this is a very sad post to write...

i purchased the icelink plus for my 2005 cooper with nav becasue dension promised me it would work. i was also told that within a couple weeks of release that they would update the firmware to display track info on the mini radio's head unit. i purchased the incelink plus for my car and installed it on december 3rd.

to this day it STILL does not work.

there is a bug in the icelink plus which causes it to "reset" in my car - and a bunch of others - and renders the icelink plus useless until it's hardware is manually reconnected. this is a complete mess. dension was very quick to promise me a product which works and gladly took my money for it. as a consumer i am furious. the fact that multiple reports of this problem have surfaced means they rushed the product to market. dension tech support has been very nice and very helpful with install and troubleshooting, but the reality is they have no idea when this will be fixed. i have also been informed that they still do not have a solution for supporting track info on the screen - although i want to believe them when they say they will get that up and running. in my 17 days of having a product which is essnetially a paperwieght though - don't hold your breath on track info anytime soon... they still don't have this product up and running yet, i feel like i am a beta tester... it sucks. there is a long thread going on over at mini2. called icelink plus (http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...53#post1262953) detailing these problems from california, to new york, to england.

my advice: proceed with EXTREME caution if you plan to purchase this product. the only reason i went with dension was their promise of track id info on the head unit. now i'll be lucky if the thing even works in my car. they don't like returning calls and once the transaction is done i have had the feeling that i am just a pain in th a-s for calling to ask when oh when might my 250+installation investment MIGHT work...


extremely frustrated and dissapointed - drew

 

Sorry to hear about your experience.
Unfortunately this happens all too often to us early adopters.
A manufacturer rushes something to market and has its consumers be beta testers then promises an "update" to fix the bugs.

Now I'm just as anxious to get new gadgets as the next guy, but alas, I've given up being the first on the block with the new toy (wasted too much money in the past)

In my opinion, having the iPod info on the head unit would be neat, buy not necessary. The HU display just can't give me all the info I want at a glance like the iPod display. I just keep it mounted near the HU so I can see it.

Steering wheel contols are wanted for track skip and the like, but I still need the scroll wheel to navigate through artists... etc.

Now if they coould put all that info on the Nav Screen... that might be something.

 

Please keep us updated with the progress of the situation. I was holding off purchasing till I saw ID3 tag display support anyway. If it isn't possible I will be going a different route. I.E. zen nomad and aux input. Or somesort of car computer through the NAV ala CarX.
Totally frustrates consumer and manufacturer when things are rushed to market.


Paul

 

i'll keep you gus in the loop for sure. i would LOVE to be able to recommend this product!

hoping for a quick resolution - drew

 

this is from lee at dension - taken from the mini2 message boards:

It's Lee the Dension Business Development guy here. Let me clear up a few things as we seem to have a conduit in newyorkcitymini between Dension USA and mini2.com and better IMO to have info directly from the horse's mouth...

1. The ibus glitches are the #1 R&D priority right now. As with all s/w development other than initial coding, it's really hard to present a firm fix date, especially for bugs that at this time cannot be reproduced. There's a wide range of ibus head units and physical vehicles being used for testing and it's a case of hunting like crazy for this glitch.

2. Accordingly, it would be a *great* help if when (if!) you find an issue, you supply the *exact* spec of the vehicle (head unit wave/boost, nav/no nav, MFSW, model year) to our support reps so that we can log specs and try to pattern match

3. Once we have this nailed, and we will, it's an easy firmware upgrade to flash the new code into the ice>Link Plus from your iPod.

4. w.r.t. CD Text, I posted several weeks ago that Mini head units would not support CD Text. @ newyorkcitymini, I think when Tom spoke to you he was probably a little confused. We are in the process of investigating text capabilities on MY05 vehicles as we believe there may be a possibility of enabling this. Definitive statement... Pre MY05 Mini is not capable of CD Text unlike E46, E39, E53, etc.

5. We appreciate your patience and support. If the wait is unbearable or you have a channel issue, please do let us know. We are eager to expand the pool of vehicles available to us for field testing and during January 2005, we'll be implementing a formal beta programme for new product and firmware releases. At that time, we'd like to invite members of mini2.com to register with us if they are interested in being part of this programme.

Cheers

Lee.

 

ps - i have requested a full refund.

 

Does this mean that there is NO firmware update [supposedly available at end of Dec] for text display on HU?

