Smart Phone Integration option for 2009

[Bahn Driver]

A new option is available to make the iPhone work both as a phone & a ipod simulataneously called Smart Phone Integration for 2009. The order code is "6NF" & costs around $150. Apparently the old way only worked one way or the other but not together well.

Side note: Apparently, the front Parking Distance Controller will only be available on the M3 sedan for US spec models for '09.

I got a production slot of next week so I should be taking delivery in a couple of weeks. Can't wait for that Jerez Coupe w/ DCT!!

http://www.m3post.com/forums/images/.../happyanim.gif

[southlight]

Originally Posted by Bahn Driver

Apparently the old way only worked one way or the other but not together well.

Best regards, south

[apw2607]

Originally Posted by Bahn Driver

Side note: Apparently, the front Parking Distance Controller will only be available on the M3 sedan for US spec models for '09.

I dont think so. The M3 Sedan order guide from BMW USA still show PDC as option 507, not 508.

[JIO]

Were you able to actually order the 6NF option. BMW originally stated it would start production on October 1st builds. For the US, I doubt the M3 sedans will have front PDC because of the stupid orange reflectors mounted on the front bumper.

[Rovman]

Hmm interesting, I have an 08 E90 M and have the tech. pack. and bluetooth. My car came with a lead that allows my iphone to work as a phone and an ipod at the some time. As far as I am concerned this capability already exists when optioned correctly.
At least in the US..

So far it all seems to be working pretty good.

[AZ-BMW]

Originally Posted by JIO

Were you able to actually order the 6NF option. BMW originally stated it would start production on October 1st builds.

I have a wk 36 Build, that as of today is still in Status 112. I have option 6NF on my VIR and my pickup is 23 Oct at PCD. So unless my delivery date shifts to October when it flips to Status 150, it looks like 6NF is available in September Build units

[rmmcdaniel]

Originally Posted by AZ-BMW

I have a wk 36 Build, that as of today is still in Status 112. I have option 6NF on my VIR and my pickup is 23 Oct at PCD. So unless my delivery date shifts to October when it flips to Status 150, it looks like 6NF is available in September Build units

I had a confirmed week 37 build and when my CA added 6NF to my order it changed my production number and I now have a build week of 40. I think your confirmed PCD date helped you out, which is awesome!

[TLud]

I just read Jonathan Spira's description of the Smartphone Integration option on the BMWCCA forums. When asked whether a retrofit would be possible, he said that he doubted it.

I suppose I can still modify my order (at least earlier today I could), but even if a retrofit isn't possible, the added delay just wouldn't be worth it. I've already been waiting since June. I could probably find excuses to keep waiting until the next generation M3 is released.

[Zed]

Originally Posted by TLud

I just read Jonathan Spira's description of the Smartphone Integration option on the BMWCCA forums. When asked whether a retrofit would be possible, he said that he doubted it.

I suppose I can still modify my order (at least earlier today I could), but even if a retrofit isn't possible, the added delay just wouldn't be worth it. I've already been waiting since June. I could probably find excuses to keep waiting until the next generation M3 is released.

Same story here. Not to mention a usb hd is cheap (and you can get a NEW ipod for not much more than $150) ... and with the new iDrive, you can upload your music into it's HD as well. So for me, not having both simultaneously shouldn't be that big of a deal...

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Rovman

Hmm interesting, I have an 08 E90 M and have the tech. pack. and bluetooth. My car came with a lead that allows my iphone to work as a phone and an ipod at the some time. As far as I am concerned this capability already exists when optioned correctly.
At least in the US..

So far it all seems to be working pretty good.

The Smartphone option make possible two different connections to work from a single one (phone cradle).

What you are talking about is that you could currently use an iPhone thru the Bluetooth for phone and thru the 6FL USB connection for the iPod music, but if you use the current iPhone craddle you cannot use that cradle for music without the USB cable connected.

The Smartphone option makes the use of the separate USB connection unnecessary, as the new cradle can process the music thru itself. Actually, there is now a priority of functionality between this cradle and the USB connection depending of which one is connected first.

[Rovman]

Ahh haa, I see. Sounds cool. One other small point I left out with the 08' set up is while the phone is plugged in to the supplied lead the phone is charging as well. So, although I do get phone activity through the bluetooth option and music through the usb connection, in the end I get the same result in that I can get the iphone and ipod functions to work together while the iphone charges. Probably not as good as this new option will work but good enough.

[knifegun]

Originally Posted by Technic

The Smartphone option make possible two different connections to work from a single one (phone cradle).

What you are talking about is that you could currently use an iPhone thru the Bluetooth for phone and thru the 6FL USB connection for the iPod music, but if you use the current iPhone craddle you cannot use that cradle for music without the USB cable connected.

The Smartphone option makes the use of the separate USB connection unnecessary, as the new cradle can process the music thru itself. Actually, there is now a priority of functionality between this cradle and the USB connection depending of which one is connected first.

Regardless of a craddle, the iPhone still must be connected in the same fashion as the 08 except that it is sitting in a craddle w/o the need of wires. I don't really see the difference because w/o both connections to the iPhone, there would not be any access to the iPhone anyway. Or are you saying that the craddle does not use Bluetooth for using it as a phone?

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Technic

The Smartphone option make possible two different connections to work from a single one (phone cradle).

What you are talking about is that you could currently use an iPhone thru the Bluetooth for phone and thru the 6FL USB connection for the iPod music, but if you use the current iPhone craddle you cannot use that cradle for music without the USB cable connected.

The Smartphone option makes the use of the separate USB connection unnecessary, as the new cradle can process the music thru itself. Actually, there is now a priority of functionality between this cradle and the USB connection depending of which one is connected first.

