[ft1330]

I have a Galaxy S4 (not my choice, it's a business phone, but I would still go Android these days). While the phone is OK, I agree that the BMW support is lack-luster at best. You have BILLIONS of apps that work as well on Android as they do on iPhone, yet BMW with their massive budgets are way behind on the Android version. We all know BMW sucks at software (just look at iDrive), so why is everyone defending BMW on this? (if you think iDrive is good you have no cred to answer this lol)

I know there can be difficulties in handling the several different devices available on Android but the OS layer is supposed to abstract that out from devs. And sorry I don't see where BMW is relying on special hardware functions only available in the Galaxy and Nexus.

At any rate, to OP, you're not missing a thing, since the connected drive app on Android, when it works, has 0 functions. They included the same crap apps as in iDrive (wiki local, etc), and the only cool thing I was looking forward to, Pandora, was left out. I can still stream it out through BT audio but even that is buggy, the sound is choppy. Don't know who's to blame on that one. Given BMW track record in software it's probably them tho.

[joedoe]

Originally Posted by carzaddict

honestly the whole thing is a giant gimmick. the best part of it is the pandora streaming.

but its the principal of it all. i paid extra to have the BMW apps....and it doesnt work! they specifically said they made it compatible for the S4....and it doesnt work!

Why do you need Pandora? Isn't a few hudreds HD radio channels ehough?

[joedoe]

Originally Posted by ft1330

I have a Galaxy S4 (not my choice, it's a business phone, but I would still go Android these days). While the phone is OK, I agree that the BMW support is lack-luster at best. You have BILLIONS of apps that work as well on Android as they do on iPhone, yet BMW with their massive budgets are way behind on the Android version. We all know BMW sucks at software (just look at iDrive), so why is everyone defending BMW on this? (if you think iDrive is good you have no cred to answer this lol)

I know there can be difficulties in handling the several different devices available on Android but the OS layer is supposed to abstract that out from devs. And sorry I don't see where BMW is relying on special hardware functions only available in the Galaxy and Nexus.

At any rate, to OP, you're not missing a thing, since the connected drive app on Android, when it works, has 0 functions. They included the same crap apps as in iDrive (wiki local, etc), and the only cool thing I was looking forward to, Pandora, was left out. I can still stream it out through BT audio but even that is buggy, the sound is choppy. Don't know who's to blame on that one. Given BMW track record in software it's probably them tho.

It seems like BMW isn't qualified ehough to do a proper choice between IOS and Android devices. It prefferd a hipster device over technology advanced device.

[joedoe]

Originally Posted by Quakered

Buy a BMW and then buy a cheap, inmitation iphone and act all hurt and surprised when it does not work...

You mean the iPhone, right?

[carzaddict]

Originally Posted by ft1330

I have a Galaxy S4 (not my choice, it's a business phone, but I would still go Android these days). While the phone is OK, I agree that the BMW support is lack-luster at best. You have BILLIONS of apps that work as well on Android as they do on iPhone, yet BMW with their massive budgets are way behind on the Android version. We all know BMW sucks at software (just look at iDrive), so why is everyone defending BMW on this? (if you think iDrive is good you have no cred to answer this lol)

I know there can be difficulties in handling the several different devices available on Android but the OS layer is supposed to abstract that out from devs. And sorry I don't see where BMW is relying on special hardware functions only available in the Galaxy and Nexus.

At any rate, to OP, you're not missing a thing, since the connected drive app on Android, when it works, has 0 functions. They included the same crap apps as in iDrive (wiki local, etc), and the only cool thing I was looking forward to, Pandora, was left out. I can still stream it out through BT audio but even that is buggy, the sound is choppy. Don't know who's to blame on that one. Given BMW track record in software it's probably them tho.

.

