Hey, if the R56 has a USB port, and since MINI's have electric assist steering, maybe you can plug a PC game USB based steering wheel and pedal set and let the passenger drive a bit! Be great for long trips!

Yes, I'm kidding! But I wonder if we'll hear of some 'Darwin award candidate' trying it in a USB port equipped car some day soon.

 

When you dump the mp3's to the flash drive just make sure you create a playlist with all the music in it if you want to do random playback, it's actually more random this way.

I went from 22gb of music that I have down to about 4gb of music that I actually want ed to listen to so you may not need a drive quite so big anyway. I still do a lot of skipping based on mood.

 

USB hard drives have been shown to work on BMW if the drive is reformatted. See this link. The USB system on BMW seems very similar to MINI (at least the iPod Y cable looks the same). However nobody has reported trying this on a MINI yet.

You would still need a hard drive with low power requirements or separate power connection.

 

Follow-up queries:

I went to the dealership yesterday with my iPod and they provided the short convenience package iPod connection cables for the center console. The cables were tough to get connected without crawing around (esp. with the slider over the USB port), and it seemed like the whole assembly (iPod and short cables) will consume that entire space in the center just in front of the cup holders. You wouldn't want to make a habit of disconnecting / reconnecting the cables since the ports are tough to see (and connect via that pesky USB slider).


Question 1:
If you get the iPod adapter that moves the iPod to the glovebox, will the USB/AUX connectors still be available in the center console? ie, do they add a second connection in the glovebox, or do they move the center console's to the glovebox? It'd be nice to keep the center console's for versatility.

Question 2:
Lastly, anyone nail down if it's the glove box or the secret compartment above the glove box?

Response time when navigating iPod menus via the center console connection / non-Navi Clubman-S:

Response time to navigate menu was terrible (as posted elsewhere). It was SO bad that I was considering skipping the dock connector and just running the aux cable from the headphone jack on the iPod (skipping the usb entirely). That won't charge the iPod, and it won't allow for console navigation, but at least I could get really fast response time from the iPod itself.
Question 3:
Anyone else revert to this option?

Question 4:
Anyone find a page-up / page-down option for getting through the lists? The dealer didn't know how any of this worked. Sadly I was the expert. Was I just missing this option? If so, it would take like 3 weeks to move through the alphabet to get to the 'T's....

Question 5:
I wasn't testing with the Navi (they didn't have a single Navi mini of any kind at the dealership). Other threads say the Navi navigation is as slow. Any rumors out there regarding a firmware upgrade to fix this problem? Have they offered similar updates when they came up with Navi map updates and such for other models?


Thanks bunches!!!

 

question 1: If you buy both you get both... if you buy one you get the one you buy... The usb/ipod gets you a usb and aux port connection under the center console plus 'Y' connector. The ipod integration kit is mounted in "secret compartment" above glove box but connects to the radio as a cd changer. This has real limits to people with large music collection and large playlist as there is only so much memory available to the radio

Please note that using the center console will be slow until the radio has a chance to cache all of the information on the iPod, as mention in the mini iPod data sheet.

No firmware 'fix' is needed. Once the unit caches the information it will be much faster as it doesn't need to access the mp3 player each time to get the data.

 

Great info! Thanks Diamond Joe!

Are you implying that the center console connection uses system memory in a different way from the secret compartment connection? ie, there's more memory available from one over the other? I have a fairly large collection so the center console may be my best option if you're implying a difference.

Once the system cache's data will the **** scrolling soar through the playlists quicker?

Thanks again!

 

Yep!! Mini's is horrible at communicating these differences!! SO the big difference is how the mp3 player connects to the radio.

Using the "secret compartment" iPod integration cable will attach the iPod to the stereo as a cd changer and will limit you to 256 playlists as well as limits the number of songs it will read. There is no caching of this information every time you go switch it will access the MP3 player.

Using the USB /AUX port combo means that your Ipod is connecting right into the stereo, using the 'Y' connector the controls and power flow through the USB connection and audio out the mini headphone port. This means there are no limitations on playlist or number of songs since it is the iPod that is playing them.

