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New Audi Music Interface iPod & MP3 Integration Examined
Full iPod and MP3 Integration for A8, S8, A6, S6 and Q7

MP3 and iPod integration might just be the Holy Grail on the audio side of the industry. Many solutions are out there, though few offer fully navigable and sensible integration of the most dominant personal MP3 player industry – the Apple iPod.

Audi currently offers iPod integration for A3, A4, S4 and RS 4 models. Limited on the number of usable playlists, this current offering makes the most of the system with which it is mated, and is typical of other iPod integration kits available on the market today.



With MOST based MMI cars including the A6 and S6 (C6), A8 and S8 (D3) and the new Q7, optical cables are used allowing for better communication within the audio system’s architecture. Additionally, MMI’s own navigation processes with its enter and return functions are much like the iPod’s own play and menu functions, allowing for simply the best iPod navigation via head unit control we’ve seen on the market today in the form of the new Audi Music Interface (AMI).

Recently in Montreal, Audi had some of the first S8 and S6 models on hand equipped with their new AMI system. Intrigued, we sat down in a parked Bang & Olufsen and AMI-equipped S8 for some time with Audi of America’s Product Planning Manager Filip Brabec to learn more about the system, then took the S8 and another S6 with the system out for a test drive to get a better handle on the new system.

Physically, the AMI is basically a second media box located next to the CD changer on the A6, S6, A8 and S8. For the Q7, the box will be located underneath the center armrest. Part of the box includes a slide out drawer to hold your iPod or any other MP3 or data storage device you might use that is compatible with the system.

Today’s big news is that the AMI is one very impressive solution for use with the iPod, though Audi has not limited the use of its AMI to the Apple player. Additional cables will also be made available, including one with a standard 3.5mm jack and a USB 2.0 compatible jack coming in 2007.

In the case of the iPod, it also charges the unit while it is plugged in to the AMI.

Once plugged in, the device will then appear in the MMI’s navigation. Simply press CD on the MMI controller buttons and you have your choice between your MP3 device (iPod in this case) or CD changer.



Choose source, then Audi Music Interface and then navigate as you would navigate your iPod, by playlist, by artist, album, etc.

As mentioned, MMI isn’t much different in its navigation premises from iPod, so navigation is quite intuitive. MMI’s “Enter” function clicks into or “down” the menu, or plays the track once a track list is chosen. “Return” allows the user to navigate out or “up” a menu, much like the “Menu” button on the iPod.



Navigation buttons via the steering wheel also remain fully operational, and allow for navigation in this fashion as well. The name of the track, at the same time, is shown both on the MMI screen or on the small information screen in the center of the instrument cluster.

The Audi Music Interface is the brainchild of several top developers working out of Audi’s electronics department in Ingolstadt, under the leadership of Dr. Willibert Schleuter. Among others, engineers Alexander Hanke and Matthias Tauber, two shining stars at Audi, are responsible for making the AMI work so effortlessly on MMI-based cars.



AMI is made to function in all MOST-based audio system cars. As mentioned, this includes the A6 (C6), A8 (D3), Q7, S6 (C6) and S8 (D3). Additionally, the Audi Music Interface will be available as a factory-equipped option beginning with November production, and retrofit into cars listed above should be available starting in early 2007.

Brabec could not confirm timing, though expects a retrofit solution to be available by the end of the year. Installing the retrofit into older cars will probably also include a software update for MMI depending on the version of MMI being used. He also suggested the Q7 retrofit would be more intricate given the wiring to the center console is a slightly more invasive install.

Given the functionality of these MOST-based iPod integration options, we pressed Brabec on the proliferation of the communications architecture.

To this, Filip replied, “Probably, yes. For us, this represents a higher level of intelligence almost… a higher level of technology. It is a little bit more costly because of its optical cable and interface, but that also bestows it with engineering advantages. It is faster, and you can push greater amounts of data over it.”

Expansion to other Audi models was “reasonable” in Brabec’s words, though he didn’t want to be more specific on upcoming models just yet.

The current accessory solution for A3, A4, S4 and RS 4 iPod integration will remain the sole offering for those models. In those cases, this has been accented by SD card MP3 capability for those cars with navigation, and the new 2007-spec non-navigation Symphony II+ head unit will also now play MP3 CDs.

The A6, S6, A8 and S8 will get a similar upgrade, where the CD changers in those cars is also being changed to accept CDs with MP3 files as standard equipment. Just like AMI availability, this will begin with November production.

The Audi Music Interface will be optional equipment. Expect this to cost an additional $300 when ordered on a new car. Filip was not yet ready to provide pricing on retrofit kits at this time.

The aforementioned USB 2.0 cable will have a later arrival than AMI, with availability expected at about the same time as model year 2008 cars (summer 2007). The cable combined with a software update will update versions of the Audi Music Interface purchased prior to the USB cable’s availability.

USB 2.0 functionality is also a very interesting aspect of the system. This cable would allow the Audi Music Interface to work with not only other MP3 players, but also USB jump drives and even USB-2.0 powered auxiliary drives containing MP3s. Like the SD card functionality on the A4/S4/RS 4 models with navigation, file folders from the drive are then read as playlists by the dashboard readout and navigated thusly.

As near as we can tell, this is one of the most extensively usable iPod integration kits available on the market today. Complimenting Brabec on that fact, he replied, “This solution to me is really leaping. It is representative of Audi because it is taking an idea and trying to make that idea better. We’re not just saying ‘let’s make an iPod interface because our owners have iPods.’”



“Our engineers have always felt that way. What we don’t want is to get married to any one particular thing. The same philosophy is behind the telephone integration in the car. You try to see how many phones you can adapt to the solution. With newer software, we’re able to bring more and more compatibility of phones. We took the same approach with the Audi Music Interface.”

We asked if there were any plans for iPod video integration into the cars. We’d expect there to be legal issues with that for America, though European spec Audis already come with TV tuners that operate below 5kph.

Brabec informed us that such functionality wouldn’t happen on this generation of MMI. Audi is working on future generations of MMI, where something like this might be feasible. How they choose to implement it, he suggested, might be anywhere from streaming to the back seat, or in the front seat for Europe as the European market TV tuners do now. Likely the latter won’t happen for the USA, but expansion of such systems could further mean things like streaming videos and other content downloaded on demand. Such functionality is quite close on cell phones, and integration of that into the car is most interesting. Brabec assured that Audi is certainly looking into those sorts of options.

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DaSilva

It was about time!! Woho!

siko

I'm glad it supports more than the iPod too

DaSilva

I totaly agree on that!

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