[Pangloss]

Originally Posted by ATS

As much as I love technology and its ability to make life easier and more efficient every day, I don't want my next car to be a smartphone on wheels. I don't want it to have internet access, I don't want it to talk back to me (or even worse understand me!), or be able to do anything else than provide an outstanding analog driving experience. I want it with a real manual transmission, a real clutch, hydraulic steering (the less assisted the better), and with the least amount of gizmos that distract me from the driving experience, and more importantly, every other thing on the road!!

This is something I keep wondering about as well. Car manufacturers seem thus far to be insulated from the ongoing news saga of "driving while texting/phoning/etc". But they're very much complicit in the problem, as are consumers themselves.

The thing is, I don't see that news trend growing lighter in 2013/2014. I see it growing BIGGER. It's just too good a story -- a single, out-of-work mother of three gets thrown through the windshield and is found with her phone clutched in her death grip while her babies cry in their car seats back in the wreckage.... Journalists make their careers on stories than that, and sooner or later one of them is going to remember what a telephone is and start calling the manufacturers for "comments" about "proposed legislation".

Then things will get interesting. People don't like it when their toys get taken away.

[Dabaitu]

Originally Posted by JA///MES

Nothing is truly flawless, Apple is no exception but it is way better than having to integrate a crappy Android device to your car.

I guess your experience of integrating your Android phone has been vastly different to mine (which was seemless integration and functionality first time, every time).

We have an Android, iOS and Windows OS smartphone in my household and there are pro's and con's to each of them. Interestingly the Samsung Omnia WinMo7 phone is not enjoying pairing with my current E82 or my colleagues E90 on a consistent basis. It runs with incredible smoothness though and as far as a phone doing what it's supposed to do, it's quite good. I manage the wife's iOS devices and I can see why they appeal to the masses.

On a different point, I'm not a fan of Siri given the data is stored by Apple for mining.

Tech is always being superceded, often more quickly than expected (take the new iDrive for the F30 as an example) and this, in my view, is the "flavour of the month".

[Sonnig]

I'm eager to this new function.

However, i have the voice control button on my steering wheel but this function is not active. Will I be able to use this new function once I have ios6?

[Pexner]

Ha....Siri, engage m drive....stuff is going to be texted that is so wrongly spelt

[mhaghighi]

will it finally work? i mean what is the point of Siri if the existing office and message feature doesnt work with iphone when entire idrive seems to be iphone driven

[SamS]

Originally Posted by carve29

They also announced that turn by turn directions will be available with iOS6. This means that I really don't need a nav system. What do some of you techies that understand all of this think?

You still need a Nav system for best experience. I know a lot of people here like to brag about how they saved $2K, and just use their iPhone/Android. But neither of those are going to allow for Heads Up Display like what is integrated with the F30s. When it comes to finding POIs (i.e. locate the nearest Taco Bell), the smart phones can be quite a better. But if you're looking for a standard street address, it is hard to beat the OEM nav integration.

Not to mention, the size of a 3.5"-4" screen vs 8.8" of the OEM nav makes a big difference in general readability. I think fooling with the phone while driving is a huge distraction, and the less the better.

[yellowllewellyn]

Originally Posted by roadmax

I see few here already have set up Siri to work in BMW and also I have integrated Siri in my BMW. Question now is should BMW at least thank us for using our idea for their future profit.

How did you set it up?

[feaganszhp]

awesome!!!

[carve29]

Originally Posted by yellowllewellyn

How did you set it up?

Maybe some are over stating current Siri integration. I think all people mean is that their iPhone is paired. Once you are paired, when you hit Siri, the car microphone and sound system is how you use her. That's it.

[Jason]

Ok enough with the anti-Apple or Apple-vs-Android trolling. This thread is about Siri integration into BMWs.

[adamsclubs]

Everytime a bunch of new gigs are introduced into a car, that are not related to driving dynamics, some of the driving dynamics elements will likely be ignored. That ultimately leads to the manufacture to abandon such ignored elements in the future.

