master knob to control to it all.
Called BMW ConnectedDrive, the new system is marked by two big improvements. The first are new graphics for the entire system that feature black backgrounds and atmospheric lighting effects, as well as a new view option for maps called "3D City Models" for select locations.
The second improvement is the introduction of iDrive Touch, which is a touchpad interface like those first used on some Audi models that's embedded on the top of BMW's familiar iDrive rotary knob controller. Measuring 45mm in diameter, the touchpad can be used not only for inputting characters, but also features a pinch-to-zoom function when viewing maps and will soon have the ability to control a cursor when BMW makes a browser function available. iDrive Touch will launch this month in China, where the input's gesture control method works particularly well with that language's thousands of characters, and then go on to appear in all other markets a year later.
BMW ConnectedDrive is also one-upping its competition by being the first to integrate a 4G LTE hotspot. The BMW Car Hotspot is a small device that accepts an LTE-capable SIM card, and it can broadcast those quick 4G data speeds to multiple devices via a local network. It can also be removed from the car and go mobile, providing internet access on-the-go with a 30-minute run-time on battery and the ability to go longer when plugged into a power source via USB.
BMW is also advancing the cause of voice recognition in cars with a new message dictation function that can transcribe casual speech and then send that text via text or email to any recipient in the driver's contacts. The system can also record voice memos up to two minutes in length, which can then be sent via email or transported out of the car via USB thumb drive to the driver's computer.
Lastly, BMW has pledged to provide a software development kit to third-party app developers, with the hope that popular smartphone app makers will produce vehicle-compatible versions of their apps for the BMW ConnectedDrive system. Other automakers have reached out to particular app developers already to get apps like Pandora and Stitcher on their systems, but this may be the first time an automaker is releasing an SDK and guidelines for any developer, including those for Android, to produce an app for its system.
Via Autoblog