That is the whole reason I bought the unit!!!!

When purchasing my 05 MCS, I negotiated a deal whereby my dealer would pay half of the total cost for the BMW/ipod interface. I passed on this because I was told by Dension that the Plus would have this capability.

I am requesting an RMA and refund and if that dos'nt work I will not pay credit card charges for Dension.

I'm pissed!!

 

welcome to my world jakemax - i have already called amex this morning to set up a dispute over this. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

- Drew

 

I could care less about the display on the HU, but I do want a functioning piece of equipment. that is why I uninstalled and returned the Mini iPod adapter--it didn't work properly. I am glad I have held off on the IceLink Plus as well...if it doesn't work, I don't want it.

 

didn't work? sorry you had problems. can you explain what went wrong?

thanks - drew

 

Did you get your refund?


Paul

 

See the thread "iPod in the mini cooper" for more info on "what went wrong." Of course, this is just what happened to me...others may have more luck with this adapter.

ep

 

Yep, the guy who won the iPod Mini from the Long Beach Poker Rally which included the iPod adaptor for his MFSW and installation said his works just fine in his 2002 or 2003 MC. There are 5 playlists--each corresponding to the 1 to 5 buttons on the headunit. The 6th button apparently plays all the songs.

I've talked to him at length--he's a member of our c3 club, and he's happy with it.

But because of ep's fitz review, it has steered atleast 2 of my other buddies away--who had planned to do the install themselves.

 

No offence intnded to Ep'sFitz, but does this indicate that the install is too complicated for DIY? Has anyone successfully installed it themselves?

 

I certainly take no offense. I am perfectly willing to admit that perhaps the adapter I received was faulty. However, I am fully aware of my abilities and I know that it was installed correctly. Everything was checked and double checked. Everything worked well occassionally, just not consistently, which was the biggest problem.

The big picture is that the adapter did not function for me as it was intended to. I am very happy that others have had more luck with it than I. My lord, I wish it had worked for me. I would not have gone 4 weeks without a radio if it had.

Finally, I was certainly not trying to "steer" anyone way from buying and/or installing this adapter....I just want people to be aware of any possible problems.

 

Oh of course not, I just meant that for my friends who were going to buy a unit and have me install it, your article worked wonders to give them 2nd thoughts. I would recommend a professional installation if only for the reasons that plagued you, that is, let someone else make it work. =)

 

OK, OK....I've been reading along and get the message, I think, about Ice Link Plus. It does NOT have all the functionality it boasted originally. Like, no text display on the head unit. Have I got that right so far?

I'm expecting my MC within a month (it's on the boat right now!) and have an IPod with 14 GB of music loaded on it (and I'm not done yet). Have planned, all along, to get an interface for the car. Have been debating between the BMW one and Ice Link. Why do I hear no one talking about BMW?? Is it really not even a contender? And what of this Monster Cable or whatever it is?

At this point, I'm thinking of passing on the whole thing (maybe just get the AUX adapter-- minimal investment) until the dust settles. Maybe eventually the Ice Link will be debugged and then I could buy it.

If anyone feels like replying with any comment on the BMW interface - I had told my MA at the Mini dealership that I'd probably be wanting one installed by them -- now I'll probably say no. Any input would be appreciated.

I assume with the AUX plug I can at least play the IPod, using its controls and observing its own display (of course, while keeping my eyes on the road at all times while moving!).

 

well after all of the hassle, a unit that never worked, broken promises of text support on head unit and finally ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH CARS - i am getting rid of this thing.

i just got off the phone with timi at dension usa in california. she was very nice and very understanding of what's going on. she and lee are to be commended for acting in such a professional way. here is what i can tell those of you who want to bail out:

- you will get a full refund. i was promised one and it will take no more than 30 days to get it.

- dension will email you a shipping label to cover the return of the product to them.

- dension will not cover any install or uninstall of the product. while i find the fact that they won't cover the un-install extremely frustrating, timi was simply relaying company policy and there was no sense in getting into it any further with her. guess i have to bite the bullet on this one.

so that is that. good luck to all of you sticking with it. i am sure they will work out the kinks eventually, but i for one do not consider my mini an experimental vehicle! i will be getting the bmw/mini/apple ipod adapter installed next week and be back with a review to let you know how it works out.

good luck everyone!

over and out - drew