BMW Apps – Driving User Interface Design in Cars Forward

For years BMW has been using its iDrive computer system to control a  number of secondary vehicle systems (like entertainment, air conditioner, and navigation). The iDrive user interface design appears on an LCD panel in the dashboard and is controlled by a knob on the center console. The knob, known as the Controller, allows front and back seat passengers to manipulate the iDrive’s functions via rotate-and-press mechanisms. In other words one can think of the Controller much like the iPod’s click-wheel in terms of functionality. The user interface design of the system works very much like a GPS system with a dash of  the Symbian user interface design. Although the iDrive has been criticized for having a steep learning curve, other up-scale car manufacturers (such as Mercedes Benz, Audi and Lexus) have since introduced their own variants using screens in the dashboard to display the user interface design.

BMW has also developed better integration of the iDrive system with the iPhone. Downloading the free BMW Connected app and connecting a smartphone allows users access to certain apps through the iDrive’s display. This allows drivers to access these services through a user interface design and a controller designed to allow drivers to keep driving at the same time. This may sound alarming but if you consider all the time spent in traffic then it makes sense to be able to access iPhone services without having to pick it up only to put it down again to move forward a little bit. The App allows users to access music, web radio as well as Twitter and Facebook.  The news feeds are modified to fit the user interface design of the iDrive (i.e. less but bigger-sized text). The Controller knob obviously has no keyboard but instead leverages real-time data from the car to suggest pre-composed statements such as “it’s 32°C out and i’m driving around in my BMW” etc