BMW has redefined its ConnectedDrive offering, giving customers a choice of additional functionality and enabling its connectivity to be upgraded throughout the car's lifetime.
The current BMW Business and Professional Media packages will be replaced by a new three-tier offering; Business, Business Plus and Professional Media packages. All three packages offer a BMW Navigation system, enhanced multimedia and progressive levels of BMW ConnectedDrive Services.
Offering a new entry point at £990, the new Business Media package includes; Business Navigation, BMW Emergency Call (eCall) and BMW Teleservices. This new structure means that both BMW eCall and Teleservices are active for the life of the vehicle, not just benefiting new customers, but also future generations of BMW owners.
The Business Plus Media package is priced at £1,400 and builds on the entry level package. In addition, it gains BMW Online Services, information Plus and Remote Services to provide extra levels of connectivity.
The fully equipped Professional Media package is priced at £1,990 and sees an upgrade to the latest generation of BMW Professional Navigation. This is combined with a full suite of ConnectedDrive Services including Real Time Traffic Information and the BMW Apps Interface which supports the integration of popular iPhone applications into the car, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Central to this new offering, each package includes an integrated SIM card. This provides the hardware and connectivity platform upon which all additional software based services can be added.
Later in the year, BMW will introduce an web store that will provide customers with the flexibility to tailor the car's connected capabilities to their individual requirements. BMW owners will have the option to log into the BMW ConnectedDrive Store via a website or directly from the car itself.
These new BMW ConnectedDrive packages will be rolled out across the model line-up during 2013, starting in March with the BMW Z4, BMW X1, BMW 3 Series Saloon and Touring, BMW X3 and all of the BMW 6 Series range.
Gordon Evans - 30/01/2013 10:52
Great. It's about time that a manufacturer started thinking about future-proofing integrated systems. I would like to see the day when the car is fitted with an (I.T.) industry-standard swappable Hard Disc drive, media screen, perhaps touch-screen as well, so subsequent owners could upgrade the hardware and the car would not have obsolete kit fitted in a few years time. Just look what you can do with an iPad. Why not integrate an IPad mount and have the car use this then when the iPad 5,6,7 comes out you could have the latest in the car too?