[Drummer61]

Just took delivery of new Cooper with chilli pack. Anyone know if armrest should come as standard?

 

[Hat]

Might depend where in the world you are but i doubt it. It has to be added separately in the uk

 

[Tiger]

Same in the US... it's bundled with the enhanced bluetooth as part of a package

 

[profiteroles]

Same in the US... it's bundled with the enhanced bluetooth as part of a package

Top tip - enhanced Bluetooth includes armrest and visual boost and is cheaper than buying the VB and armrest separately.

 

[sirron]

Same in the US... it's bundled with the enhanced bluetooth as part of a package

Yeah, you obviously need an armrest to enable your phone using bluetooth!

 

[PAMini]

Yeah, you obviously need an armrest to enable your phone using bluetooth!

It does have that little snap in thingy. (I believe that is the technical term ) supposedly boosts the reception. I don't have an iPhone though so I can't testify for that.

 

[siriuszero]

It does have that little snap in thingy. (I believe that is the technical term ) supposedly boosts the reception. I don't have an iPhone though so I can't testify for that.

The snap in adapter honestly isn't worth the extra $250 you have to spend to get the adapter for your phone. That's $250 AFTER you have the compatible armrest...

 

[Minion]

Took delivery of my Cooper S a couple of weeks ago. It has a chilli pack and I had to add the armrest as an another extra to get it.

Interesting that it would have been cheaper to get enhanced bluetooth than visual boost and an armrest... they never told me that!

 

[Dollyman]

It's changed recently, I was getting my spec finalised for next week, Visual Boost is now listed as part of the Chili Pack but its an extra £200 on top, work that out!

If you spec Enhanced Bluetooth its now £95 and you get the armrest with that.

Teutonic logic?

 

[PAMini]

It would be nice for Android users if they could at least come out with some sort of universal adapter for phones with a micro usb.

 

[TraceyN]

I picked up my new F56 Cooper S last week. It has an arm rest. If I purchase the "click in thingy" for my iPhone, does it just plug in or does the dealer have to do some installation work?

Thanks
Tracey

 

[Tiger]

I picked up my new F56 Cooper S last week. It has an arm rest. If I purchase the "click in thingy" for my iPhone, does it just plug in or does the dealer have to do some installation work?

Thanks
Tracey

It will just snap into the dock in the armrest.

 

[gloriakogg]

In North America, the arm rest is bundle up with the "fully loaded package".

I have an Iphone 6 Plus, can't even put my 6+ inside the arm rest because its too big..

 

[MINIgirl]

I use it to keep my lip gloss and sunglasses in...

 

[BoCRon]

So if you have an iPhone docked in the armrest can it be useful in there or is it just charging? I have my old 5 and was thinking of just loading it up in there to use for music and apps. I am a mostly short trip driver (at least in the MINI) so don't really need to have it charge in there, I can just use the bluetooth for the occasional phone call, right? My current phone is the 6plus so I'm guessing it won't fit in there so why bother.


Annette

 

[Tiger]

So if you have an iPhone docked in the armrest can it be useful in there or is it just charging? I have my old 5 and was thinking of just loading it up in there to use for music and apps. I am a mostly short trip driver (at least in the MINI) so don't really need to have it charge in there, I can just use the bluetooth for the occasional phone call, right? My current phone is the 6plus so I'm guessing it won't fit in there so why bother.


Annette

The armrest comes as part of a couple packages or as a stand alone option (at least it did last time I looked at the configurator). In any event, if you get anything with the "enhanced bluetooth", the armrest is the key player.

Moving on to the specifics - it's not just a charger, but part of the overall enhanced bluetooth function which, if I understand it correctly, allows BT streaming from your phone. It also uses your Mini's antenna to boost your cell phone signal.

 

[BoCRon]

My current build had the Fully Loaded package which as I recall includes the enhanced Bluetooth. Having a 6plus that won't even fit in there makes this problematic. Bad design decision I guess. As I prefer to toss the phone on the seat and just use the bluetooth function that way I guess it won't really matter to me.
Annette

 

[Tiger]

Welcome to the world of the Android users ha. Since we don't get snap in adapters, we can't use our enhanced anything. I keep my phone in my pocket unless I'm going on a longer run and jack it into the USB to use Mini Connected.

 

[BoCRon]

I have MINI Connected on my current R56. I think I've used it 5 times in the past 4 years. Never found a use for it. Maybe it's evolved and is now useful but I never saw the point. As long as I can use my old iPhone 5 in the armrest for playing music then that's about all I need.

 

[Tiger]

I have MINI Connected on my current R56. I think I've used it 5 times in the past 4 years. Never found a use for it. Maybe it's evolved and is now useful but I never saw the point. As long as I can use my old iPhone 5 in the armrest for playing music then that's about all I need.

I've said elsewhere that on longer runs, I like connected. It's nice to have your twitter and newsfeed read aloud to you even though the Facebook functionality is awful. The big thing with Connected is the search function which is weirdly well thought out. It takes into consideration where you are, what road you're on, and where you are going. I used it to look up where the next interstate rest stop was (accurate) and can use it to find businesses and such like in google maps, navigate to them and/or call them. It works surprisingly well. I'm still scratching my head with Journeymate, but I can definitely see the utility in the "find my car" function... especially if you lose your tiny car in a vast parking lot somewhere like Disneyworld ha