– Her ne kadar detaylı yazsamda bu araç hakkında her gün yeni bilgiler çıkmakta. Hiç ucu bucağıda yok. Şimdiki yenilikler ise, fiyat listesi açıklanmış, NeverStandStill sitesi başka bir geri sayıma başlamış durumda, yeni seriye Lityum-İyon bataryalı elektrikli motor ekleniyor ve yenilenen iDrive sisteminin detaylı anlatımı yer alıyor.

– Fiyatlardan da anlayacağınız gibi Almanya satış fiyatları. Tabiyki kesin olmayan ve tahmini rakamları içeriyor. http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/07/07/bmw-7-series-german-pricing-released/ sitesinden aldığım için güvenilir olduğunu düşünüyorum. İlginç olan ise hiç adını dahi duymadığım 760Li modelinin olması. Çünkü verilen haberde bu modelin fiyatının henüz kesin olmadığı belirtilmiş.

* BMW 730d – 69,500 euro
* BMW 740i – 75,500 euro
* BMW 740Li – 82,500 euro
* BMW 750i -90,000 euro
* BMW 750Li – 94,000 euro
* BMW Navigation System Professional – 2,436 euro
* Navigation System with integrated bluetooh – 3,235 euro
* HiFi Audio System – 756 euro
* Head-Up Display 1,126 ero
* BMW Welt Delivery – 498 euro

Kaynak:
http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/07/08/never-stand-still-more-hints/
http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/07/09/bmw-7-series-in-a-fascinating-installation-on-the-red-square-in-moscow/

– İlk haberdede duyurmuştum. http://www.never-stand-still.com/, BMW’nin tüm yeniliklerinden haberdar olmanız için açılmış bir geri sayım sitesi. Geri sayımın ilk ayağında Moskova Kızıl Meydan ‘da kurulmuş dev bir kum saatinden ibaretti. Kum saatinin içersinde 180,000 top bulunmaktaydı ve tüm topşlar aşağıuya düşünce karşımıza BMW 7 serisi çıktı. Şimdi sitede başka bir geri sayım daha yer alıyor ve bu geri sayımın sonucunda kim bilir hangi BMW modeli, yeniliği, teknolojisi ve motoru tanıtımı yapılacak.. Gerçekten heyecan verici.

Kaynak:
– Gelecek yıl motor ailesine yeni bir uye daha katılıyor. X6’da da kullanılan 4.4L V8 motor artık benzinli-elektrikli olacak. GM ve Chrysler ile ortaklaşa geliştirdiği bu motoru BMW en lüks modelinde kullanmaya karar vermiş. Yapılan karşılaştırmalarda 750i modelinin neredeyse 730d modeliyle eş değerde yakıt tüketimene sahip olduğu yazılmış.
– Her ne kadar yapılan açıklamalar o kadar güzel olsada adamların elektrik motorunu koyduğu motora bakın ve de açıklamada “Bazı V8 kullanan müşterilerimiz düşük yakıt tüketimi istediklerini defalarca söylüyorlardı ve bizde onlara bu olanağı tanımaya karar verdik. ” . Başka cümle kuramıyorum gerçekten.. V8 motorun nasıl bir şey olduğunu göremeden gidecez bu dünyadan…

– Boş zamanım olursa belki çevirebilirim.

A new iDrive controller will make its appearance this year in both the E90 3er Series refresh as well as the F01 7er Series and it will have adjacent function buttons, à la Audi and Mercedes-Benz, but with a design that should make BMW’s easier to use. Our friends at BimmerFile sent us this spy photo of BMW’s new iDrive controller which represents part of the four generation of BMW’s cockpit controller system.

The iDrive controller itself is essentially a data entry instrument that controls curser position, data entry, and function selection. It controls:

* Satellite navigation,
* Telephone functions,
* Entertainment (radio, iPod, satellite and digital radio),
* Climate control settings
* Vehicle settings and preferences.

The third generation, introduced in the 2007 X5 and now available on all iDrive-equipped BMWs except the 7er Series, removed haptic feedback (haptic refers to the sense of touch and the system provided feedback to the driver when making a selection so that the controller would not spin too far) and added programmable memory keys or “Favorites” buttons for frequently-used commands.

