BMW and MINI have both diversified their smartphone integration that started with iOS to include the Android platform. Yet the iPhone and iOS remain the most important mobile platform for either brand. So it only makes sense for us (and many of you) to take note when Apple releases a completely new iPhone. Especially one [...] (visit MotoringFile for the full article) More...
Ahhhh yessss.... Designed obsolescence.... Trade in your old 2012 MINI for the latest, so it will work with your iPhone 5..... Bruhahahahaha
My R53 has no smart phone crap integration and I am happy about that. A MINI is about driving it not silly apps and smartphones that take you attention away from the driving experience. Smartphones make distracted drivers. Unplug, Hang up and drive.
I hate to say it but when it comes to the automotive owning experience we are in the majority here Dave.0. So many people now want all this capability with their smart phones to be plugged into the car these days. It's not a car anymore but a mobile computing/dining/entertainment/communication device now.
I especially get a chuckle when I pass a couple on the way back from KFC.... Open bucket on the front seat with the Colonel's finest being devoured..... All the while, driving along like they are sitting on the living room couch, in front of the TV, eatin chickin.... Gotta love it....
This may be true but it does not make them right. I would like to see discounted insurance rates for those drivers that own cars that do not have smartphone integration features. I also want to see much higher rates for those that do have smartphone integration features. I see nothing wrong with this since they already charge more for sports cars than they do for economy cars because sport cars are a higher risk for accidents just like teen drivers. Smartphone integration and driving entertainment should be charged at a much higher rate like those rolling home theater systems. All these great features are causing more and more distracted driving accidents every year.
Which is why "Eyes Free" technology is included with the newer cars and their integration with iPhones. You can simply tell the phone what to do, from playing songs to reading and dictating replies to texts without ever taking your eyes from the road or your hands from the wheel. It's the 21st Century. We may not be getting flying cars and jet packs, but we're getting the computer from Star Trek in our pockets. If you have a phone that's not capable of that, then turn it off while driving.
Cripes.... There's always going to be some form of distraction associated with driving. Nothing new here... Just different technology....