I have been happily configuring my future Mini and was wondering what if any are the advantages of having the Mini-connected feature? It ought to be grand for $1000.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

You may want to read this: http://www.motoringfile.com/2010/08/...-a-revolution/

 

Thanks for the link. Very interesting.

 

The only thing I added to my Mini after specing it out. I like the modern look and hopefully they will add the Android phones soon. I also like how the CD art comes up on the screen.

 

It looks like a cool feature that could really expand into all kinds of aftermarket avenues. I think the 2011 MINI is finally a well-polished, "complete" car that I'll own in 3-4 years.

 

Sorry, I still do not understand what the advantage is of having Mini-connected. I am not going to look at facebook or tweet while I am driving. I do have an i-phone. The i-pod feature of which will show up on the mini display screen and be controlled. That's nice but not worth $1000. What else is it supposed to do?

 

There are not a lot of reasons to buy the Mini Connect beyond the fact it is cool. It doesn't make your car faster, safer, or get better mileage. But I ordered my car with it. My reasoning was:

I would order an iPod connector regardless, and the iPod connector costs $500. You can get it as an a la carte add-on, or as part of the Convenience Package, but in either case, it nets to $500. So the $1000 price of the MC is really an extra $500 in my mind.

The MC provides much better visual control of my playlists, and other computer functions, but for me, that's about it. It doesn't play your music better, it just displays it better. I find the idea of Tweeting or Facebooking while in a car absurd, and I'm not looking to hook-up with other Mini drivers, so the other "advantages" of the MC are lost on me. But still, I'm not in love with the huge speedo, so giving the (otherwise lost) real estate a function is worth it to me. But this is obviously subjective, and it is an extra $500. And I should also mention the MC requires a $250 armrest. I hate the armrest and would never order it, but it contains the iPhone's docking and becomes necessary. So if you would order the armrest anyway, it doesn't add to the cost of the MC. But if you are like me and would NOT order it, then the net extra of the MC becomes $750 instead of $500.

As with so much, there are the necessary options and the superfluous but cool ones. The cost of most things climbs with these not necessary but cool options. Some people equip their cars with things I think are junk. Others will probably think my choices include junk. The "advantages" of the MC are to me minor, but the cool factor was worth the $500 - $750 extra. YMMV. Good luck with your ruminations!

 

Armrest was no charge in my MINI with cionnect. I find my arm is always resting on it while rowing the gears.

 

PS. I would have ordered the armrest anyway and I had bluetooth on my 10'.
Cost is 250 extra than for the connnect. I like the more modern Speedo with screen as a change of pace from 2010. Connect capababilities will only increase with time and I thing will be a must have feature for resale in the future.

 

Right now by just what I've read, it looks like a mild upgrade to how you'd control iPods/iPhones and streaming music from an iPhone. But if we step outside the box, look at it in a bigger context, and imagine a little, you now have a display that can be controlled through software from a device.

Depending on how hackable it is, the sky is the limit on what you could use that display for. Maybe it can be used for streaming movies, watching YouTube clips, posting on NAM. Or maybe it becomes the display for all CarPC-type functionality, just from an iPhone/Android and the MINI Connected display.

I don't really know, but the potential is there for some really exciting, game-changing stuff... especially once an open-source environment like Android is supported.

 

Current MINI Connected features are very specific to the functions they have built into their iPhone app. I think the most appealing function currently is Internet radio. Looking to the future, there will be an infinite number of possibilities if they open up the interface to 3rd party software developers. Just one example is that it should enable an iPhone/Android app to display gauges (oil/water temp, etc) on the screen.

Even if you don't use MINI Connected itself, don't overlook the benefits of just having the display screen. Bluetooth, iPod, radio, USB memory stick, etc are not part of MINI Connected, but they all utilize the display screen. Their interfaces are so much better on the display screen than their base versions.

 

I think the folks at MotoringFile get it right:

Very, very cool.... The sky's indeed the limit, depending on the creativity of app designers.

 

Here's a video demo of MINI Connected.



As I said earlier, MINI Connected itself is only one component of the screen interface. The decision whether to get it should be considered with the entire package.

 

I think it's pretty bad@$$. However I'm a total gadget junky and apple fanboy.

 

I think that having the ability to display gauges there would be the killer app for me. Hopefully I will not be in the market for another MINI for a few years, so my fingers are crossed that Android support and a gauge option will materialize before then