[jeremynpross]

Good news. The latest Progman v27.02.02 has a number of much-needed improvements to the iPod functions in iDrive as well as other areas. My 335i coupe (April 2-007 build) received new programming in 18 modules. I had the factory Progman, probably V25. Note that the new incremental upgrades to 20 (the .02.02) are "online upgrades" received by the dealer. They are not documented in the SIB that the dealer has (the release notes for Progman versions). Kudos to Center BMW in Sherman Oaks for putting my car in for reprogramming based on my complaint about slow scrolling in the iPod even though they had nothing in writing that said the new release contained this magical fix. If anyone knows what this upgrade fixes, please post.

- Fast scrolling through Artist and other lists.
No more "slow scrolling" problem. Now when I spin the wheel, the list goes gray and switches to numbers that go by very quickly. It used to take me 7-8 minutes to scroll to "Z" artists. Now it only takes about 20 seconds.

- Returns to place in list
It is now possible to go back logically. Selecting a higher level folder in the secoind line submenu takes you there. Selecting "back" at the top takes you to the list you were in on the entry you clicked. It used to jump back to the very top of the list.

- Remembers Playlist after restarting car
Now loads audio data and displays full playlist when the car is restarted. It used to display only the current song after a restart.

- EQ better balanced with CD and FM sources
Now sounds very comparable to other program sources. It used to be too bass-heavy.

- Better EQ and cleaner sound overall on all program sources
This is hard to quantify without instruments to analyse frequency, but I can tell immediately that the sound is cleaner and the flat setting is now a good starting point. The highs used to have a spitting, brittle quality in the 5k to 10khz range. Now they are cleaner even when turned up. More noticeable is the lack of boominess in the 70-100 hz range. I used to have to drop the 100 hz equalizer slider a lot to clean it up. Now I can use a conventional U shaped "loudness" style curve and get great sound. I need to experiment but it seems that in general it's possible to just adjust frequencies to taste rather than adjusting to make up for deficiencies in the EQ.

...and other improvements (non audio)

- Remembers all climate control settings
It used to forget if I has the air recirculation on and always went back to free-flow after car restart. Now it stays as it was.

- Smoother acceleration
Part throttle starts in D no longer produce the little lurch or surge that so many folks have commented on. The throttle feels a tiny bit less responsive, as if the timing was retarded a bit, but it's far easier to drive smoothly. The problem was less in Sport before, but now Sport also seems smoother. I haven't timed it in a 0-60 run but I don't think the car is detuned, just readjusted so thgat launch is easier in real-world and not test-track driving here in SoCal where traffic precludes the sort of aggressive starts that I would normally make if there was no traffic.