This weekend I battled the rain to make it down to my local MINI dealer for two reasons- The first, to get some “seat time” with the MINI Connected with Navigation, in-car system.
I have to say, it’s actually better than them fancy, scripted videos! Even after years of being retrained to a touch-screen interface, I almost instantly figured out the turn-the-joystick-and-push controller (see- I just taught *you* how to work it!). I scrolled right past the AM/FM channels because who listens to the radio anymore? I went straight to the Bluetooth features and paired up my days-old iPhone within seconds.
Sadly, my iPhone is so new, I have no music on it (I know, right?). I couldn’t control my playlists or any of the other neat music-related stuff; I do however, have a few contacts on it. Getting to the Address Book and recently called numbers was simple enough. It wasn’t until hearing a three week old voicemail from my BFF played through the HK stereo system, and me squealing “I know that person!” like a 12-year old, that the deal is all but sealed on this option. (NB: I swear I saw a “conference call” option at one point, but neither I or my MA could find it again. Just as well- who wants to be on a three-way while tooling down the highway, right?)
"up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start", right?
I’m not a big Pandora or MOG Radio fan- yet. I was not able to check out the Pandora or recently announced MOG radio apps within MINI Connected, because neither of these are on my phone; I do however, totally appreciate and *get* how and why MINI (and other auto manufacturers) are setting the pace for in-car “apps” as a reality. I mean, you’ll be able read and reply to tweets and Facebook updates! Why you would want to, I don’t know, but you can. That will be the last thing on my mind while driving this particular vehicle. (For a look at BMW/MINI’s long-term app strategy, follow the link to this in-depth article at MotoringFile.com, “Inside BMW’s ConnectedDrive Program: Past, Present & Future“) Oh- and if you don’t have a smartphone, the car comes equipped with a USB port *and* old-school, AUX input for you analog types.
What’s meh? Well, quite frankly, I wasn’t overly excited about the GPS system. It doesn’t suck, but is pretty straightforward as far as in-car navigation goes. (Talk to me when it’s voice-activated.) Additionally, as a techie surrounded by 27″ computer screens, iPads, HD TVs and Retina Display iPhones, it took two seconds to know that the MINI in-car visual display, is… well… not HD. That is one thing everyone should consider before adding the option, since there is not an app for that and you can’t swap it out.
Bem-vindo ao Salzburg! (*Not* HD!)
Overall, I was impressed with it enough that if it comes down to it, I’ll probably slap down the extra $1750 for it instead of the awesome five-spoke Black Star Bullet wheels that I’ve drooling over. Which brings me to the other reason I went down to a dealership on a rainy Sunday…
Ah, the ol', "Interest List".
I am officially “on the list”, as they say. And now, we wait…
Related Links:
MINIofStevensCreek.com
mini.com/connectivity
MINI Connected iPhone app (on iTunes)
MotoringFile.com
