BMW shows off WiFi / cellular-based in-car multimedia system
Among all the new cars unveiled at the recent Geneva motor show, BMW also took the opportunity to show off a little in-car action, letting show-goers take its still-in-development dashboard console for a spin. According to Wired blog Autopia, the system can be loaded up with audio and video content off your PC via WiFi while you're parked in the driveway, or via a cellular link when you're on the road. Unfortunately, they didn't provide many details on the console itself, other than that it boasts 20GB of storage and will apparently be able to record radio content as well. It's also not clear when we might see such a system installed in a future BMW, with the company only saying that it "could" be commercially available within three years, adding that licensing and copyright issues are (not surprisingly) the main things holding it back.[Thanks, Christian]
Filed under: Transportation, Wireless
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JoshLowry @ Mar 15th 2007 11:46AM
Because who needs to look at the road when they're driving? Let's put a movie theatre in the dash board, Bob!
- Josh
Where's your head at? - http://www.StateOfBrain.com
Andy @ Mar 15th 2007 12:27PM
Just remember, nobody likes you.
Reese @ Mar 15th 2007 12:37PM
damn... i invented wifi updating mp3s/maps for a car in the garage in my head years ago...
Ryan @ Mar 15th 2007 1:53PM
Baaaad idea. The TVs for the back seat are already a bad idea-- they don't need to step it forward to where the driver can see it too. How many wrecks does BMW want to cause?
andy @ Mar 16th 2007 9:21AM
more wrecks= more new car sales.
I think it's a pretty apt business model. All the car companies should drop bluetooth and install 7" touchscreen monitors with DVD players on the steering wheel. It'd definitely sell more cars.
Kev50027 @ Mar 15th 2007 5:07PM
Are you people stupid, ignorant, or both? Of course they don't let you watch videos while the car is in motion, the video part is for the rear TVs, not for the driver. The driver would be able to listen to what ever mp3 they want from their home PC while using the screen for GPS navigation, while the rear seat passengers watch videos, or view pictures.
BMW makes very safe cars, and they're not stupid. BMWs are some of the best made cars on the road as well.
Ryan @ Mar 15th 2007 5:57PM
I'm pretty much one of those non-drivers who sees any extra things in a vehicle as a distraction to driving, having been nearly run over by a decent number of cell phone users. Anyway, no I'm not ignorant, can't you read? "The TVs for the back seat are already a bad idea..." Maybe there's something about it that I just don't get, but I can't at least see why it's a good idea.