Advertisement

Hands-on with Mercedes-Benz mBrace2

Mercedes-Benz showed off its next infotainment advancement in the form of mBrace2, a combination of telematics and infotainment, all powered by an embedded 3G modem.

If you can make it through the video after the break, you'll see the new Facebook, Google POI and Street View integration, along with the updated browsing experience. Unfortunately, the data connection on the floor made for a sputtery, jilted experience. But that's not the only issue.

The system still uses the central COMAND knob for navigating through the menus, but it also serves as a five-way controller to pan and click through the browser. Imagine using a D-pad to poke around the Web and you're not far off. Thankfully, an all-new system is due out in 2014 with the next generation S-Class flagship, but until then, new SL owners and the rest of the 2013 Mercedes lineup will have to make due with this.