For those who ordered the Comfort Bluetooth with iPod/USB Option (which I think comes with the Convenience Package), you'll notice that there's a USB Port at the bottom of the central console. I used it to plug in my 8GB memory stick with MP3 files. The problem I find is that the USB memory stick sticks out just enough so that it's easy to wack it as I put in sunglases in the cubby hole in the same location.

I found the solution to my problems. Purchase one of those very short USB Memory Sticks which won't stick out. The shortest one I found is beyond short and it comes in 4GB and 8GB options.

http://usb.brando.com.hk/eagletec-us...92c041d15.html

I'm going to place an order for the 8GB stick, and see how that runs.

It's very small which is what I want. I hate to wack my existing memory stick and damage the actual USB port.

 

So it finally arrived today, and damn is it small. I copied the contents of my existing memory stick plus I added more songs, and it worked without issue. It's so small, you can't even tell that it's connected to the USB port on the mini.

I have to add that it's also much faster than my older Kingston 1GB memory stick which is a few years old.

I'd highly recommend this memory stick as it's small enough that it won't get in the way of your hand when you try to grab your sun glasses in the little cubby hold below the heated seats button.

 

I like the idea that it's more-or-less invisible. What functions does a stick have relative to an iPod? Does it show song titles? Does it shuffle? Are there multiple playlists?

I'm very much enjoying the premium sound. Today I figured out how to work the feature that controls the volume based on one's speed.

 

So far, it does everything that an iPod would.

You can have MP3 playlists. I have about 12 different play lists right now. I place everything in the root of the USB memory stick. It shows song titles, artists, genres, album names, etc... depending on what menu option you select to display your tracks. I have the NAV option, so I don't know if it's the same without NAV.

So when I play via the play lists, it only shows song titles, as that's how my play lists is generated. I use MP3Tag to clean up my tags, and to create the play lists.

When I clean up my tags, I make sure I only have song title, artists, and genre, and also remove any album art. This way I can have 20,000/3 = 6,666 songs in total on my USB memory stick.

I do like the stealth nature of the Micro USB memory stick. I'll have to take some pictures when compared to my older memory stick as well as how small it is when it's inserted into the USB slot.

Since it's so small, I never want to remove it for fear of losing it, so I made sure I picked up my iPhone 3G cradle for my arm rest so I can charge it that way, plus I also picked up one of those Belkin Micro Auto Charger so that I can always charge my iPhone with the included cable if I don't want to charge it via the arm rest.

The Belkin Micro Auto Charger looks like it was designed for our Mini. Just about the cleanest USB cigarette charging unit I've ever seen. Check it out at: http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=489424. It's available at Best Buy right now.

 

Here are two pictures.

Picture 1 (from left to right)
- Cap for the Kingston 4GB Memory Stick
- Actual Kingston 4GB Memory Stick
- Lexar 1GB Memory Stick
- The new 8GB USB Memory Stick (yup, it's that small). I like to think of it like a Stealth USB Memory Stick. It's so small that unless you actually bending down looking in the cubby hole, you'll never know it exist. That's great if you leave the top down with the windows down. No one will know your tunes are on a USB memory stick.

Picture 2
- Yes, there is a little red LED that stays on when the USB Memory Stick is plugged in. It's a nice dim red LED that it doesn't get in the way of anything in the night.

 

Holy carp! That's amazing! I guess we really are living in the future, except that my Mini doesn't fly (not literally, anyway.)

I think I'll have to visit Fry's or some such place and get one of those. I don't like the fact that my iPod is just feeding an analog signal into a mini jack. What's the point of Premium Sound if you're connecting it to essentially a Walkman? (I exaggerate)

 

You know, I love my iPhone 3G, however the problem is that it's something a lot of work to unplug the cable, and hide it when I park each time. I like the USB memory stick as I never have to worry about it.

I went with the center arm rest iPhone 3G cradle as well so I can charge my iPhone 3G and still play music off the USB memory stick, and still take a call from the iPhone 3G without moving any cables or such.

 

Z,
I'm very interested in the whole USB drive details. I'm just starting to rebuild my music list that crashed and is now lost forever. I did not ge tethe NAV system so I'm going to be curious to see how this works for me in my Cabio.

 

Zanary, how did you get the ashtray?? I asked for it and was told it was not available for the 09

 

It was there when I picked up my Mini. I only assumed that it's part of the vehicle, didn't really think about it much. I use it to store my change in it, but the problem is it takes up one of the cup holders and I always try to have two bottle water in them at all times. Topless motoring makes you thirsty in my opinion

 

One advantage of using the Ipod is that the system is set up to accept the built in lists of an Ipod such as genre, album etc. Of course I already have the Mini lists I created for my previous MCSC system so I can go right to my favourites!

 

The funny thing is that the same happens with my Memory Stick. I can play music by song, artist, album, and from my own custom play lists.

I like the Random feature as well, so I can play random tuns from my playlists or from the songs straight.

 

Hey BRGminime.

I just saw this post tonight, otherwise I would have replied to it earlier.

Here is what I decided to do as it gives me the best of all worlds.

