BMW 7 Series: Introduction

The Car Information Computer (CIC) is incorporates many innovations and new features. The system has been introduced to the US market on the 1 Series and the 3 Series from September of 2008 production. The 7 Series (F01/F02) will soon follow.

The CIC replaces the Car Communication Computer (CCC) and will be offered as part of the navigation system option.

Fig. 1: Identifying iDrive System With CIC On An E90 Vehicle

NEW FEATURES

The Car Information Computer (CIC) continues the path laid out by the earlier CCC system and takes it to the next level of development. The main noticeable feature of this iDrive system is the newly designed controller that is now equipped with seven direct access buttons. These buttons provide shortcuts to the menus in the redesigned layout of the user interface.

Compared to the CCC system, the number of CD/DVD drives in the CIC has been reduced to one optical drive.

The CIC overall screen dimensions have remained the same. However, the number of pixels have doubled from 640x240 (CCC) to 1280x480. This provides improved visual quality by generating a sharper graphic display.

The navigation system display has been enhanced with the following functions:

• Full screen mode
• Night view
• 3D models in the perspective map view

The use of an integrated HDD (hard disk drive) now allows navigation map data to be saved on the CIC hard disk. Previously, this map data had to be loaded from a navigation DVD for each destination entry. Maps can also be displayed much faster due to the increased processing power of the CIC.

The hard disk drive in the CIC also makes it possible to compile and store a personalized music collection. An 8GB section of the total 80GB hard disk is dedicated to store music files.

These files can be transferred from audio CDs, MP3 players or USB sticks. Along with the music data files, the music track database (Gracenote) is also stored to be used for the music search function.

An address database has been included in the "Contacts" menu, which can also be accessed from the Telephone and Navigation menus. This feature offers a single "location" for accessing contact information. The information contained is more comprehensive than before.

Many external receiver hardware devices such as IBOC and GPS are integrated in the CIC. This adds flexibility and expands the system's functions.

The voice recognition system has been further developed to now enable even simpler and more fluid voice command inputs.

The communication service BMW Assist has been adapted to the new layout of the user interface and expanded with additional services.

Additional services available in BMW Assist effective September of 2008:

• My info
• BMW Search with Google Map database access

WMA FILE

A Windows Media Audio file (WMA) is an audio data compression technology.

With WMA technology, audio signals that are deemed to be imperceptible to the hum an ear (heating limit) are deleted. Compared to MP3 at low data transmission rates of 128 kbit/s, this technology offers a rich and detailed sound quality.

Despite its very compact size (1 MB per song minute), a WMA file of 128 kbit/s is comparable in terms of sound quality, to an MP3 file of approximate 160 kbit/s.

This compression technology was developed by Microsoft and because of its DRM (Digital Rights Management) capabilities, it is the preferred platform for the majority of the online music industry.

HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)

The HDD is a ferromagnetic storage medium, which uses a write/read head to write binary data on to the surface of a rotating disk. This device is comparable to the hard drive on a home computer or laptop.

MUSIC TRACK DATABASE (GRACENOTE)

This is a music track identification technology created by the company Gracenote. It makes available the data associated with the music tracks (metadata). Gracenote is the industry standard in the field of music identification technology that provides associated content.

The metadata contains the following information:

• Artist
• Track title
• Album
• Release year
• Genre classification

NOTE: These metadata are managed and distributed by Gracenote (www.gracenote.com/music). Non-commercial users have free access.

ID3-TAG

The ID3-Tag is the identification byte of an MP3 file.

A format for additional information (metadata) that can be contained in reserved parts of the storage space of an MP3 file. This metadata is used exclusively for displaying track title, artist, genre etc., in the display of MP3 players or vehicles.

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