Click image for larger version Name: iDrive 2008 edited copy.jpg Views: 636 Size: 115.5 KB ID: 348
While we don’t know what other changes are in store, the next generation controller introduces additional function buttons (radio, CD, telephone, navigation) as well as back and option buttons. The key difference between BMW’s function buttons and what other manufacturers have already added (Mercedes and Audi) is BMW’s ergonomic placement of function buttons. BMW has placed the new buttons in a cluster surrounding the controller itself. The driver therefore does not have to remove his hand from the controller in order to press one of the new buttons.

Based on the photo, the buttons are arranged to permit finger control of functions and are located in such a manner that the fingers will rest naturally in their vicinity when using the controller. Different functions have different shapes (e.g. telephone and navigation); the button for telephone is flat and is in the forward right position while the button for navigation is angled and closer to the controller itself. This makes it easy to distinguish between different functions based on shape and placement without having to glance in their direction.

While Audi already places such function buttons near the controller, they were placed in such a fashion that the driver has to look down in order to engage a function (something I confirmed after driving several Audis), which takes away from the safety aspect of their use. (Audi just launched the third generation of its cockpit controller, Generation III MMI, in the new Q5. Based on press images, button placement has not been improved.)

Another spy photo from BimmerFile, this of the F01 7er Series, shows the new controller and a scroll wheel on the MFL (Multifunktion Lenkrad or steering wheel) that would presumably allow the driver to move quickly through long lists (such as iPod tracks or destinations) without removing his hand from the wheel. The 7er image shows the controller placed somewhat inconveniently to the right of the shifter on the center console,

For a look at how BMW’s iDrive has evolved, see our August 2007 pasted below or online at http://old.bmwcca.org/node/9282.

Jonathan B. Spira, Technology Editor, BMWCCA.org

————————————————————————————————

BMW iDrive 6 years in: The world’s best cockpit controller?

By Jonathan B. Spira, BMW CCA
August 28, 2007

BMW’s iDrive in its current incarnation represents the automotive industry’s best solution for a complex cockpit and a complex problem. Believe it or not, iDrive has been with us since 2001 and it has been widely derided in the automotive press as well as by owners of non-iDrive-equipped BMWs ever since. Many people who don’t own BMWs have gotten on the down-with-iDrive bandwagon as well.

Truth be told, iDrive isn’t as bad as people make out. In fact, it’s pretty good. We have two BMWs with iDrive at home and I have spent significant seat time in five others. I can’t imagine having a car without it now. It’s not that hard to learn, indeed you’d be hard pressed to find an iDrive-equipped BMW owner who doesn’t like the system.

In a recent online poll, more than half the BMW owners who responded (see survey section below) said that it took them 30-60 minutes to learn iDrive. It took me more than that to learn the Audi MMI system and Mercedes-Benz Comand. Don’t even ask me about Infiniti’s system with its controller stuck up high on the dash at an odd angle. Very few respondents to the poll, a mere 4%, said it took as much as a month’s time to learn.

iDrive’s debut: 2001
In the late 1990s, BMW had the foresight to realize that the driver interface was going to become increasingly complex as more functionality was added into the automobile and that individual controls were not the answer. There was a limit, BMW felt, to the number of switches, buttons, and knobs that a driver could safely and effectively manipulate.

The result of this thinking when R&D began in 1998 was iDrive, a system that combines a monitor (LCD display) within the driver’s field of vision with a controller that goes in one of four cardinal compass directions (the 7er adds four ordinal compass directions for a total of eight) to bring up menus (Climate, Entertainment, Navigation, Communication). With iDrive, the driver can access hundreds of commands – and the driver is spared the complexity of having to choose from dozens knobs and buttons in his field of view while driving. Is the system perfect? Of course not, but consider the alternatives.

What would the cockpit look like without iDrive? You only have to go as far as the Acura MDX, which has – at last count – 63 buttons on the dash and 12 on the steering wheel.