THANK YOU!!! finally someone understands. I was afraid this was going to turn into an android/iOS war...but you're 100% right. theres so many apps out there that work perfectly fine between iOS and Android...i dont see why this is any different.

on top of all of that.......everyone seems to be missing the key point....BMW SAID THEY'VE OPTIMIZED THE SOFTWARE TO WORK FOR THE S4......what exactly did they do if it still doesnt work?

you're right...Pandora is still missing from this update...i didnt realize it until later. but even so 1) theres no reason that its taking forever to make the 2 apps have the same number of features 2) it should still work!

Originally Posted by joedoe

Why do you need Pandora? Isn't a few hudreds HD radio channels ehough?

local radio plays the same 3 songs on repeat. occasionally XM does the same...but with that being said 140 channels seems like a lot...but 90% of them i dont care for.

Yes i know I can stream pandora through bluetooth, but i dont want to and i shouldnt have to if theres another option.

the bottom line is.....i bought a car that came with BMW Apps...I want to use it because I paid for it......yes i know it was originally for iOS...but now BMW is offering a solution for android.....theres no reason why it shouldnt work.

[Steve33]

Originally Posted by carzaddict

what do you mean? how is it my fault? Im not the developer. im the consumer...and when i tested it...it failed.

I don't know why my post disappeared, but you didn't test it before you bought the car. Sounds like a personal problem to me.

Just because it's optimized for the S4, doesn't mean it's optimized for your version of the S4.

Here are all the different models:
GT-I9500
SHV-E300K/L/S
GT-I9505
GT-I9506
GT-I9505G
SGH-I337
SGH-M919
SCH-I545
SPH-L720
SCH-R970
GT-I9508
SCH-I959
GT-I9502
SGH-N045(SC-04E)
SGH-I337M
SGH-M919V
SCH-R970X
SCH-R970C

While it might not work on the US editions SGH-I337M (AT&T version) it probably works on the GT-I950X edition they use in Germany.

[zeezz]

Originally Posted by Steve33

I don't know why my post disappeared, but you didn't test it before you bought the car. Sounds like a personal problem to me.

Just because it's optimized for the S4, doesn't mean it's optimized for your version of the S4.

Here are all the different models:
GT-I9500
SHV-E300K/L/S
GT-I9505
GT-I9506
GT-I9505G
SGH-I337
SGH-M919
SCH-I545
SPH-L720
SCH-R970
GT-I9508
SCH-I959
GT-I9502
SGH-N045(SC-04E)
SGH-I337M
SGH-M919V
SCH-R970X
SCH-R970C

While it might not work on the US editions SGH-I337M (AT&T version) it probably works on the GT-I950X edition they use in Germany.

We get it Steve. You love apple and androids are so fragmented they completely fail in all manners.

As far as the ConnectedDrive app, I am sure that things will get better soon - the upcoming Minis have already announced support as well, so software revisions should be increasing. Another huge driver will be the large Android population in China, BMW's largest market.

[Steve33]

Originally Posted by zeezz

We get it Steve. You love apple and androids are so fragmented they completely fail in all manners

So quick to pass judgment. I use them both and I love them both.

[Steve33]

"For this app to work, your BMW must have been produced after July 2013"

You're being overly dramatic - it only works with 2014+

[carzaddict]

you have a good point Steve, i forgot that there are different versions. And I didnt have an S4 when i originally bought the car. turns out my car was built in June 2013.

i guess im going to have to keep with my current situation....using an iPod touch and tethering off my S4.

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by carzaddict

you have a good point Steve, i forgot that there are different versions. And I didnt have an S4 when i originally bought the car. turns out my car was built in June 2013.

i guess im going to have to keep with my current situation....using an iPod touch and tethering off my S4.

Oh right my car was made after that date so it's compatible, still a lame app though.

[joedoe]

Originally Posted by Steve33

I don't know why my post disappeared, but you didn't test it before you bought the car. Sounds like a personal problem to me.

Just because it's optimized for the S4, doesn't mean it's optimized for your version of the S4.

