Photo: bmw
Last week we were telling you that BMW plans to unveils its onboard online store at next year’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas and today we’re bringing you some photos of how it will look like.
Accessed through the iDrive system, the ConnectedDrive Store will allow you to purchase all kinds of services from the comfort of your car and while on the go. This is possible thanks to the new technology developed by the company that has built-in SIM cards included in the car’s infotainment system.
The new system also allows you to upgrade features and services from back home with them all being synchronized once you get to the car, in a matter of minutes.
Previously to bringing this system to the US, BMW has been testing it since the beginning of the summer in Belgium and Luxembourg while Germany was also included in this trial sequence last October. The first customers that will get these features on the North American continent will be able to enjoy them starting next spring.
In the car, the store has its own menu option under ConnectedDrive or BMW Online, which can be selected via the iDrive Controller. It works in the same fashion as the familiar smartphone stores and displays all the services that are available and already booked.
As soon as the password set up in the customer portal is entered, services and features can be directly accessed and can be used inside the car in a short while.
In order to use it, you’ll need a SIM card built into the vehicle. In the USA this is standard on all vehicles and it is used for other purposes as well such as for the Intelligent Emergency Call service, for example. What this does is call a BMW Center in case of an accident. The agents over at the BMW Call Center will talk to the car’s occupants in their native language to see if they’re ok and will send help in a timely manner.
The new system also allows you to upgrade features and services from back home with them all being synchronized once you get to the car, in a matter of minutes.
Previously to bringing this system to the US, BMW has been testing it since the beginning of the summer in Belgium and Luxembourg while Germany was also included in this trial sequence last October. The first customers that will get these features on the North American continent will be able to enjoy them starting next spring.
In the car, the store has its own menu option under ConnectedDrive or BMW Online, which can be selected via the iDrive Controller. It works in the same fashion as the familiar smartphone stores and displays all the services that are available and already booked.
As soon as the password set up in the customer portal is entered, services and features can be directly accessed and can be used inside the car in a short while.
In order to use it, you’ll need a SIM card built into the vehicle. In the USA this is standard on all vehicles and it is used for other purposes as well such as for the Intelligent Emergency Call service, for example. What this does is call a BMW Center in case of an accident. The agents over at the BMW Call Center will talk to the car’s occupants in their native language to see if they’re ok and will send help in a timely manner.
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