In the past year, I’ve driven three dozen cars with fairly sophisticated driver controls. Many of them sport dozens of buttons, knobs, and switches or a touchscreen with random “buttons”. All required me to look away from the normal field of vision to operate. Only iDrive allowed me to not look entirely away from the road; I can issue a voice command (almost every function in iDrive is addressable directly by voice command), glance at the Bordmonitor (BMW’s LCD atop the center stack), and still look straight ahead. For BMWs with head-up display (HUD), some I don’t even have to turn my head to see navigational prompts, which would otherwise be displayed in the Bordmonitor (the HUD can also display road speed, speed control data, and Check/Control warnings). This is why most car makers lock out almost all system functionality when a vehicle is in motion (perhaps fearing a lawsuit); with iDrive, the driver has full access to all system functionality while in motion with little distraction.

Chuck Kelly finds non-iDrive cars “dangerous in comparison”
Chuck Kelly of San Diego is a long-time BMW CCA member. He’s now on his fifth BMW, a 645i coupé that has iDrive as standard equipment. He recently had his car at the workshop for service and drove a 328i loaner sans iDrive. Chuck’s verdict: “After using iDrive for two years, I found the non-iDrive loaner dangerous in comparison. To drive and fiddle with the radio and climate controls, which are so low on the dash, requires that you take your eyes off the road. I really began to appreciate the iDrive display at the same level as the gauges in my car.”

Another club member, Hugh M. Ehrenberg in Columbus, Ohio, said, “Count me as one who is baffled as to the need to ‘get used to’ iDrive. Sure, the functions are to be learned, and where to click to get where takes maybe one trip through the menu, but in a half an hour, I was disappointed that it didn’t do more…”

iDrive’s three-generation history 2001-2007
Here is a guide to BMW’s iDrive and the enhancements that have been made since its introduction. BMW doesn’t officially categorize the various iterations of iDrive, but the original generation of iDrive was premiered in the 2002 7er, the next generation was launched in the 2004 5er and 6er, and the newest generation was introduced this pas March. For that matter, BMW doesn’t provide release notes for hardware and software changes either. In order to compensate for this oversight, I’ve documented every new feature, enhancement, and change I could find.

2001 (first generation). iDrive introduced September 2001 (in Europe) in the 2002 7er. This is iDrive Generation 1. This version is based on Windows CE. The satnav component uses previous generation (Mk IV) technology. There is no CCC.(Car Communication Computer; see 2003).

2003 (second generation). iDrive introduced in the 2004 5er. Windows CE is replaced with VxWorks, a real-time software development environment and multi-tasking operating system from Wind River Systems. VxWorks uses the VRTX (Virtual Real-Time Executive) kernel developed by Mentor Graphics. For cars with Professional Navigation, the iDrive system’s “brain” is a CCC (Car Communication Computer). For Business Navigation and cars without navigation, it uses M-ASK (MMI Audio System Kontroller). This version of iDrive found its way into the 2004 6er, the 2006 E90/E91 3er, and the 2007 E92/E92 3er.

iDrive introduced in the 2007 X5. As of March 2007 production for the 2007 3er (all variants), 2008 5er, and 2007 X5, and September 2007 production for the 2008 6er, many BMWs were coming off the assembly line with the third generation of iDrive, described below.

Gen 3: the latest iDrive features
The latest (2007) iDrive sports new graphics and screen colors, programmable memory keys or “Favorites” buttons for frequently used commands, and it no longer has haptic feedback on the controller knob (haptic refers to the sense of touch and the system provided feedback to the driver when making selections so the knob wouldn’t spin too far). The new system is also faster than previous generation iDrives and it supports the new iPod/USB interface.

Current iDrive controller in 2007 BMW X5.The favorites buttons give the driver fast access to up to six important functions [there are two dedicated buttons as well, for AM/FM and mode (which cycles through entertainment sources) as well]. The driver can program a stored destination, a frequently dialed telephone number, or a preferred radio station. Placing your finger near one of the buttons displays its function on the Bordmonitor. The downside is that you have to remember what functions are stored behind buttons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. It is almost as distracting as a touchscreen to have to hover over the buttons, see the functions which are saved, and then select one.