Here are all the different models:
GT-I9500
SHV-E300K/L/S
GT-I9505
GT-I9506
GT-I9505G
SGH-I337
SGH-M919
SCH-I545
SPH-L720
SCH-R970
GT-I9508
SCH-I959
GT-I9502
SGH-N045(SC-04E)
SGH-I337M
SGH-M919V
SCH-R970X
SCH-R970C

While it might not work on the US editions SGH-I337M (AT&T version) it probably works on the GT-I950X edition they use in Germany.

The particular hardware variant doesn't make any difference in this case, the Android version DOES

[Quakered]

This thread does seem to be a very large mountain constructed from a very small mole-hill. I don't think anyone wakes up and thinks "I must own a BMW because the software is so great". Surely everyone buys them because they make great cars and BMW spend their R&D euros on maintaining this position. A few bits of software add to the fun but it is surely an amusing sideshow to the main act.

I can also understand that if you want a phone that can maintain your contacts, email and allow some internet access then and Android phone might seem sensible if you want to save a few hundred dollars. But if you want a device that can run third party software then why would you choose anything other than the brand leader and the original as this is the device that will get the best support from 3rd party developers. I suspect some smooth salesman approached BMW and said please modify your software to run on our device and you only need to make these few minor changes. I further suspect BMW did this and then found it did not work. Reasoning that most of their customer base were not cheapskates, they decided getting it to work on any particular brand of imitation iphone was not worth the candle.

To quote Ruskin, "There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."

I also do not understand this anti Apple sentiment. They are the ones who developed and produced the touch screen smart phone and continue to develop it. They produce beautifully engineered, high quality products. Damned expensive and hugely profitable. Rather like BMW. I would have also thought they are a more reputable business than Google but then to be less reputable than Google you would need to be running a white powder production company in Colombia!

[carzaddict]

Originally Posted by Quakered

This thread does seem to be a very large mountain constructed from a very small mole-hill. I don't think anyone wakes up and thinks "I must own a BMW because the software is so great". Surely everyone buys them because they make great cars and BMW spend their R&D euros on maintaining this position. A few bits of software add to the fun but it is surely an amusing sideshow to the main act.

I can also understand that if you want a phone that can maintain your contacts, email and allow some internet access then and Android phone might seem sensible if you want to save a few hundred dollars. But if you want a device that can run third party software then why would you choose anything other than the brand leader and the original as this is the device that will get the best support from 3rd party developers. I suspect some smooth salesman approached BMW and said please modify your software to run on our device and you only need to make these few minor changes. I further suspect BMW did this and then found it did not work. Reasoning that most of their customer base were not cheapskates, they decided getting it to work on any particular brand of imitation iphone was not worth the candle.

To quote Ruskin, "There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."

I also do not understand this anti Apple sentiment. They are the ones who developed and produced the touch screen smart phone and continue to develop it. They produce beautifully engineered, high quality products. Damned expensive and hugely profitable. Rather like BMW. I would have also thought they are a more reputable business than Google but then to be less reputable than Google you would need to be running a white powder production company in Colombia!

basically you and a few other people (in regards to apple vs android) are saying "Why by a BMW when a honda can do the same thing but cheaper"....which is a completely ignorant thing to say because it just shows that you dont know what you're talking about.

im a software engineer, i understand the components inside and out....and i need a phone that can do what i NEED it to do. Yes Apple builds great phones...they are gorgeous to look at and work very well. I am neither an Apple nor Android fanboy...ive used both phones extensively and they are great in their OWN respect

But 1) the screen is too small for me, i prefer a bigger phone. 2) I constantly download things to my phone, and i download torrents...Android does it better. 3) at one point iPhones didnt have LTE....i wanted the faster network. there are SO many reasons why an android is better for my life than an iphone is....which is why i went with an Android. and FYI...a Galalxy S4 and iPhone can be purchased at the SAME PRICE...so dont be insulting.

