Orbitcast - BMW lowers Sirius option price, enhances user experience with iDrive

[admin]

BMW has given its Sirius satellite radio factory option a little love with an expanded channel line-up and a price reduction for 2010 model vehicles (excluding 5 Series, 6 Series, and X3).

Plus BMW has improved the user interface with its latest generation of the iDrive controller.
The Sirius factory option price has been lowered to $350 (down from $595), and will continue to include a pre-paid 1-year subscription for the "Sirius Everything" package. The Sirius satellite radio option will also now include "The Best of XM" package.

Add to that, new features have been added to improve the user experience via BMW's 4th-generation iDrive interface.

With the 4th-gen BMW iDrive...

• Sirius now features "Instant Replay" - giving you the option to timeshift / replay a favorite song or program
• The channel list can now be displayed as channel name, artist and song title - giving a "sneak-peek" to what is currently being played on the channel line-up
• Channel surfing is now made easier by the provision of Direct Channel Input.
• Favorite Alert will notify users when a favorite artist, song, or game is being played.
• Traffic Jump allows users to automatically tune to the traffic message of a chosen metro area when the message becomes available to avoid missing important updates.

I wasn't able to get any images of the Sirius interface (still awaiting a response from BMW), but here's some photos of how the iDrive controller and display looks inside the vehicle.

BMW vehicles that aren't equipped with the iDrive controller will still have theTraffic Jump and Direct Channel Input features added as available features for 2010 when ordered with the Sirius option.





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View the original Article at Orbitcast or discuss it here.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Sounds like a step in the right direction for OEM units. They need to beef up their features to compete with other stuff that can be added to various cars.

 

[limegrass69]

Agreed. I've had OEM units going back to my 2004 Audi, and have been frustrated by the limited feature set. My current Mercedes is a step above what I had in the Audi, but it still does not hold a candle to my old Sportster Replay.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Agreed. I've had OEM units going back to my 2004 Audi, and have been frustrated by the limited feature set. My current Mercedes is a step above what I had in the Audi, but it still does not hold a candle to my old Sportster Replay.

My XM in my car has a 16 character display which can show either channel name, artist or title. No features. Just presets. It does give me steering wheel controls through the presets which is a nice feature but thats it.

 

[TSS Taylor]

I don't know why every OEM wouldn't give the Best of service on the free trial. That's a must!