Removing haptic feedback: One step backward?
The removal of haptic feedback solves a long-standing problem with iDrive, namely that the ability for the driver to scroll quickly was constrained by the mechanism, which was set to provide pushback via the controller knob much too early for some operations that required a lot of scrolling.

Without the somewhat arbitrary resistance from the haptic feedback, the driver can quickly scroll through long lists, such as names in the telephone directory or track names in an iPod.

The downside of the discarded haptic profiles
Unfortunately, BMW threw the baby out with the bathwater here, as the haptic feedback also served a useful purpose, namely to give the driver a clue, via hard and soft stops and other responses, as to what options he might have. Different functions used different haptic profiles (which were computed on the fly) but this used up a lot of processor power and BMW found it easier to speed up iDrive by removing this overhead.

Apparently, BMW would have had to commit to a major redesign of the iDrive platform to keep haptic feedback and improve speed to the current level so they chose the latter for the sake of expediency.

The verdict, however, is positive, at least for performance. Minus the haptic feedback, the newest version of iDrive is as responsive as anyone might demand.

Enhancements BMW can make to your iDrive car
If your BMW was produced prior to March 2007 (September 2007 for the 6er), you can still benefit from certain improvements the next time your car receives a software update. (N.B.: Your BMW workshop will not apply software updates to cars just because you want it; if your car has a problem that is fixed by the latest release of software, known as Progman, and is still under warranty, you are entitled to a software upgrade at no cost.)

These improvements apply to cars produced from March 2007 (September 2007 for the 6er) as well as older cars (except the 7er) with iDrive and the CCC (Car Communication Computer, which is present in cars with Professional satellite navigation). I did not document changes in iDrive cars without a CCC (those cars have a computer system known as M-ASK, short for MMI Audio System Kontroller).

New and upgraded iDrive systems benefit from a new color and graphics scheme (see slide show) which is clearer and easier to read. The colors used to highlight selections (such as for telephone or entertainment) and routes are more distinctive.

Display resumes unchanged on restart
The most noticeable enhancement to iDrive is that when you start the car the system automatically returns to the last display shown. In other words, if when the car is turned off, the main window was set to Entertainment/FM/WQXR 96.3 and the assistance (smaller, right hand) window was set to Map Facing North, the next time the car is started, after a brief pause at the startup screen and liability notice (which disappears after 10 seconds), the system returns to exactly that configuration. If you had an iPod or memory stick connected for music via the iPod/USB interface, it should also start playing the track or podcast from where you left off as long as the music player was not disconnected.

Perhaps the most important enhancement is the capability to search Points-of-Interest by entering a name, something that has been absent from the iDrive-based satellite navigation system since its launch, although it is a very common feature in portable satnav systems and was available in older BMW satnav systems (several current BMW models still have the older generation satnav system, including the 7er and Z4).

To search – and you can search for your current location, a new location, or your destination – you select a category, e.g. All Restaurants, enter a name, for example e.g. , and start the search. You can enter partial names or one word in a name, such as if you don’t know the exact name.

Search results are displayed on two lines, with the name of the establishment on the top line and city information below. Three results per page are displayed and next and previous arrows have been added to allow quick scrolling through the pages. The top line also displays where you are in the results, such as entry 4 of 100.

Missing directional arrow returns
BMW finally fixed the problem of the missing pop-up directional arrow instruction in the Assistance Window. The arrow is supposed to pop up and visually display an instruction when the satnav system speaks instructions (“bear left to enter I-295”). For unknown reasons, this feature partially disappeared more than a year ago. [For the curious amongst us, the arrow would refuse to pop up if the map were displayed in the main window, not an unusual system setting. It was possible to set the Assistance Window to permanently display a directional arrow, but that defeated the purpose of having it as a pop-up.]

Another relatively new feature, introduced last year, which you may not know about: you can now use Voice Command to say the name of a city in the city input field and the street name in the street field and the system will look for a match, as opposed to having to spell them one letter at a time.

