It is just a matter of time BMW says before you will be able to download and enjoy digital and video content in your car like you do in your living room.
As I recently reported, BMW says it has a prototype X5 SUV, developed with the European Space Agency and other consortium partners, with a satellite dish that works the same way as satellite television in your home, except the antenna is attached to the car.
Now BMW claims to have taken a further lead among car OEMs with the development of a multimedia content delivery system that streams video and music via cellular or
Wi-Fi connections to a car's console from which it can be viewed or downloaded for later viewing or listening. With a PC-to-car Wi-Fi link, the system allows you to select video or sound files on your PC's hard drive, which you can then transfer wirelessly to the BMW's 20-GB console. The cellular link works the same way except that data can be transferred over longer distances, of course, compared to the limited range of a Wi-Fi connection.
During the Geneva Motor Show, I interviewed Hans-Jörg Vögel, who heads the project team, and I saw and got to play with BMW's console that already had video and music downloaded on the hard drive. It could also record radio content.
While the system works, Vögel said, licensing and copyright issues serve as the main impediment to its commercial roll out. The Wi-Fi content delivery system, however, could be commercially available within three years, Vögel said.
