[Eug Wanker]

Video

[Eug Wanker]

http://www.bmwusa.com/ipod/

[jfischetti]

Ice-link does this better and works in MOST cars.

It has a Dock that "displays" the iPod if you want.....to easily manipulate the playlists and switch artists...

http://www.densionusa.com/x/index.ph...&Itemid=79

[Eug Wanker]

The www.ipodyourbmw.com site is live now.

Also here: http://64.29.208.219/

[DigitalEl]

Love BMW. Hope to own one some day.
Love Apple. On my fourth (and my 2nd iPod).

This seems half-assed though.

[escher]

Originally posted by DigitalEl:
This seems half-assed though.

I agree. This approach will produce better sound than an FM transmitter or cassette adapter. But it limits you to 5 BMW-specific playlists. That defeats the purpose of having an iPod in the first place.

Escher

[intake]

The Alpine iPod bridge will be a much better product. I agree this just seem kludgy. It will also cost a fortune in labor to have it installed. Apple would have done better if they release this as a kit that could be installed by the DIY crowd.

[ajbaker]

After trawling through as much information I can find on this BMW/Apple venture there seems to be one major thing which is really vague:

does the BMW headset show you the artist or track name?

Some of the literature suggests it does; however on all of the videos the headset displays "track 01"...

If the latter is true, surely the value of this is somewhat diminished?

[jfischetti]

I had the Ice-link 1.0 and just upgraded to the 1.1 Cradle version.

I have to say Run, do not walk to get this product -- it is Sooo much better than the "integrated" version Apple/BMW is offering.

First off, the icelink comes with a mountable dock that offers the ipod to be mounted within your hands reach. ( three mounting placements per car usually) The mounting bracket that comes with the icelink Snap-attaches to your specific car, so no glues, screws or adhesives are needed - it simply uses the ergonomics of your dash to attach itself to ridges and gaps already as part of your dash.

As far as playlists go, it's a nice feature, but the icelink doesn't have it -- i think they did that because the BMW version is "trapped" in the glove box, they needed a way to let you have a bit of control of your ipod.

The icelink is completely accessible - actually i can keep my hand on my shifter and still maipulate the buttons with my fingers.

i tend to jump around so i like to be able to jump to different artists, albums and playlists.-- [censored], it's plugged in, so i dont have to worry about draing the cache and the battery every time a select a new list of songs.

As for installation, its a breeze -- but you do need radio removal keys for your specific car. -- icelink is made for MOST cars, not just BMW -- ususally, it's just an 2 plug procedure to install -- it takes longer to snake the wires in the dash to get the best install (no visible wires)

No title display on the headunit, but then again, the ipod is clearly visible to see what is playing.

i say order now -- i love it