[shahramghs]

Now here is what I hate BMW for... seeing Iphone (only) in their catalog when they talk about their phone integration, Apps ,etc ... nothing for Android.

Android now has a larger market share than IOS. Now I now at some point Iphone sounded luxuriousness, but those days are over. Why the F is BMW sticking to Iphone... Is there any hope they are going to have android integration? Or do they now?

P.S Please don't start Android vs Iphone BS. I got that covered very well

[jsedlak]

Wish they had support for Android and Windows Phone.

[zeezz]

At the very least, you can find the "My BMW Remote" app apk somewhere and sideload it to your android. This lets you 'find your car,' sound the horn, lock the doors, etc.

It also seems that some Android phones support the Message Access Profile that's required to get text messages onto the Navi. Apparently the stock HTC One X rom can do this but I am on CM10 and currently the functionality doesn't work.

[Dabaitu]

Originally Posted by zeezz

At the very least, you can find the "My BMW Remote" app apk somewhere and sideload it to your android. This lets you 'find your car,' sound the horn, lock the doors, etc.

It also seems that some Android phones support the Message Access Profile that's required to get text messages onto the Navi. Apparently the stock HTC One X rom can do this but I am on CM10 and currently the functionality doesn't work.

GS3 will get SMS to the Nav.

[Rick4345]

And I can do it with my Motorola Atrix 4G

[fidget]

Originally Posted by shahramghs

Now here is what I hate BMW for... seeing Iphone (only) in their catalog when they talk about their phone integration, Apps ,etc ... nothing for Android.

Android now has a larger market share than IOS. Now I now at some point Iphone sounded luxuriousness, but those days are over. Why the F is BMW sticking to Iphone... Is there any hope they are going to have android integration? Or do they now?

P.S Please don't start Android vs Iphone BS. I got that covered very well

I'm sure BMW has some deal with Apple, also it's easier to support via the snap in adapters since iPhone form factors are fairly uniform and android phones are all over the place in terms of dimensions.

There may also be issues for BMW regarding the more open source nature of the Android OS.

[Heiznberg]

The problem with Android is that it's too fragmented and it's a headache for developers, especially when you factor in hardware.

Over 50% of Android smartphones are running Gingerbread - a two year old operating system. 25% are running ICS, 1% are running Honeycomb, and 2% are running Jellybean - the latest Android OS. Add to that, handset makers like Samsung, Motorola and LG, are slapping different skins and their own music players on the devices. Some of them are even controlled by the carrier. It's a complete mess.

Compare that with iPhone: in under two months, 2/3 of all iPhone users have adopted the latest operating system, iOS 6. The OS is seamlessly integrated with the hardware and the same music player is the same on all 100 Million devices. It's a dream for developers and car companies to integrate it and guarantee a great experience for their customers.

TL;DR Don't hold your breath for Android integration in BMW.

[LousyShot]

Originally Posted by Dabaitu

GS3 will get SMS to the Nav.

I can do that with my GS2 right now. It sucks that Droid users don't get the same amount of pampering that iOS users receive, but that's okay, I have all the support for my Droid device that I need.
I can read texts/emails through iDrive and stream music. I have no desire to check my facebook status or tweets while I'm enjoying the drive so I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

[Kaitain]

Originally Posted by Hznbrg

The problem with Android is that it's too fragmented and it's a headache for developers, especially when you factor in hardware.

Over 50% of Android smartphones are running Gingerbread - a two year old operating system. 25% are running ICS, 1% are running Honeycomb, and 2% are running Jellybean - the latest Android OS. Add to that, handset makers like Samsung, Motorola and LG, are slapping different skins and their own music players on the devices. Some of them are even controlled by the carrier. It's a complete mess.

Compare that with iPhone: in under two months, 2/3 of all iPhone users have adopted the latest operating system, iOS 6. The OS is seamlessly integrated with the hardware and the same music player is the same on all 100 Million devices. It's a dream for developers and car companies to integrate it and guarantee a great experience for their customers.

TL;DR Don't hold your breath for Android integration in BMW.

+100000000 to the above quote! I am not going to knock Android, as I use to run an HTC Tilt, that was similiar to the Androids. But, as was said above, when you have 20 standards, it is hard to standardize shit for it. I use to hate iPhones before the 3GS came out, and now I see half the Android users love them, and half of them hate them, guess which groups bought the higher end Android phone, and which group cheaped out. Once again, standardized at not being standard is Androids main problem/fault.

