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BMW M Laptimer goes live in iOS App Store, tracks your run to the grocery store
The average BMW driver may not often take their Bimmer out to the track, but those who do can now get some free iOS assisted coaching. The company's BMW M Laptimer app tracks vehicle throttle, steering, braking and engine data and maps it to a pre-defined or user created track, analyzing the driver's performance along the way. Would-be race car drivers can even swap track data with their friends, and play back a virtual head-to-head ghost comparison race to critique each other's laptimes. Although the tool is clearly designed to be used in a controlled track environment, drivers can also generate custom maps -- giving them an edge in the race to get to their local grocer. Not much has changed since BMW teased the app earlier this summer, but drivers with access to any BMW Apps connected vehicle (not just BMW M models) can pick it up for free today. Just don't have too much fun racing the custom track you'll undoubtedly build for your morning commute. [Thanks, Kevin]
BMW M Power for iOS plots our track runs for posterity (video)
While pro race drivers are used to telemetry-based feedback, us civilians don't have such an easy solution for our track days. BMW wants to take the guesswork out of those amateur racing sessions by launching its M Power app for iOS. The tool pairs an iPhone with a BMW Connected car to collect not just lap times, but the moment-by-moment input -- if you're braking too late at turn three, you'll know. Drivers can compare their results, and it's possible to build custom tracks for autocross weekends. M Power won't be available until the summer, but it will be free to use for any Connected vehicle, whether or not it carries an M badge. Catch BimmerPost's full video preview after the break.
Samsung's Mpower 699 makes Open Market Handset initiative a reality in India
Outside of the occasional heavy-handed bout of carrier locking and regional band incompatibilities, GSM customers around the world benefit from one huge technical advantage over CDMA: network independence. That's the problem the CDMA Development Group has been trying to solve with the introduction of the Open Market Handset initiative, and Sammy is now the first manufacturer in the world to roll out OMH-compliant gear. The Mpower 699's appearance and forgettable specs belie its ground-breaking guts, looking pretty much like any other low-end Samsung slider of the past few years -- but inside is an R-UIM slot that allows the phone to be used on any CDMA carrier in India where it's being launched for 7,100 rupees (about $145). If you're not happy with what you see here, fret not -- Sammy's promising a total of five more OMH phones in India by early next year, so it looks like this is the wave of the CDMA future. LTE aside, don't count these guys out -- CDMA's going to be around for a very long time to come. [Via Unwired View]