For more info see:

http://www.mini.com/com/en/usb_pdf/_...nfo_usb_en.pdf



(btw great color my 03 was BRG and my new 08 is BRG!!)

 

Ah nice! Well, it sounds like the features provided by the convenience package will suit me best, which is nice since I won't have to pay for the extension to the hidden compartment.

Do you have an iPod connection? Is navigating zippy now that you cached? Any opinions of the Navi / non-Navi for the best iPod experience?

Sadly I'm still debating body color. I saw a BRG for the first time yesterday, and it was darker than I thought it'd be. It was a cloudy day, so it wasn't a good test, but I was hoping it'd be punchier like the lightning blue.

Thanks again....

 

My thoughts on iPod issues...

I ordered the standard sound system, and the convenience package, which gives me the iPod goodies, the fancy rear-view mirror I want, and some other things. I figure I'l replace speakers, and maybe add an amp/equalization later on.

The interface has some problems...

I like the idea of the USB/Aux interface, charging the iPod and runnning audio directly into the sound system.

I also like the idea of putting the iPod in the hidden compartment.

While routing the cables is probably going to be an incredible PITA, I don't see any problem extending the USB and audio cables from their spot mid-dash to the secret compartment. I'm going to need to pull that stuff apart for some other (ham radio) mods I'm planning. I already have (butchered - modified) USB extenders that provide power but no data so I can just charge my iPod.

Extending USB+audio lets me tuck the iPod away. Having a butchered USB extender will let me run just audio, with manual iPod control.

I've also started gathering the USB memory sticks I pick up at shows, etc., and loading stuff on to those -- that's going to be useful.

I"m also mindful that I didn't buy this car for the sound system! Tearing up the twistys is where I want to be!

Cheers--

 

Are you referring to the physical interface (cables), or the song display? If it's the song display, can you elaborate? Also, is that with or without the Navi?

How do you like your car color?...

Thanks, and cheers back!

 

Hey there--

The interface problems were those I saw on a non-Nav MCS, having to do with moving between folders, which button to push, etc. Don't see any issues (yet) with the physical interface, although I'll undoubtedly sprinkle ferrite beads along the cables to ward off evil spirits.

I think the car colour is very cool. Looking forward to actually driving it -- currently it's aboard ship, passing through the Panama canal!

cheers--

 

A couple of comments:

I have the convenience package with center console usb/aux (non-NAV). I have been using a 4GB usb memory stick. As others have said, it is difficult to plug into the usb. I recommend using a short usb extender cable (you can get then as short as 3-4"). I am considering getting a cable with a right angle connecter so I can run it along the top and side of the storage area. This will make it almost invisible and leave most of the storage compartment unobstructed.

As for navigation, if you make sure that the properties are entered for every mp3 file, the track, album, and artist selection works perfectly. To do this in windows, right click on the file, select properties and then the summary tab and fill in the info (if it is not there).

 

I have a non-navi Cooper S and I'm using my ancient 40GB iPod. Not sure what "generation" it is, but it's hard drive based and it's the one right before they started making them color. I figured it would be perfect to just leave in the car because I never use it anymore now that I have an iPhone.

Navigating is really slow, but the one thing that really bothers me is if I try to flip through the songs too fast, it appears to time out because it gives me a message that tells me that the device is no longer connected. If I go back to the audio menu, the iPod icon is there, I can select it again, and it starts playing the song I switched to.

I went to the Apple store the other day contemplating getting a newer one (an iPod classic). Realizing that they are still hard drive based, I asked the salesperson if they had made the drives any faster and explained my situation. He assured me that I shouldn't have any problems with the newer ones, but I'm not sure to believe him as he didn't even know what kind of car I have and he's probably just trying to sell me a new iPod.

Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just because I have a really old iPod?

 

It isn't a hard drive speed issue. The slowness comes from the interface of the Mini. A new or old iPod won't make any speed difference. Both have hard drives with data output rates that far outpace the interface itself.