I'm still a bit confused by what the new 6NF provides.

I understand what you say above, but if I read you correctly, the main difference here is that the new cradle does not use a cable that will take up your USB port, but instead is connected to the car interally through other means. Is that correct? Is that the big advantage? Or does the new cradle also support phone operation with no blue-tooth necessary?

Even if both of those, then this still does not seem overly revolutionary since the only thing I'd be using that USB cable and bluetooth for was to integrate my iPhone anyway. In other words, with 6NF I will just end up with an unused USB port which, I will point out, is required to be ordered to get the 6NF option to begin with.

I suppose the ability to plug in both an iPod (with a ton of storage) and an iPhone will be nice but, this business of priority sounds a bit shaky and this is the type of thing where BMW often screws it up making the whole process more complicated than it should be.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by knifegun

Regardless of a craddle, the iPhone still must be connected in the same fashion as the 08 except that it is sitting in a craddle w/o the need of wires. I don't really see the difference because w/o both connections to the iPhone, there would not be any access to the iPhone anyway. Or are you saying that the craddle does not use Bluetooth for using it as a phone?

I tried searching e90post and google for answers but got a lot of conflicting info. Technic seems to imply that the old cradle supported attaching to both the 6FL and to the charger/sharkfin port in the cradle at the same time. But others claim it was an either/or proposition. If the latter is true, then the advantage is more clear cut and very worthwhile IMHO.

One other nice thing about the new 6NF is that it is designed to work with the iphone 3G whereas the old one was designed for the first gen iphone only and does not really fit the new 3G properly. Of course, they could (and should, really) create a new cradle so non-6NF cars can accomodate the 3G but there's no guarantee that will happen.

Either way though, from what I can tell, 6NF still uses bluetooth for phone connectivity.

[Rovman]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I'm still a bit confused by what the new 6NF provides.

I understand what you say above, but if I read you correctly, the main difference here is that the new cradle does not use a cable that will take up your USB port, but instead is connected to the car interally through other means. Is that correct? Is that the big advantage? Or does the new cradle also support phone operation with no blue-tooth necessary?

Even if both of those, then this still does not seem overly revolutionary since the only thing I'd be using that USB cable and bluetooth for was to integrate my iPhone anyway. In other words, with 6NF I will just end up with an unused USB port which, I will point out, is required to be ordered to get the 6NF option to begin with.

I suppose the ability to plug in both an iPod (with a ton of storage) and an iPhone will be nice but, this business of priority sounds a bit shaky and this is the type of thing where BMW often screws it up making the whole process more complicated than it should be.

Whew! I am glad you took this over cause I was scratching my head over the benefits as well and didn't feel like going any further in trying to get an explanation as I am quite happy with the 08' set-up.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Rovman

Ahh haa, I see. Sounds cool. One other small point I left out with the 08' set up is while the phone is plugged in to the supplied lead the phone is charging as well. So, although I do get phone activity through the bluetooth option and music through the usb connection, in the end I get the same result in that I can get the iphone and ipod functions to work together while the iphone charges. Probably not as good as this new option will work but good enough.

I guess that this 6NL option is just a matter of convenience from the customer and the fix of BMW for designing the current iPhone cradle without the audio capability built in...

[Technic]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I tried searching e90post and google for answers but got a lot of conflicting info. Technic seems to imply that the old cradle supported attaching to both the 6FL and to the charger/sharkfin port in the cradle at the same time. But others claim it was an either/or proposition. If the latter is true, then the advantage is more clear cut and very worthwhile IMHO.

One other nice thing about the new 6NF is that it is designed to work with the iphone 3G whereas the old one was designed for the first gen iphone only and does not really fit the new 3G properly. Of course, they could (and should, really) create a new cradle so non-6NF cars can accomodate the 3G but there's no guarantee that will happen.

Either way though, from what I can tell, 6NF still uses bluetooth for phone connectivity.

Sorry that I was not clear, the old cradle did not support the USB plug at the same time that the phone was in the cradle. What I meant was that that dual connection configuration, even if it was possible, was the only way to use the current craddle for both powering the phone/antenna connection and music playback.

The new 6NL option does take care of that now in a single connection.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Technic

Sorry that I was not clear, the old cradle did not support the USB plug at the same time that the phone was in the cradle. What I meant was that that dual connection configuration, even if it was possible, was the only way to use the current craddle for both powering the phone/antenna connection and music playback.

The new 6NL option does take care of that now in a single connection.

Thanks for clarifying Technic. So, the 6NF does present a distinct advantage in that regard, although I am not sure just how beneficial the integration with the sharkfin really is. The iPod hookup is really the most important part, which you still get with 6FL. Of course, like I said earlier, there is no 3G cradle yet for non-6NF cars, but presumably the one that come with the '09s with 6NF will fit even in the older cars. But then that cradle won't support music in a non-6NF car, at least not without some homebrew mods.

All in all, I think 6NF is probably worth $150, and I will likely spec it on my order.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

Thanks for clarifying Technic. So, the 6NF does present a distinct advantage in that regard, although I am not sure just how beneficial the integration with the sharkfin really is. The iPod hookup is really the most important part, which you still get with 6FL. Of course, like I said earlier, there is no 3G cradle yet for non-6NF cars, but presumably the one that come with the '09s with 6NF will fit even in the older cars. But then that cradle won't support music in a non-6NF car, at least not without some homebrew mods.

All in all, I think 6NF is probably worth $150, and I will likely spec it on my order.

The old cradle is $120 plus some $100 in the base assembly, so $150 for the whole thing plus more functionality and better compatibility with more models is simply frosting...