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Avenue of the Giants Weekend Run - Sat. March 23, 2024

Saturday will be a very full day of cruising from Novato up through the Avenue of the Giants and ending at Eel River Brewing in Fortuna. Sun...

BMW/MINI To Open App Center In Shanghai And Produce Consumer Software


Check out the official BMW/MINI press release at MotoringFile. Looks like BMW/MINI is getting into the international consumer software business. Here's a sampling of what the press release says.
Available as an option, MINI Connected links up with a simple USB connection and the MINI Connected App to turn the smartphone into a central interface for infotainment inside, and relating to every aspect of, the car. This technology has provided the launch pad for an all-new in-car infotainment experience. In spring 2011 this interface and app were also made available for BMW vehicles in the form of BMW Apps and BMW Connected. Added to which, the BMW Group has since expanded the app concept to include the internet-based services from BMW Online (available since 2001) and, this summer, also BMW Live. Other compatible apps – and therefore services – from third-party providers can also be integrated into the concept and used in BMW and MINI vehicles.


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. . . . the functional scope of the vehicle can be significantly broadened with the help of vehicle-specific apps certified by the BMW Group, enabling functions such as web radio, GoogleTM Local Search and FacebookTM to be used inside the vehicle safely and in convenience. But that is only the start. The app concept allows the range of functions to be expanded almost infinitely. Updating the app or installing another compatible app brings new functions into the car – without the need for any modifications to the car itself.


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In addition to speed, flexibility and personalisation options, the app concept also opens up significant potential for solutions tailored to specific markets. And that prompted the BMW Group to add a third AppCenter, in a joint project with the BMW Group ConnectedDrive Lab China in Shanghai, to complement the first AppCenter in Munich’s Research and Innovation Centre and its American counterpart at the BMW Group Technology Office USA in Mountain View, California.


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The three AppCenters in Munich, Mountain View (California) and Shanghai form a network that is working on the research and development of forward-looking apps for smartphones and browser-based technologies. . . . .


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In addition to the special functions it has created itself, the BMW Group is also using the technical capability provided by MINI Connected and BMW Apps as a platform for the integration of services from other providers. These “third-party apps” will allow a host of infotainment functions which customers already use at home to be transferred seamlessly to the car and operated by the driver. And that means they will have access to the services they want – such as personalised music streaming – at all times, whether they are on foot or travelling in the car.


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“MINI drivers are different from BMW drivers. That’s why it’s important for us to be able to offer them a specially developed service – in the form of MINI Connected. This also applies to apps from third-party providers. Here we can work effectively with exciting external partners to give customers access to their services inside the MINI.” (Florian Reuter) The latest version of MINI Connected already offers up to ten different functions, but the developers at the BMW Group are also working on the integration of additional features. As well as the integration of streaming podcast services and virtual travel guides, foursquare® would enable the community area of MINI Connected to expand to include the link-up with location-based services and social networking. Customers can use foursquare to explore their surroundings or check out a nearby restaurant, for example, and to access any tips the community can offer. They can also see where their friends are hanging out.
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