Korean BMW 7-series now features wireless charger for Samsung T*Omnia

Shopping for a new BMW in Korea? If you happen to own a Samsung T*Omnia (SCH-M490), you may want to divert your checkbook to this new 7-series, which houses a wireless charger for the phone in the middle console. This isn't the first time Samsung and BMW have assimilated with one another, and those previous features -- Bluetooth hands-free and iDrive controllers -- are still present. Right now the charger only works with that specific handset, but we'd bet 5 won there's gonna be more options in the future. Hit up the read link for pics of the symbiotic duo.

[Thanks, Tizian]

[Jae @ Feb 13th 2009 1:25AM]

you mean 5000 won which is about $5 give or take. 5 won wouldn't even be a penny

[Fernando @ Feb 13th 2009 1:28AM]

Gah! Just found out why I don't like that name, it reminds me of the T-Virus from the Resident Evil series!

[CJ @ Feb 13th 2009 6:11AM]

No, the reason is that you're an idiot.

[Electromodo @ Feb 13th 2009 1:32AM]

This is good. But why just in Korea?

[letstakeawalk @ Feb 13th 2009 1:41AM]

Just curious, if you can afford a BMW 7-series, couldn't you also likely afford to have whatever charger you needed hard wired into it? It's nice to see it coming from the factory, but my local car electronics shop is pretty good...

[bungsana @ Feb 13th 2009 11:27AM]

if you can afford a 7 series in korea, you can afford to have a chauffeur as well as a secretary that'll answer your calls for you. i think the base cost of a 7(30i i think is the lowest?) in korea is in the hundreds of thousandS USD.

[sip @ Feb 13th 2009 1:44AM]

Gotta get a T*Omnia first, then I'll worry about the 7 series...

[philosopher @ Feb 13th 2009 1:45AM]

wow,bmw in noth korea...

[Derek @ Feb 13th 2009 3:21AM]

Hi, i wanted people to laugh at my post but i failed miserably and i spelled the country wrong.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Feb 13th 2009 1:49AM]

Somehow I don't think Samsung touts their involvement with iDrive...

[BigD145 @ Feb 13th 2009 1:54AM]

Phone chargers just keep getting more and more expensive.

[Gryphone @ Feb 13th 2009 2:19AM]

LOOOOL you must buy the 7 series to get it charged XD

[St29 @ Feb 13th 2009 2:08AM]

I like this idea. Just make it for more cars and for more cell phone providers. And put it in cars that don't cost 50,000 dollars.

[Temmy @ Feb 13th 2009 2:42AM]

Talk about 50,000 dollars. People in Korea will be lining up to buy the basic edition with a 3.0L six-pot, theirs for only $100,000.
Not to mention my Dad just purchased a 325i convertible for US$145,000 here in Singapore.

Spoiled Americans.

[St29 @ Feb 13th 2009 3:06AM]

Don't be Jealous. Come over here and I'll hook you up with a good deal.

[JustMe @ Feb 13th 2009 8:11AM]

$50K? Hook me up with YOUR BMW dealer... last time I checked, 7 series were more in the $90K + range, when bought new...

[Adam @ Feb 13th 2009 2:30AM]

It would be nice if all cell phones used a standard charger so a install job on your car will last longer than 2 years when you get a new phone.

The idea is great, but the phone turn over is so fast that the charger in that car will be out of date faster than you can put 50,000 miles on it...

[Nick8708 @ Feb 13th 2009 3:36AM]

Depends on whether or not more phones support the wireless charging. I wouldn't be too surprised if the successor to the T*Omnia supports the same system, or other Samsung phones altogether. Then again, this is the kind of feature meant to appeal to those with more money than brains; if a wireless phone charger is a big enough factor in your buying decisions to sway your opinion, then you've either got too few options, or too much money to care about the more important factors. Of course, I think it's likely that it's just one of those things they can use as another bullet point in the flyer, whether or not it's actually useful.

[Pat @ Feb 13th 2009 3:05AM]

why cant everyone just use USB? im drunk but im just sayin

[AL @ Feb 13th 2009 3:07AM]

You might be drunk, but that's the smartest thing said so far...

[Hamidxa @ Feb 13th 2009 4:52AM]

Agreed
USB should be standard for all things involving digital connections these days.

[grant @ Feb 13th 2009 3:49AM]

I think there was something lost in the translation here.

This is the standard cell phone charging cradle available on most BMWs. Apparently they've got a new adapter that fits this new Samsung phone. They have these for other phones as well, like the iPhone.

It charges your wireless phone, and there are no cables, but you definitely have to snap it in the dock. It's not "wireless charging" like those inductive charging mats where you can just lay your phone on the mat & it begins to charge.

[djmattyb @ Feb 13th 2009 7:49AM]

Yeah, that what I was thinking. This was featured in the TV Show Lost.

[strider_mt2k @ Feb 13th 2009 6:36AM]

Nice to see some Omnia love.

[matt @ Feb 13th 2009 9:54AM]

Guys. It's not wireless. It's just another snap-in adapter are far from new. It seems that relaying on Google Transition isn't a quality journalism trait.

http://accessories.bmwusa.com/ItemView.aspx?modelId=234&categoryId=112&productCategoryId=&menuId=2&subItemId=2&productId=982

[Matt @ Feb 13th 2009 12:19PM]

Thank you. This is not exclusive to the 7 series most of the new models now include a cradle as shown and then you have to buy an adapter for it this is available in the 1 and the 3 series bmws already if not all.

[Toan @ Feb 13th 2009 9:45PM]

cool