MINI Connected
Connecting you with the world – and you’re in the driver’s seat.
MINI Connected now allows you to access your favourite social media sites, infinite Web Radio stations and keeps you up-to-date with the latest online news straight from your car, opening the doors to a unique form of in-car entertainment.
Words: Sarah Jayne Fell
Overnight the world of entertainment has changed. Forget prime time – media consumption has become a perpetual experience. What makes something authentic in the new world is not how it looks, but rather how connected it is to the underlying social fabric. In a word, ‘connect’ sums up the experience of modern living. It’s the payoff line for the new millennium.
MINI has always been a forerunner in design trends. In 1999, the Mini was voted the second-most influential car of the 20th century. If that wasn’t good enough, MINI’s reinvention in 2001, under the expert hand of the BMW Group, opened the world’s eyes to just how iconic the brand really is, repositioning itself from the everyman’s mini-car market and entering the realm of trend and aspiration while staying true to its strong racing heritage.
Now, as we launch into the new decade, MINI once again takes the wheel to come head-to-head with the latest technology. Fully aware that connectivity is now an integral part of daily life, with MINI Connected, they’ve integrated the best of social media into their innovative car design. Using new technology specially developed for MINI, they’re bringing entertainment and online functions of your iPhone right into your car.
The MINI Connected app is available for download free of charge straight from your iPhone’s App Store. To download the app, simply search directly for ‘MINI Connected’. The iPhone is easily connected to the MINI via the standard iPhone cable or the optional cradle situated in the centre armrest. The MINI joystick is used as the control, and content is displayed on the 6.5-inch LCD screen, integrated into the centre speedometer. MINI Connected has multidimensional functionality and is constantly developing new apps. Its current functions are as follows.
Web radio enables you to receive countless radio stations from all over the world via the iPhone and to transfer them to your MINI. Search capabilities help you find your favourite station, music genre and more. By the end of 2010, expect additional apps such as Dynamic Music, in which music is modified by your driving dynamics to underline the dynamic driving impression in a positive way. MINI Connected’s news feature connects you to any desired RSS feed, displaying your selected news items on your car’s display, or being read out to you via the option of Voice Control through the speaker system. Finally, Facebook and Twitter applications display the latest messages of all the people in your network. You can even send your own predefined Tweets from your car, directly to your followers. MINI Connected is your new best friend – ensuring that you’ll never be left out of the loop.
With MINI Connected, MINI has geared up to face the future. Now it’s your turn.