First let me say that I am completely enjoying my limited time behind the wheel of my new Clubman S. I am a motorcycle first for my transportation needs; however, the bike will finally have some competition.
Now onto my question/s.
Up until I purchased the MINI w/connected nav, I used my cell to make calls and limited texts(I still spell everything out). I currently have a LG VU. Now to take full advantage of connected I am looking into an IPhone. Is this my best option?
AT&T or Verizon?
I searched the web about the differences between the two IPhones and there are some. Will they both fit into the up coming armrest insert.
Do I wait for IPhone5 and how long before connected will work with 5.
For someone like me would 5 even make a difference?
My current contract ended in Jan so I am on a month to month now.
I am going to use my MINI connected experience and try to at least get into the 20th century.
Because of other things going on in my life, I have not had much time post about my Clubman but soon enough you will get tired of me.
Thanks for any info
Scott

 

The Verizon iPhone MIGHT fit. It is ever so slightly different in size.

 

I wouldn't get the armrest adapter. I bought one (iPhone 3GS) and so far I seem unable to use the Connected features while my phone is plugged in via the snap in adapter.

 

You may have the wrong cradle. There is one that works only to charge and another that is for "Smartphone Prep".

Now as to if the "Smartphone Prep" one works with the connected features I am not sure. But I can tell you that BMW/MINI are usually 6-8 months behind on bringing out cradles for new systems.

 

I'm in the same spot. My Samsung died recently and I was waiting for my contract to expire so I could switch from AT&T over to Verizon. I have avoided the iphone(everyone else in my family has one but me!) since I can't stand the touchscreen keyboard. But now that I have a new '11 MCS on order with Connected I'm re-thinking the iphone. I was all set to switch to Verizon and found this, so now my be back with AT&T.
If I were to go ahead with the iphone from AT&T, should I get a 3 or 4G?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_techne...verizon-iphone

 

What carrier are you on now? If you're already on Verizon or AT&T and are happy with the one you have, then I'd just stick with them.

If you're switching from Sprint/T-Mobile or something else... then these are the things I'd consider.
Check with people in your area - how is their service on VZW? AT&T?
Check service maps for areas you visit often to make sure service is available. Do you travel out of the country? If so, AT&T/GSM is available in more countries.
Could you see yourself using data while being on a phone call? I do it ALL the time (think being on hold and reading emails). Verizon cannot do this (unless you can connect to wifi), but AT&T can.
How much data will you use? Right now, Verizon has an unlimited plan but AT&T does not. That said... I've NEVER gone over 2GB and I use it pretty heavily.
Verizon call quality tends to be better, but AT&T has faster data.
Verizon has been in talks of 'compressing' things so that their customers use less data. As of right now, AT&T does not do this. But Verizon already compresses picture messages.

Changes for iPhone 5 (~June release): The processor might be faster, the camera might be better, there might be a 64GB option... Do you care about any of those things? You can keep up with iPhone 5 rumors on sites like macrumors.com. If you get an iPhone 4 now, it will be able to get any new software updates for the next year or so.

As for the MINI-related stuff. The form factor of the phone probably wont change for iPhone 5, so I would bet you'd be safe to fit the cradle either way. (However, I don't have a cradle so I'm not really sure what all is involved.) And the app should still work fine on updated software. MINI will have to keep up.

I've had an iPhone on AT&T for over 3 years. Before that I was on Verizon. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

 

The only physical difference between the AT&T iPhone and the VZW iPhone is the position of the mute switch. To deal with this, case manufacturers have simply made the opening for the mute switch slightly larger to accommodate both. It should fit fine.

 

Very Good Point

New Verizon plans do not include unlimited data unless you pay a lot extra. If you had a plan with unlimited data from before Sept 2010 then you are grandfathered.

A lot of this depends on where you are. Where I live and work in Central MASS AT&T has very slow data compared to Verizon and the call quality on both sucks compared to say Boston or other major cities. And in fact the last two places I have lived I can not get an AT&T signal at all and I live in a city of over 30,000 people. it just seems AT&T just done care about us here. But of course that is not the case everywhere and it would be a good idea for anyone thinking of changing providers to do some research on how good a signal they can get where they will be using the phone.

Verizon has been in talks of 'compressing' things so that their customers use less data. As of right now, AT&T does not do this. But Verizon already compresses picture messages.

Apple would be crazy to change the form factor for something that works so well. It would just **** off a whole bunch of people if they did.

 

I'm currently on AT&T, and don't love them, but not being able to use data while on the phone is pretty much a deal breaker. Verizon's service around here is generally considered better, but like the article says, once they get the influx of new customers switching over, they will start experiencing similar dropped calls and service unavailable issues that AT&T now deals with. Especially since I'm on the outer borders of Atlanta, we tend to have more spotty areas regardless of carrier.

The updates you mentioned coming on the 5 don't interest me at all, so luckily for once I can go for the less expensive option .

I also found a keyboard made for the iphone, so once I get that I should be fine. http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/e66e/
Guess I know what I'm getting tomorrow.
Annette

 

I promise you won't miss a keyboard with the iPhone. I'd use the phone for a week or two before even considering buying a contraption like that.

 

I have the AT&T iPhone 4 and I am driving a 2008 Clubman with the center Arm rest. The Price I was quoted for the phone adapter is $157 and it will charge the phone period. Bluetooth will work regardless if connected via the Doc. If I receive a call from a number in the phone's contact list then I see the name. Where as if the phone is connected via the doc I can use joy stick and locate a contact in the Nav Screen.

 

09/10/11 cars have other options for the cradle and its use. 09 and 10 had Smartphone Prep which allows for music playback from the arm rest and the 11's have either Smartphone prep or MINI Connected which have different setups.

 

Thanks everyone for the replys and info. I am sorry for not responding sooner; however, I have been actively working on reestablishing my employment.
Because of my situation, I will be holding off on upgrading my phone. From what I have been reading, it seems like the overall "system" of connected nav is not completely finalized with respect to hardware and/or actual abilities.
Since I am not up to speed on the basics of smartphones, I will use this time to educate myself and then hopefully the system will be more sorted.
Thanks again.
Scott

 

Not exactly. I think it was CNet that had a good comparo and they are, as I said, very slightly different. And I mean JUST barely.

Having said that, if I was going new, I'd wait for the iPhone 5 since it'll likely be out this summer if Apple continues their normal pattern. I'd also only go with AT&T since you can't use the phone and do anything else with the Verizon version.

If anyone needs a 3G/3Gs cradle, I have two. One that will play music and one that will not for $85 and $80 shipped respectively.

 

I would expect that the 3G cradles are not compatible to the new 4 iPhone?