Audi unveils enviable MMI for upcoming A8 sedan

For the acronym-challenged, Audi is getting serious about its Multi Media Interface. The automaker's present system is widely regarded as the best of the best already, but it's staying one step ahead of itself with the revamped version prepped for the A8 luxury sedan. Within the whip, you'll find a 7-inch LCD with an 800 x 480 resolution alongside a DVD drive, 40GB internal hard drive, Dolby Digital 5.1 support, optional analog / digital TV tuner, Bluetooth, twin CPUs (800MHz and 500MHz), NVIDIA graphics for "genuine 3D maps" and an optional (but necessary, really) Audi Music Interface for connecting your favorite PMP. For those uninterested in the A8 (but suddenly obsessed with this new MMI), hang tight -- it will be hitting other Audi vehicles here soon.

[who? @ Jul 21st 2008 11:54PM]

New car, thy name may very well be Audi.

[霽月瀛台 @ Jul 21st 2008 11:59PM]

a few years behind Jap......

[andres @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:07AM]

or maybe the u.s. is so far ahead its already at the declining technology stage

[Nytrojen @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:14AM]

Audi is German... not American

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:01AM]

who cares about the electronics... Japan is years behind Germany in automobile engineering/style.

[bigazzknocks @ Jul 22nd 2008 12:21AM]

The specs are nice, but who needs a hard drive? Why not just throw in a 16GB SDHC card which the user can upgrade to a larger size later, when they get cheaper.

[austin @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:06AM]

think of the average consumer. one of my friends thought his ipod touch had a hard drive. most people dont know the difference and wouldnt ever upgrade.

[Karl @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:41AM]

Audi's previous nav system did in fact play MP3s from SD cards (my 2002 does it). Also, the AMI mentioned in the article lets you connect not only iPods (which it can control natively) but pretty much any PMP as well as plain old USB hard drives. It automagically finds MP3s and playlists stored on the HDD and lets you navigate around and play them.

[granny down east @ Jul 22nd 2008 12:23AM]

Can I get that installed in my Quattro?
*sigh*

[friko @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:27AM]

Do you have a Quattro? Why would you need MMI? You already have all the fun. No multimeadia required.

[Andrew Lazetera @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:29PM]

Why you would want that in a timeless vehicle such as the Ur-Quattro is beyond me. To each his own I suppose, I know I want it in my A4

[scott @ Jul 22nd 2008 12:35AM]

is there a possibility of porting the software to other systems?

[Nytrojen @ Jul 22nd 2008 12:35AM]

I want this built into my fridge. (hear that LG?)

Now to sit back and laugh heartily once again.

[austin @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:04AM]

do you travel on your fridge?

didnt think so. fridges dont need gps

[andres @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:07AM]

@austin
but what if its running?

[Jon Doe. @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:41AM]

What if its in a RV? :-P

[Dan @ Jul 22nd 2008 11:34AM]

@andres

If your fridge is running, you'd better go catch it.

[Nytrojen @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:14AM]

I don't blog or webcam my genitals to my lover through my fridge either... that still didn't stop LG's internet fridge from becoming reality.

[collegekid13 @ Jul 22nd 2008 1:25AM]

just in time for my new audi. perfect

[VdubKid @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:08AM]

i wonder if i can put this in my passat since audi and vw share same chasis for most of their cars

[Dan @ Jul 22nd 2008 11:36AM]

If this was in the head unit, maybe, but MMI is pretty integrated into the center console. Not a bad thought, though. My B6 A4 would like it.

[roach @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:15AM]

Steve "Blow" Job:
"Audi GPS crap! You're next! You got nothing on iPhone...Nothing!"

[Jon Doe. @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:40AM]

2 seconds later an Audi runs the nutjob over. The world immediately becomes a better place.

[deyanimay @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:22AM]

O the irony.

[arash @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:21AM]

hear it from an audi owner,audi is just perfect

[deyanimay @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:22AM]

mind telling us why

[Andrew Lazetera @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:39PM]

I like my Audi better than a Mercedes because its agile and aggressive, yet still retains most of the luxury, adopting its own simple to use interface for everything, making anything from setting climate control to changing lanes to staying between the lines on the road simple and one touch. I prefer it over BMWs because it keeps me connected to the road, but the BMW doesn't pay much attention to creature comforts and is more of, well, as they put it a "driving machine". Audi is a drivers car, there is a difference.

German cars for the win, power, efficiency, safety, and luxury, the perfect combination of which no other nationality can match.


As a sidenote, I am simply saying why I love my Audi and think it is the best, I don't have anything against Mercedes or BMW, I mean without them, I wouldn't even have any other car worth beating ;)

[Bing3Budd @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:53PM]

wow, wel, obviously you dont know much about cars then especially if your saying that BMW is not a drivers car and that Mercedes is agile and aggresive but doesnt retain the luxury of, well, your Audi. But if your talking about luxury, the French are the only people that can make proper luxury cars, but the most luxurious German car manufacturer IS in fact Mercedes. BMW IS the ultimate driving machine and it is definitely a driver's car, and definitely more of a driver's car than an Audi.

and just saying, i dont dislike Audi. I mean, i respect Audi's cars, because unlike BMW or Mercedes, they actually have 4 wheel drive instead of rear wheel drive or what not, which does give the driver a sense of connectivity to the road but it still doesnt mean that it makes Audi the best driver's car.

"German cars for the win, power, efficiency, safety, and luxury, the perfect combination of which no other nationality can match."