[asus389]

I think that we are over thinking this. Siri already works over Bluetooth with many Bluetooth headsets. All you do is press and hold and talk button on the headset and it activates the built in voice command/dial functionality. In the case of the iPhone this triggers Siri. The only reason this doesn't already work in our BMWs is that BMW tried to get fancy and have their own voice command system. This may have been a good idea back in the day when everyone had a "dumb phone", but with smartphones it makes more sense to defer to the phone itself. In other words, I bet they could get this working right now if they just got out of their own way, disabled their own voice system, and made their Bluetooth implementation function more like a "dumb" $30 headset. Lets leave cars to car makers and advanced AI and voice control software to software companies like Apple or Google. :-)

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by asus389

I think that we are over thinking this. Siri already works over Bluetooth with many Bluetooth headsets. All you do is press and hold and talk button on the headset and it activates the built in voice command/dial functionality. In the case of the iPhone this triggers Siri. The only reason this doesn't already work in our BMWs is that BMW tried to get fancy and have their own voice command system. This may have been a good idea back in the day when everyone had a "dumb phone", but with smartphones it makes more sense to defer to the phone itself. In other words, I bet they could get this working right now if they just got out of their own way, disabled their own voice system, and made their Bluetooth implementation function more like a "dumb" $30 headset. Lets leave cars to car makers and advanced AI and voice control software to software companies like Apple or Google. :-)

True, but then you'd lose voice command of the car's functions, e.g. navigation, climate control, music, etc. I personally don't use voice control at all so I wouldn't miss it (though I never use Siri either), but I can see why BMW wouldn't just want to abandon voice control entirely -- plus, think of the outcry from non-iPhone users who would (rightfully) be pissed off that functionality on the car they paid for was being eliminated to support a feature that requires a phone they don't even have. No, I think updating the software so that saying "Siri" at the beginning or long-pressing the voice button redirects the command to the phone is the way to go.

[Rich@GTBPerformance]

Originally Posted by GuhBookGi

...Jarvis?

That's freaking excellent!

[roadmax]

Originally Posted by yellowllewellyn

How did you set it up?

iPhone 4s and Bluetooth.

[Fester]

Originally Posted by Tag

You're kidding me right? I can give you a list off the top of my head right now about iOS5 and all the issues the 4S has but I'll spare you and everyone else the drama.

[Fester]

Originally Posted by martianpc

Apple products always look pretty and sounds fancy but do nothing special and just handcuff you. BMW needs to work on better android integration, have an app on the market that does all those features, android and maybe even ios users can install it and then they do not rely on apple. Nuance makes siri, already works with BMW and could easily integrate siri like functionality into idrive. Easy

coming from a "pc" guy.. makes sense...

[tony20009]

Finally, sliced bread has some competition!

I thought this feature already existed. I know I don't use it much (I tried it out when I bought the phone and haven't used it since), but I thought my phone already has voice command. Does that feature stop working when one enters a car?

But maybe I'm mistaken and I'm confusing it with something I saw during my last alien abduction...???

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by tony20009

Finally, sliced bread has some competition!

I thought this feature already existed. I know I don't use it much (I tried it out when I bought the phone and haven't used it since), but I thought my phone already has voice command. Does that feature stop working when one enters a car?

But maybe I'm mistaken and I'm confusing it with something I saw during my last alien abduction...???

Siri can work when connected to a car or any other Bluetooth handsfree profile device (and maybe headset), but cars that have their own voice recognition setup (like BMWs) don't pass what you say to your phone when you press the steering wheel button. The only way to get Siri working while paired with your car at the moment is to invoke her directly on the phone by holding the Home button, at which point she will hear you over Bluetooth through the car's mic (since she tells the car that you all of a sudden started a phone call). Obviously not ideal, but evidently that will be changing somehow.