Siri Eyes Free feature

So what's the likelihood we'll see Apple's new Siri Eyes Free feature being made available as an update to iDrive. BMW looks like one of the partner manufacturers that plan on integrating the feature and in the past, have been fast to integrate things like BMW Apps.

Sucks to think I'll miss out on some pretty great integration.

Knowing BMW they will use it as an excuse to try to get you to upgrade your entire automobile. Auto makers are absolutely terrible at supporting new features capabilities in their vehicles.

But it's just software. They just need to update it. At least I think.

I would be willing to bet cash money that the 2012 systems and maybe even those on early 2013s won't be compatible when this shows up at year's end.

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

I would be willing to bet cash money that the 2012 systems and maybe even those on early 2013s won't be compatible when this shows up at year's end.

Something tells me you are gonna be right. I guess I will just have to get a new ride in 3 years.

technology changes every 18 months.. cars every 7 years...
this is why some car manufacturer needs to figure out how to make plugable modules for non-essential hardware/software

Until one car manufacturer does what you are describing (build a pluggable hot-swappable system that can be updated via wifi/3g/lte) there is no incentive for ANY of them to do it. Why would they want to spend money up front making the car more upgradeable when they can just get you to buy a brand new car in 3-5 yrs?

voip, because it would give them an edge over the competition..
and a lot of people will still upgrade for "essential" driving enhancements.. one way or another i would change cars every 3-4 years. I don't think a new feature would force me to accelerate my upgrade decision tho.

You don't have to convince me. I have been banging that kettle for years now... and even thought that some enterprising company should just go ahead and built a completely pluggable upgradable vehicle system that can still be customized and then try to license the tech to the auto makers.

For some amazing reason though, it has not happened.

If anything, the systems have simply gotten more and more proprietary. The fact that there isn't even a full app store or open SDK for any of the manufacturers offerings says a lot.

available by mid-2013 (i'm guessing for 2014 model year vehicles) according to BMWNA spokesperson Dave Buckho:

"BMW has been on the forefront of both in-car voice command as well as the integration of smartphones such as the Apple iPhone," said Dave Buckho, BMWNA spokesperson.

"The integration of Siri using the BMW voice command steering wheel controls is a logical next step. Apple's new Eyes Free mode enables drivers to use Siri to interact with their iPhone by voice even in the car . Users can not only make a call but also tune in to their favorite music, send a text message, create reminders, set alarms or create events without ever having to look for their phone. BMW is planning to have Siri integration available by mid-2013."

Just recently tried to replace my Moto Atrix to iPhone 4S, wasn't impressed by Siri, but it was the small screen that killed the deal. Also did not understand the big deal about the so-called "retina display." The HTC One X I finally landed on definitely has better display.

I think Siri is for those who really have no physical circle of friends to mingle

Maybe we could discuss technology like adults instead of insulting people who like different gear than you like.

apple-haters are everywhere... oh well.

Voip, we actually did a little pitch for google to create a consumer-entertainment OS for cars.. But i think it was just one of those excercises that goes nowhere.

Originally Posted by moshe

apple-haters are everywhere... oh well.

Voip, we actually did a little pitch for google to create a consumer-entertainment OS for cars.. But i think it was just one of those excercises that goes nowhere.

Andriod does have apps for car entertainment.

I appologize for the insult, cuz I have to live with such insult on a daily basis, from people who never used the latest Andriod. At least I kept an open mind gave the 4S a whole week.

There is no question iPhone has its strength, just that the things they put fancy names on, I happened to discover the good Andriod phones did better at.

As for entertainment in the car, frankly I don't need any for the most part. I bought the 3 so driving is too much fun by itself, the occasional driver's assistance notwithstanding.

I used to get fed up about BMW not paying attention to the Andriod market, but quickly settled down.

Good news! iOS 6 looks like it will add support for Bluetooth MAP on the iPhone meaning iDrive should be able to display incoming text messages. That's some great news, right?

I am pretty sure that BMWs still run on Microsoft software. Wouldn't that be something to mate the two in this fashion...

Originally Posted by Jon Shafer

I am pretty sure that BMWs still run on Microsoft software. Wouldn't that be something to mate the two in this fashion...

Not really a big deal. Ford Touch is Windows CE based and the iPhone 4S is listed as the "best supported" overall handset by Ford for that system.

The addition of MAP protocol in iOS6 is a big big deal, it should allow iPhone to start to work with the many systems (idrive among them) that support text related features. It should allow BMW to do an update and make the iPhone compatible with the mobile office feature.

//edit

Looks like it is not CE based for quite some time now, from Wikipedia

iDrive Professional Navigation (CIC)

Debuted in September 2008 with F01/F02 7-Series. CIC stands for Car Infotainment Computer and is manufactured by Becker, utilizing the QNX operating system. It is available on the following cars as an option;

Originally Posted by voip-ninja

Not really a big deal. Ford Touch is Windows CE based and the iPhone 4S is listed as the "best supported" overall handset by Ford for that system.

The addition of MAP protocol in iOS6 is a big big deal, it should allow iPhone to start to work with the many systems (idrive among them) that support text related features. It should allow BMW to do an update and make the iPhone compatible with the mobile office feature.

//edit

Looks like it is not CE based for quite some time now, from Wikipedia

That's cool, Becker has always produced excellent electronics for cars.

They were the standard hi-fi for MBZ for generations in case you haven't heard of them.