BMW to Use Harman Infotainment Systems

German manufacturer BMW decided to sign a deal with audio and infotainment supplier Harman for the delivery of the next generation infotainment systems to be used in future BMW vehicles. According to Harman, the new system will comprise navigation, Internet access and wired or wireless connectivity and embedded flash memory. Whereas, in general, this is what you would normally expect from a premium infotainment system, the great surprise coming from BMW is that the new system is considered... entry level.

“We are delighted to expand our long-term partnership with BMW,” Dinesh C. Paliwal, Harman CEO said when announcing the new deal.

“This new award complements our previously-announced premium infotainment system at BMW and will expand the Harman offering to a larger audience of customers. We look forward to delighting new customers with this pioneering introduction to the world of full-featured infotainment.”

Harman will work on the new system together with Magneti Marelli. Harman will be in charge of supplying BMW in Asia, while Magneti Marelli will be the European supplier.

The new system will include features such as iSpeech, wireless connectivity, mobile office, navigation, and advanced telematics. It will be built on the NVIDIA system-on-a-chip (SOC) technology, for scalable microprocessor power and graphic performance. For now, there is no info on when the new system will make its debut or on what vehicles it will be featured on first.

Harman is the company behind the Halosonic sound technology (an active noise technology developed to make the car hearable in its surroundings) showcased on the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid at the 2010 Geneva International Auto Show.