GPS Business News: Last week BMW Group announced their support for “iPod Out”, a new feature in Apple iOS 4 that allows BMW and MINI infotainment systems to display and control the music playback feature in iPhone and iPod touch in the vehicle’s main display. With this technology the iPod navigation menu can be operated through the vehicle’s interface controls. BMW Group will offer this feature in 2011 vehicles (BMW and Mini).
The new interface technology was developed by an international cooperation of the BMW Research and Development Centre in Munich, Germany and the BMW Group Technology Office in Palo Alto, California.
At this stage iPod Out is only about displaying music lists in the dash board, but is it likely that, moving forward, Apple will extend this technology to controlling apps in the dashboard. Once that stage is reached, iPod Out will play in the same arena as the Terminal Mode technology from Nokia.
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