Think of it this way. A title of a song in text is just a few bytes of info, anywhere from 8 bytes to 1 kilobyte maybe. In the iPod your song is feed into a RAM chip buffer for actual playing (reduces battery drain), but the RAM is filled by the hard drive in much less time than it takes the song to play. Usually in only 10-15 seconds. The average song today plays at about 128 kilobytes per second and is 3+ megabytes in size. So, the few bytes of a title are trivial to the speed of any hard drive. The bottleneck is in the communication between the iPod and the radio or the radio's processing, not in the iPod itself.

 

Other posters said that the Mini would cache (locally store) the data in the radio to speed things up. The last two posts make it sound otherwise. Do we have a consensus?

Anyone find a way to jump by pages so you don't have to scroll through each individual entry?

Seems like a half-baked feature.. Too bad....

 

So is anyone else having the timeout issue? My problem is beyond slowness, which is what others have experienced. Seems like if the issue was in the interface, it would know to wait and not time out.

 

Well, the upside is that it may be an issue that can be fixed with a software update. Let's just hope that MINI takes it seriously enough to work on a fix. Also, even though it doesn't work all that great, it's more than the '07's had.

 

I saw the timeout the day I visited the dealer with my 5g iPod. I was pushing buttons trying to get it to do useful things, staring at it, wondering what to try next. I got the error, but the next thing (or series of things) I tried got it responding again.

I hope to start debugging in earnest in the next few weeks -- my Mini is supposed to arrive at Port Hueneme on the 24th...

cheers--

 

Hi Folks

I jhave a 2008 MCS with a factory Nav and the ipod USB adapter kit
that connects in front of my shifter in the area where one might store coins and such. The adapter cable plugs into the a usb port and then into the bottom of the Ipod and also into the mic jack.

There is a speed issue relative to data loading data to the Mini screen interface from the ipod. However, once your ipod is connected you do get a good bit of data to work with insofar as playists, artists, albums, songs, etc.

Once you go deeper, haven't quantified it...but maybe 20 playlists or several hundred songs...the mini interface will say its loading data. This process takes no more than a 30 seconds to a minute. This isn't a big deal to me.

What is fantastic is that you can scroll thru playlists with the controls on the steering wheel or the **** near the shifter.

What isn't great is that the adapter cable is short and fairly inflexible so that the ipod doesn't fit well in the space, and can't be easily hidden.

Given that the controls....control everything (with a minor time delay) I have no need to have a visible, i'll placed ipod. I want my ipod entirely out of site, while retaining control.

 

Mine fits nicely in the net on the left side of the passenger footwell. You can barely even notice it from the outside of the car and I've had to point it out to passengers before they even noticed.

 

So maybe they started loading data into the Mini in later models. That would be cool. I assume that the system is zippy and responsive once the loading completes? ie, you can get to playlists that fall to the bottom in a less-than-painful way?

Assume you have the non-Navi option. Can any '08 Navi owners confirm the same?

Thanks for the great info

 

I have the Nav system in my MCS '08. Once loading completes, it is pretty quick, nearly the same as an ipod...but without the coverflow. I'm totally happy with the functionality. The location of the ipod is the only thing that sucks in the '08. I'd rather it not be visible at all, and the connection spot in the little cubby areas in front of the shifter renders the area unusable for anything else....

 

See post #45.

 

That has to be the best news I've seen in a forum in a while! Thanks, thanks thanks!

iPod Dock Extender Cable

For those looking for a better place to put the iPod, check out this link. I bought one of these in the past for a similar problem in our other car. It may let you move it to some other place outside the center console area:

http://www.cablejive.com/extendercable.html

It's not cheap for what it is, so be prepared! Maybe we can do a group buy for a discount!

Snip from the site:

The all-new Dock Extender Cable allows you to dock your iPod or iPhone from a distance. This 2-foot cable is compatible with the iPhone, iPod (touch, classic, video), and iPod nano (2nd, 3rd generation).

The Dock Extender Cable provides a connection for the following functionality:

Audio output
Playlist control (forward, backward, play, pause, etc)
Charging
USB data sync
Composite video
Accessory power output
Accessory identification

 

Eh, not the answer I'm looking for. As I posted earlier, for me at least, extending both the USB and the audio into the hidden compartment offers me the most flexibility. Yeah, it will probably be a PITA to do it, but I only have to do it once.

I'll take pictures (hopefully soon!)