what cable are you using to connec the ipods? only the official bmw/mini ipod lead works with the newest ipods... this is a Y-shaped cable that plugs into both the usb port and the aux in (and costs £40
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there is a thread about sweet talking dealers into giving you the Y-cable for free, but I wasn't successful/pushy enough!
No idea about the contacts i'm afraid - I had to download an extra bit of software for my nokia e65 to get the contacts to copy over. but the answer is likely to be on the net somewhere! (try north american mini perhaps?)
