I've had my car for 24 hours and had a fair amount of time to mess with the electronics. Here are some early impressions/observations.

I had planned to use a USB stick as my main music source. I don't like the clunky Y-cable as iPod interface, and a direct USB connection should (in theory) be a cleaner connection than the aux port. I copied most of my music library out of iTunes onto a 16gb stick, leaving the directory structure intact. This solution works fine. The stick indexed fairly quickly upon first insertion, and now navigates VERY quickly. However there's some flotsam on the screen when displaying tracks.. extra digits at the end of track names and other crap that I could probably manually clean up in iTunes, if I wanted to bother. The stick is a Patriot 16gb tiny thing. My music is all encoded at 256k bitrate if I ripped it myself, or same for iTunes Plus purchased tunes.

Then I tried my iPod Nano, current version with camera. Easy to slip the iPod into the storage net on the passenger side of the tunnel. It appears to charge properly, based on what's on the screen! This is HUGE news as this didn't seem to be the case in the past. Unfortunately I tossed my Y-cable's bag with the part number on it, so I don't know if this is something new as a result of a new cable, or more juice from the USB port, or if it's all a mirage and not actually charging. Anyways, playlists/albums display perfectly, with no extra garbage, and navigation is VERY quick (just like the USB stick) and works beautifully and intuitively. This functionality alone is making me very glad that I opted for the outrageously priced nav system.

I just tried my iPhone 3GS. It also indicates that it's being charged!! That's freaking awesome if true and getting enough juice. Operation otherwise is identical to using the iPod.

As for the sound of the system - thusfar I'm slightly disappointed. I've fiddled with the only settings - bass & treble - why no mid and/or DSP settings? Seems disappointing for such a highly-touted, fairly expensive upgrade. It just sounds kinda hollow to me. Source doesn't matter, CDs sound the same to my amateur ears as do my AAC tracks from the iPod/iPhone. It just occurred to me that this is still a brand new system and the speakers may need to break in a bit to achieve their best sound, so we'll see how it goes. It does seem to be plenty-powerful, able to play quite loudly (significantly rattling the rearview mirror) without any sign of distortion.

The big news is that apparently, for whatever reason, an iPod/iPhone can be charged off the Y-cable, and if true that's awesome.

 

Additional thoughts...

The iPhone does display the "this accessory not supported" message, but nothing about not charging, and when I bypass its suggestion to use airplane mode, it goes to the "battery charging" icon. I need to buzz around for while with it connected and see if the battery is actually gaining charge, treading water, or declining.

The iPod Nano displays no error message whatsoever, just indicates that it's attached as an accessory, and indicates normal charging. If I leave it connected and shut the car down, it shuts down too, after some short period of time. I think I should be able to just leave it in and attached and I'll be cookin' with Crisco®. Only fly in that ointment is summer temps in Phoenix, when I'm sure it would not be a good idea.

 

I love my H/k! I don't get many chances to turn it all the way up though (I have a 2yr old). I'm going to have to try the USB stick for music. I find myself listen to satelllite radio for the most part.

 

If you want to give the iPhone charging the real test, let the iPhone battery drain all the way until it shuts down. Then see if the MINI will charge it.

The iPhone draws more current the lower the battery charge is. So, with a flat battery it will draw the maximum amount. That will be the true test of whether the MINI can now handle it.

 

Good idea Robin, I'll give that a try.

 

I've had my car 3 weeks now and my i-pod nano has been plugged in since the beginning. I just pulled it out and it's fully charged. I was a little surprised that there was no mid adjustment either, but I am quite happy with the H/K system. Great bass, no panel buzzing or rattles and it does not distort when really cranked. I love it!

OH, I took my side panel off in the boot for anyone that needs to see pictures of the amp and/or the wiring connectors. Pics in my gallery.

 

So far we really like the new HK. Plenty of adjustments available for us and we think the sound is great. Tried the USB route and did not care for it. Will stick with the iPhone for now. Haven't looked yet but will it play DVD discs? If so, might go that way. Or might spring for an iPod. Like Chicklet, listen to Sirius now but would rather have my own music at times.

 

I have CD and DVD options on my audio, but that is because I have the NAV. If you take out the NAV disc, you can play DVD audio in it.

 

Speaking of nav requiring a DVD.. what's up with that nowadays?? Now that we have 8gb USB sticks or SD cards for about $15, why the heck do they screw around with costly, more complicated, far more likely to break DVD mechanisms, instead of just putting the map database on a memory card/stick? Boggles the mind.

 

Agreed. An SD card would have been better. Many things about BMW electrics boggle the mind.

 

Update: Just went out for a 90-minute cruise in the twisties. In the Coupe Talk forum I'll have my impressions on how that went, but not until next week when my new tires/wheels/suspension are in place, so that I can compare both setups.

I plugged in my iPhone 3GS upon departure at 28% battery level. When I got back, it was at 71%. At first, while excited that it was actually charging, I thought this was a bit slow, but then realized that Bluetooth is on, and that easily can explain why it's not charging quite as fast as previously without it. So I'm prepared to say that I'm quite certain that the Y-cable in the 2010 models DOES indeed properly charge an iPod, or even iPhone 3GS. Great news. Now the bigger question is - did they actually change the USB port in the car to output more current, or is this a "new" Y-cable that somehow overcame the issue? I'll try writing to Mini through the Owner's Lounge.

 

What kind of DVD audio will the DVD drive play without the map disc inserted?

DVD-A discs, DVD-Video discs (the sound track only) or DVD-R discs with MP3s? Or some combination?

 

Some car manufacturers are moving towards the hard drive based navs. The hard drives work better but are more expensive to upgrade to newer versions. Discs can be upgraded by buying the new version and replacing the old. My last car had a DVD based nav and I hated it. I use my iphone maps and it works all the time and finds my destinations.

 

The current BMW iDrive has a hard drive based Nav, and you can expect MINI to acquire it in the future. MINI and BMW have been sharing Nav systems, with MINI lagging behind a generation. In BMW's hard drive system, maps are updated with a DVD or the dealer's computer (map data is copied to the hard drive).

 

Why use a delicate hard drive when a memory card is less expensive and more robust?

 

That one I can understand. If they're going to do a hard drive anyways (for music storage), then it's easy to just partition a piece of it for nav map storage, and save the need for either a DVD drive or USB hardware. That new BMW setup is sweet, I've played with it in the current 3-series. But all things considered, I'm happy with what's still current in our cars, works at least as well as I was expecting.