If your talking about power, Mercedes wins in that, efficiency is no doubtdly taken by Audi, safety? thats split between Mercedes and BMW, and luxury? thats definielty another win for Mercedes

soo basically, dont go ranting about why Audi's are so much better, because they are, in fact, just not the best. Maybe you should brush up on your car facts before you start posting about "why my Audi is better than BMW and Mercedes"

[Jon Doe. @ Jul 22nd 2008 2:39AM]

Meanwhile Toyota can't get its head out of its ass and implement a GPS system and in car control system that doesn't suck ass. I love my Prius and all but the GUI and GPS maps suck harder then the biggest black hole in the universe. Hell if they really want to do it right they should have a maps.toyota.com where you can create your own predesigned route, with stops and whatnot, upload it to a thumbdrive, and upload it via a USB port in the armrest to a 500MB or 1GB on board flash drive that can also accept new POI's or better yet allow the user to axe POI's that no longer exist. Instead of needing to sit in the car and plan your 500 mile route and where you want to stop along the way. Sucks sucks sucks.

My ultimate dream is a built in weather radio that has the overlay of the various weather radio areas built as an overlay on top of the map. When you are within said area and the system detects that a weather event is also in the same area the color on the screen the RGB very much into the RED and displays the alert onscreen. Realistically not hard to implement at all other then the weather radio, interface into the computer, and coding. The data on a weather radio is also included in clear text. Deciphering that via an on board computer is child's play.
Actually my ultimate dream is weather radar as an overlay, but lets be practical.

[ken @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:45AM]

Who the hell cares about the weather when you are in California. It must be easy being a geek as opposed to someone who actually has to make things with all the technical and business constraints.....

[Dan @ Jul 22nd 2008 11:41AM]

@ken
Spoken like someone who doesn't know that much of California actually has, believe it or not, seasons. San Diego - agreed. But San Francisco? Also, don't forget, half of the Lake Tahoe area is also in California. 1960 Winter Olympics? Donner Pass?

On the other hand, bringing it back to Audi, with Quattro, you usually don't care about the weather. But I see Jon Doe's point - not a bad idea.

[Jon Doe. @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:35PM]

Ken,

Yah because California = the entire US. And why the hell do they put airbags in my car. I've never been in an accident. What a complete waste.....Dumbass. Do you know how frequent flash flooding is in the Midwest? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? Severe thunderstorms with damaging hail?

Please do us ALL a favor and grow a clue.

[sf @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:08AM]

Attention all suckers...spend tens of thousands of dollars on something that will suck away most of your income. it's so worth it. it has a hard drive. you can plug an ipod into it. c'mon, suckers...our profits are so low our kids can't even drive Porsches anymore...they have to drive Audis too, and this is where we came up with this idiotic set of features to drive up the cost on these dinosaur juice burning money pits. Suckers? Helloooo!!!?

[deyanimay @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:25AM]

Last time i checked gps was optional.

[OX4 @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:16AM]

Good lord, who needs all that crap? When does an "MMI" become so distracting that a driver is basically watching TV instead of actually driving?

[engadget @ Jul 22nd 2008 10:44AM]

"For the acronym-challenged, Audi is getting serious about its Multi Media Interface"

MMI isn't an acroynm and nor are most of the other ones mentioned. Look up "acroynm" in a dictionary and you'll see why,

[DUH @ Jul 22nd 2008 3:56PM]

You spelled acronym wrong, and MMI is an acronym.

-2

[teej @ Jul 22nd 2008 4:42PM]

ac·ro·nym Audio Help /ˈækrənɪm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ak-ruh-nim] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words, as Wac from Women's Army Corps, OPEC from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or loran from long-range navigation.

OR MMI from Multi Media Interface. i may be a grammar/spelling nazi, but i sure do hate you acronym nazis.

[James @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:57PM]

Yay! Do you think this new system will hit in time for the '09 A4? My A4's lease is up next February and I am really liking everything I've read about the 2009 version.

[Andrew Lazetera @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:51PM]

Dunno but the B8s are looking SWEET!

I want the 1.8 TFSI Quattro with a nice little stick shift. Then I can pass on my B6 A4 to my girlfriend and keep that beast around.

Actually I kindof want the new A5, though since I probably wouldn't get to tune it I would get the S5. Thats a couple years down the road though, I won't lease a car. $55,000 is a little high right now since I have to worry about paying the college bill for my girlfriend, pay off her car, and she has been asking for some rock, its real expensive and I dunno why she wants it ;)

[James @ Jul 22nd 2008 5:57PM]

Yay! Do you think this new system will hit in time for the '09 A4? My A4's lease is up next February and I am really liking everything I've read about the 2009 version.

[engadget @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:38AM]

MMI *isn't* an acronym and the definition posted actually explains why not.

It says that an acronym is "a word formed from". MMI isn't pronounced as a word (you say each letter individually M-M-I), and therefore isn't an acronym. The other two examples in the definition WAC and OPEC are since they're generally pronounced as words, much like Laser and Radar which are classic examples of acronyms. Generally an abbreviation requires one or more vowels to be pronouncable as an acronym.

[engadget @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:53AM]

"OR MMI from Multi Media Interface. i may be a grammar/spelling nazi, but i sure do hate you acronym nazis"

Well get it right then!

[Ohhhh @ Jul 25th 2008 4:00PM]

In your face grammar/spelling nazi!