Other enhancements in Navigation include fast access to Points-of-Information: clicking on the information icon brings you to a new menu with choices to display or turn off POI icons or select information on location, destination, or a new location.

The new generation iDrive is much faster but older cars (those with Generation 2 iDrive systems) will still see a somewhat faster response time once the car’s software is updated. Some features got faster by virtue of requiring fewer clicks. For example, playing a track on your iPod or selecting a Sirius channel now takes only one click; previously, two were required.

Voice command supports satellite but not HD radio
With the new software, Voice Command now supports selecting satellite radio stations; previously, only AM and FM radio stations were selectable. (N.B. This feature is not compatible with HD Radio.) The MFL (Multifunktion Lenkrad or multifunction steering wheel) allows the driver to select AUX in addition to radio and CD on a programmable button. New voice command, namely “next”, “back”, “track n”, also allow for voice navigation on iPods and MP3 CDs.

Bluetooth pairing simpler
For Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity, new on screen instructions are provided that simplify the process of pairing a new mobile phone to the car. BMW already has what is arguably the best Bluetooth system of any car today in terms of compatibility and functionality.

iDrive as the best interface for vehicles
In sum, iDrive, which had a bit of a rocky start, is now the industry’s best interface for today’s vehicles, although there is still room for much improvement. Some functions still require too many clicks and there is no way to group frequently-used functions together (the favorites buttons are a partial solution here) or customize the interface in any meaningful way. The menuing system gives equal weight to Climate (rarely used) and Entertainment (frequently used). The Assistance Window can’t display Entertainment or Phone info. The bottom status bar can display some types of entertainment information (e.g. the name of a Sirius channel) but not iPod track details. The new Favorites buttons should have icons visible, accessible perhaps via a voice command.

What’s in the next generation iDrive?
The next version of iDrive will be found in the next 7er Series, reportedly due out in late 2008 or 2009. No information has been released and even rumors have been scarce, unlike the rumor that Mercedes will work with Apple on a new design for its Comand system (both Mercedes and Apple have distanced themselves from this one).

I believe BMW will retain the single control knob, improve the graphical interface, and increase the utility of the favorite buttons (if they are retained of course). Going with a faster processor would allow BMW to return the haptic feedback functions it dropped this year. Whether BMW will add function buttons around the controller (for audio, navigation, climate, communications) as do Audi and Mercedes is uncertain. Some users find them useful but if not placed correctly (think Audi, which had the right idea in placing them near the controller although the actual execution of placing them in a meaningful way was poor), they can add to the confusion.

My wish list: first I would like BMW to add the ability to customize the interface. Example of this include allowing the driver to place frequently used commands in one group or area and choose different colors (something that was an option on older BMW satnav systems). I would also like to be able to display audio in the assistance window, something the current system doesn’t allow. An 80 Gbyte hard disk drive (or better yet, flash memory, something that’s coming to laptops as a hard-drive alternative this year) to store map data and music would be appreciated as would Wi-Fi or WiMax communications capabilities (I listen to Net radio in my car already; having it built-in would be a plus). Finally, I would add contextual help, especially for the icons to the left of the map view.

A few things are certain. The next iDrive will be faster, have more functionality, and have an increased number of voice commands that make iDrive even more transparent. Perhaps BMW will even make the zoom-in feature more intuitive; most users believe the counter-clockwise direction the controller has to be turned to zoom in, is backwards.

After all, BMW had to leave something to surprise us with for the next version.

O kadar video olmasına karşın güzel ülkemde video paylaşım sitesi kullanamadığımız için hiçbirini yayınlayamıyorum. Teşekkürler….
* Aracın tasarım detaylarını merak edeniniz olabilir:
– http://www.carbodydesign.com/archive/2008/07/07-bmw-7-series/
– http://www.carbodydesign.com/video/?id=1963
– http://www.carbodydesign.com/video/?id=1964

Youtube : Adrian von Hooydonk, BMW 7 serisi dış tasarım detaylarını anlatıyor.

Kaynak:
http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/09/25/bmw-7-series-exterior-sketch-to-reality/

Benzer YazılarEtiketler