MiniConnected | GIZMODO.cz

BMW hasn't been quite as aggressive in pushing smartphone app integration as American counterparts like Ford or GM, but it certainly knows how to make up for lost time: the Munich automaker just greenlit tie-ins with the iOS apps from Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody and TuneIn. Plug in a device and it will be possible to wield the apps' respective audiobook, location sharing, subscription music and live streaming radio services from a BMW Apps-capable BMW or Mini, with an interface optimized for the center stack. Each of the developers will need to update their app to make everything click, which we're told may take weeks. There still shouldn't be much wait before fans of Teutonic (and British) rides can get lost while streaming favorite songs -- and tell everyone just how far they went off-course.

Gallery: BMW integration with Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody and TuneIn

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile

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Source: BMW

Mini sold some 66,000 vehicles in the United States last year, and despite being on American soil (in its current incarnation, anyway) for just 13 years, this market has quickly become its biggest. Those drawn to the brand are likely intrigued by, if not outright enamored of, its quirkiness. Mini likes to say that the company is "Not Normal," and it only takes a glance inside its cartoonish Countryman to see what that means.

During a recent kickoff event to celebrate the impending launch of its Paceman model, we sought to get beneath the sheet metal and gear ratios, instead looking at the kinds of decisions that impact the marriage of automobiles and technology. Turns out, Johnly Velasquez and Chris Potgieter -- two gentlemen in charge of determining what technology ends up in Mini products -- were more than happy to discuss those nuances. In particular, we discussed how those details relate to the future of its Connected platform, the role that infotainment plays in its entire range of motorcars and the opportunities that lie ahead for Mini to embrace alternative power.

Could Mini's prioritization of technology as a pillar of automotive manufacturing influence the entire industry? That's exactly what we'll explore just beyond the break.

Gallery: 2013 Mini Paceman launch gallery