(1) Since I went with the Convenience Package which included the Comfort Bluetooth with iPod/USB, I went ahead and picked up the BMW cradle for the 3G iPhone for Comfort Bluetooth. This way I can use my iPhone 3G as a phone and use the onboard Mini antenna instead of the one embedded in the actual iPhone 3G.
(2) Since Comfort Bluetooth with iPod/USB doesn't allow you to play back music from the central armrest, I went with the largest Nano USB Memory Stick (8GB the largest I could fine). I copy all my music tracks on it and create different play lists. Before I do this, I had to use a tool called MP3TAG to remove all non essential metadata from each MP3 (including the album art). I only kept, Title, Album, Artist, Genre, and Track #. Then I use the same tool and created however many play lists I wanted. The Nano USB memory stick is so small, it doesn't get in the way of your hands as you reach in the cubby hole. It's absolutely awesome.
(3) I then went out and purchase the Belkin Micro Auto Charger thing. This way I can charge an alternate phone via USB from my cigarette lighter, charge my iPhone 3G and use it as a phone and play back music from my USB Memory Stick all at the same time without issue.

I like this setup, as it's clean, makes the most use of all the options included in my Mini, and allows me and my wife to charge our phones, play some kids MP3s from the USB memory stick on long family weekend trips all while being topless. The perfect way to travel in my opinion.

Links & Part Numbers for Reference:
Nano 8GB USB Memory Stick: http://usb.brando.com.hk/eagletec-us...92c041d15.html
BMW iPhone 3G Cradle (for use with Comfort Bluetooth with iPod/USB Only): Part #: 84.21.2.151.038
Belkin Micro Auto Charger : http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=489424

Hope this helps.
NOTE: I also have the NAV option, so I don't know if all this works the same with a non NAV R57.

 

Zanary,
Since you have the NAV are you selecting songs off the screen? I have my new mini on order but I did not go with the NAV. Just wonder how I would navigate through songs on a USB without the screen. Any ideas? I also have an ipod touch and the comfort package so I suppose I can run the music directly off the ipod, but curious how it all connects with the radio. Thanks.

Mark

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I also have Nav. I have no idea how this all works without Nav. I'm guessing that it's possible to play back custom play lists on either the iPod/iPhone or the USB memory stick. I'm wondering what the other Non Nav R57 are doing for their music collection?

 

Pictures are easier than words.



You use the car radio to navigate thru your playlists.
The Ipod also displays who is currently playing. This is nice because only the name of the song is displayed on the car radio. If you want to see who is playing you have to navigate to another page on the car radio. I am not very good with band names and what they play so I do this quite often.

 

Where are the iPod wires at with the factory hook up?

 

In my old MCSC('06) the Ipod direct to radio hookup was installed at the dealer. The connection was located in the glovebox.

 

Thanks for the pictures. That looks pretty cool. Seems like you can navigate through the artists and albums too. I generally listen to music all through the Artist menus. Not a big play list guy.

 

So in the new R57 convertibles, if you purchased either of the two Comfort Bluetooth options (Ipod/USB or the Smartphone Prep ones), then in the little cubby hole below the passenger window button, you'll find an AUX USB Port and an audio connection.

In your globebox you'll have the famous "Y" cable that has an iPod connector on one side, and the other side has a USB and analog audio cable. If you plug that cable into the USB Port and the audio connection in your cubby hole, you'll be able to control your iPhone/iPod via your MFSW/Radio and the music will go through your car speaker system.

If you have the Comfort Bluetooth with SmartPhone prep, and then you go ahead and purchase the proper Cradle that plugs into the center arm rest, you'll also get the iPhone/iPod functionality from your MFSW/Radio plus you can use the phone feature of your iPhone.

In previous years, there was also a connection in the "hidden" compartment which can hold the CD Changer, but I don't recall seeing that in the new 2009 R57 option list.

NOTE: The Conveneince Package I think comes with the Comfort Bluetooth with iPod/USB option, and you can upgrade it to the Smartphone Prep one if so desired. I didn't becuase people have reported issues with having both a USB Memory Key and an iPhone in the cradle. When you power on the car, it gets confused as to which music source you want to use to get your music from.

 

Awesome feedback, I'm a bit slow on the ipod uptake. I just got my first one for Christmas and I opened it to set it up last week to get redy for the MINI. Anyone have a recommeded way to build my song list fast? I have 2-3 weeks to get my act together. I have several hundred cd's but they are not all converted to my computer yet. and the songs that are loaded are copied as WMA files. I need a lot of help to maximize my topless experience!

 

Hey BRGminime.
You need to download Itunes from the Apple website. After that you can start importing your CDs. Unfortunately you will have to do this one CD at a time. If you have a fairly new computer it does not take too long for each disc. Itunes may have a conversion program built in to import your tunes already on your computer. Itunes Help is a pretty good assist if you have any questions on importing and using Itunes. Once your songs are loaded it is very easy to create playlists. Enjoy!

 

I would like to add the USB port. Does anyone know how to do it other than taking it to a dealer?

 

I don't hav ethe NAV screen but Zanary this might be something for you to install.

Check out this Ipod adapter that let's you play video on your NAv screen from the ipod!

http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...uctshow&id=604

 

So, I did look at that, and it looks interesting. I may consider that at some time in the future.