Sunday, October 30, 2011

Mini Connected Review


My previous post was all about BMW ConnectedDrive and BMW Apps. This one is about Mini Connected which is very similar to what is available on the BMW side of things.

One big difference with Mini Connected is that it does not come with a sim card so all "connected" functions use your iPhone data connection. In fact, what Mini calls "Mini Connected" is almost the same thing than what BMW calls "BMW Apps" (and not BMW Connected as you might have thought).

Mini Connected enables you to display your Facebook & Twitter feeds, use Google Send to Car and listen to webradios. The interface and functions are almost identical to what I described in my previous post about BMW Connected.

The same annoying bluetooth audio streaming deactivation happens when you plug your iPhone in the snapin but you can fix it in the same way that I previously described:


BMW ConnectedDrive & BMW Apps Review


I have been using BMW Connected Drive for two weeks and thought I would post here a full review of its functionalities as detailed information is hard to find even when you have a car equipped with it.

First of all, let me stress that BMW's current offering is quite confusing as the lines are kinda blurry between BMW Connected Drive and what they call BMW Apps. BMW Connected Drive is itself divided into different sections that are or aren't subject to a subscription fee.


So what can you do with this BMW ConnectedDrive?

The Most Detailed iCloud Review Ever


As I have been using iCloud for two weeks, this post aims at addressing the most commonly asked questions with regard to this latest addition to Apple technology. Granted, most of Apple products don't require a detailed manual as they usually "just work". In iCloud case, I believe that, although it works beautifully, it requires a lot more explaining that what can be found at www.apple.com/icloud

First of all, the user has to keep in mind that "iCloud" refers to many different things:

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Why The iPhone 4S Is Great


It seems many people were disappointed by yesterday's Apple event just because the new iPhone wasn't named the iPhone 5! I, however, believe that the iPhone 4S tech specs are in line with what was expected for the rumored iPhone 5 (dual core A5 processor, 8MP camera, 1080p video recording, SIRI assistant, faster graphics etc.). Surprisingly, the overall feedback on the Internet seems to be solely based on the fact that this new iPhone was not named with the number 5.

Of course, Apple could have named it iPhone 5 but that wouldn't have been in line with their practices. As the iPhone 4S sports the same form factor than the 4, they decided to keep the number 4 in its name (as for the iPhone 3 & 3GS). The press and most customers would have applauded if that same phone were named iPhone 5 instead of iPhone 4S as its specs are, for the most part, what were expected for an iPhone 5.