[EnerJi]

Originally Posted by Kaitain

+100000000 to the above quote! I am not going to knock Android, as I use to run an HTC Tilt, that was similiar to the Androids. But, as was said above, when you have 20 standards, it is hard to standardize shit for it. I use to hate iPhones before the 3GS came out, and now I see half the Android users love them, and half of them hate them, guess which groups bought the higher end Android phone, and which group cheaped out. Once again, standardized at not being standard is Androids main problem/fault.

There's no doubt that Android is more complex to support than iPhone, but Google has steadily been improving the standardization and usability of key APIs in the newer versions of Android. The only reason BMW hasn't done a better job of supporting at least the newest versions of Android is that they haven't allocated the appropriate resources, which is disgracefully short-sighted, in my humble opinion.

As a poster above stated, Android has a larger market share than iOS and continues to sell more (i.e. it's increasing its lead). BMW needs to get on board soon or they'll be left behind by their competitors.

[fidget]

Originally Posted by EnerJi

There's no doubt that Android is more complex to support than iPhone, but Google has steadily been improving the standardization and usability of key APIs in the newer versions of Android. The only reason BMW hasn't done a better job of supporting at least the newest versions of Android is that they haven't allocated the appropriate resources, which is disgracefully short-sighted, in my humble opinion.

As a poster above stated, Android has a larger market share than iOS and continues to sell more (i.e. it's increasing its lead). BMW needs to get on board soon or they'll be left behind by their competitors.

In what way are they "behind" you can stream music and do things like check email in idrive using android. They are ahead of many manufacturers at this point by offering that.

They are not going to pour resources into trying to equal support between iOS and android. Android doesn't have sufficient standards in place across all phones. Also there are physical considerations like the vast differences in form for android phones.

Integration is not a cheap process. BMW has enough trouble keeping up with iPhones and iOS. I would rather they do iOS well than try to equally support absolutely everything and do it all poorly.

[ducatiboy72]

The reason why BMW has prioritized iPhone over Android is that most potensial BMW owners have iPhones.

However BMW will support Android integration from July 2013, at least for Samsung phones.

[ScarecrowBoat]

I have a GS3, how do you get it to do text to nav?!

[MarkyMarkOz]

Originally Posted by ducatiboy72

The reason why BMW has prioritized iPhone over Android is that most potensial BMW owners have iPhones.

However BMW will support Android integration from July 2013, at least for Samsung phones.

Thats what I have heard from a BMW source as well. Lets hope sooner.

IMHO, This is not a opportunity to argue out individually the benefits of phone platforms, it really is about the consumer base and BMW being slow to support it which they recognise they need to. From a strategic perspective, more open platforms will undoubtly win the war vs the battle.

[john08135i]

The iphone is better is has the most GB's and prints money

[TheObviousChild]

Originally Posted by john08135i

The iphone is better is has the most GB's and prints money

I know this reference all too well.

[TheObviousChild]

So here's the real question. I've had Android for several years now and love it. I've shied away from iPhone for multiple reasons. Now, is the fact that BMW integrates so well with iOS a good enough reason for me to finally move on over to an iPhone?

[Heiznberg]

Originally Posted by TheObviousChild

So here's the real question. I've had Android for several years now and love it. I've shied away from iPhone for multiple reasons. Now, is the fact that BMW integrates so well with iOS a good enough reason for me to finally move on over to an iPhone?

I think you can only answer that.

Personally, I couldn't even consider a switch to Android. 90% of my music listening is in the car. Add to that audiobooks and Podcasts, there's no question that the iPhone is the right solution for me, as all of this integrates flawlessly in BMW. Also, the Pandora interface is awesome; my playlists syncs, I can thumbs up/down and album artwork looks great.

I also like the BMW remote app - especially sending navigation destinations to my car from wherever I am. This saves me a lot of time with not having to fiddle with the iDrive controller.

Also, looking ahead, one of the tech features that needs improvement is voice activation. It just isn't very good. Apple has solved this for BMW with Siri / Eyes Free integration. I'm really looking forward to that in my next Bimmer, or in my current one if it's a simple software update.

[shahramghs]

I'm not talking about wired integration like Apples. The integration of Android is not that difficult if not simple from developers point of view. It only needs an application inside the phone that communicates with car over Bluetooth.

It would also be easy to make sure it works with majority of androids.

Oh, and the fact that most BMW owners have iPhone, it will change if it has not already.

[pkim1079]

Originally Posted by Dabaitu

GS3 will get SMS to the Nav.

Cant even get my 5 to send sms to nav. Is this professional only?