![]() ![]() Just ahead of the stick are a pair of shortcut keys, one for Home and another to quick-jump between the three main interface sections – navigation, communication and entertainment.Īs for the interface itself, well, it's pretty gorgeous. Just like the iDrive wheel, you can rotate the stick to scroll through menus, tilt side to side to move around the interface and press to select items. But instead of a large wheel, MINI Connected features a smaller control stick. It shares the same basic principle of twiddling a wheel to navigate the main interface. If you're familiar with BMW's iDrive, you won't struggle to find your way around MINI Connected. That's interesting, because in theory it means your car's infotainment system gets an automatic upgrade every time you buy a new phone. So, one of the central ideas here is a system that's not stand-alone, but rather augmented by your phone. Currently it's compatible with iPhones 3GS, 4 and 4S. Part of the set up process involves downloading and installing the MINI Connected app for iPhone. Highlights include piggybacking on the iPhone's internet connection in order to provide a number of online apps and services including internet radio, social networking and navigation send-to-car, as well as the ability to pipe parts of the iPhone interface directly onto the MINI's main LCD display. And anyway, iPhone and MINI is a natural fit. While that's restrictive, it does allow MINI to concentrate on honing and polishing the user experience. Other brands and smartphone operating systems don't get nearly as much love from MINI Connected. Actually, we should be a bit more specific, because when it comes to MINIs, there's really only one smartphone - Apple's iPhone. Central to MINI Connected is the idea of tight, seamless smartphone integration. Still, all of that makes MINI Connected sound like most other car infotainment platforms. Compared to what's available elsewhere on the market, it's decent value, even if it looks pricey compared to most examples of contemporary consumer electronics. Just tick the box and ignore the madness. In the context of the £1,345 usually charged for just the nav, it makes no sense at all. For £1,300 to 1,700 - again model-dependent - the Media Pack gives you all of the above and more. If that sounds steep for cars with a base prices that start around £11,000, fortunately, one thing the modern MINI brand is big on is feature packs. ![]() Features such as voice control and DAB can add even more. ![]() In any case, to that you can typically add £1,345 for navigation, and anywhere from around £400 to £700 for full Bluetooth and USB connections, depending on the MINI model in question. Exactly what you get with this solution, we're not sure, since it doesn't include the large central LCD display, the navigation or Bluetooth and USB connectivity. So, what do you get with MINI Connected and how much does it all cost? The basic system costs just £210. ![]()
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