as far as 3rd party support is concerned....thats not a valid excuse. There are PLENTY of companies that are building both iOS and Android versions of the same product. its not rocket science, it can be done. plus, as mentioned earlier..its not like BMW is writing complex code that required taping into the hardware. its just poor development on their part. Theres not a single good review on the play store about the app....and theres no reason for it, especially if they want to sell more of it

[zenmaster]

Originally Posted by Steve33

"For this app to work, your BMW must have been produced after July 2013"

You're being overly dramatic - it only works with 2014+

When BMW originally said "2013", back in a mid-2012 press release, I thought they meant "2013 models" and reasonably expected android support in my 2013 NBT-based car. (Of course the salesperson said it would be there too)

I am wondering if there is a technical reason why 2013MY NBT BMWs lack Android support.

[Steve33]

Originally Posted by zenmaster

When BMW originally said "2013", back in a mid-2012 press release, I thought they meant "2013 models" and reasonably expected android support in my 2013 NBT-based car. (Of course the salesperson said it would be there too)

I am wondering if there is a technical reason why 2013MY NBT BMWs lack Android support.

The new nav system

[@boss335xDrive]

I totally get your point. The issues with the technology not working properly are VERY frustrating. I paid an extra $3100 for the "technology package", and it will not stream bluetooth audio from my HTC One. Even my $25K Mazda could do that on a $700 navi/head unit.
The worse part is they say it's not their problem, it's my phone. For $3100 extra, it should be able to guess what I want to listen to, ad send it directly into my head.
The dealer said, "You'll have to connect it with a USB cord."
If they cannot do it right, then just admit they only know how design cars, and just leave a hole for you to put an after market system in.

[zeezz]

Originally Posted by boss335xDrive

I totally get your point. The issues with the technology not working properly are VERY frustrating. I paid an extra $3100 for the "technology package", and it will not stream bluetooth audio from my HTC One. Even my $25K Mazda could do that on a $700 navi/head unit.
The worse part is they say it's not their problem, it's my phone. For $3100 extra, it should be able to guess what I want to listen to, ad send it directly into my head.
The dealer said, "You'll have to connect it with a USB cord."
If they cannot do it right, then just admit they only know how design cars, and just leave a hole for you to put an after market system in.

Tech package should have Enhanced Bluetooth, allowing for remote streaming... works well on my HTC One (Pandora, MP3s, etc). You may need to troubleshoot a bit.

[Eddian!]

Originally Posted by Steve33

Apple:
Make the phone and iOS
If there's a problem, it's a one stop shop for BMW

Android:
Countless manufacturers
Countless versions of the OS out there
If there's a problem, they have to go to carriers pushing out the updates to the OS and then to the phone manufacturers.

What's easier?

way to show you dont know anything about the android ecosystem. Keep in mind there are thousand of apps in Google Play that are compatible with almost every version of Android (2.3+).

[Steve33]

Originally Posted by Eddian!

way to show you dont know anything about the android ecosystem

Glad you know what I do for a living, too.

[F87_LCI]

Fact. Android devices have 79.3% market share worldwide.
Fact. Apple iPhones have 13.2% market share worldwide.
Fact. Apple iPhones have 68% market share in the US.
Fact. 37% of Americans can not point out the location of the United States on a globe without the names of the countries printed on the globe. 11% couldn't do it when the names WERE printed on it! What?

Hey Americans, there are other people in this world too. Most of them are using the Android platform. Stop being so ignorant, you're just embarrassing yourselves...further.

[joedoe]

Originally Posted by LagunaSecaBlue

Fact. Android devices have 79.3% market share worldwide.
Fact. Apple iPhones have 13.2% market share worldwide.
Fact. Apple iPhones have 68% market share in the US.
Fact. 37% of Americans can not point out the location of the United States on a globe without the names of the countries printed on the globe. 11% couldn't do it when the names WERE printed on it! What?

Hey Americans, there are other people in this world too. Most of them are using the Android platform. Stop being so ignorant, you're just embarrassing yourselves...further.

Ditto! Bravo!