My first mini (LOVE IT!) - iphone advice please?

[Debphil]

Apologies in advance for this post. I am certain this will have been discussed but after much searching I'm still confused! I'm a bit technophobic Sorry.

I have just purchsed my first mini A 2007 Mini cooper s convertible I am loving it!!!!!!!!!! Never enjoyed driving so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm looking for a way to use my iphone in the car. Ideally I'd like to (i) play my tunes, (ii) take calls hands free through the stereo speakers and (iii) charge my phone.

I dont have any factory fitted bluetooth, nor do I have the sat nav. I have a MFSW with phone button but have no idea whether it is even possible to do all of the above with the iphone.

No problem about fitting anything as my husband will be able to do this but he has given me the job of working out what I want!

I would be incredibly grateful for any advice!
Thank you

[Riggy]

Well, if it was me:

First things first, double-check the manual (including the seperate bit for the stereo) to be 100% sure there is no factory-fitted bluetooth. You never know, the previous owner might not have known about it.

After that: You need an after-market stereo. You have 2 options here.

WITH wires

Some car stereos are able to use a USB lead (or cradle/phone holder) to connect to your iphone. This single lead will enable music playback through your car speakers, remote control via the stereo front and steering wheel, and handsfree calling through the car speakers. As an added bonus, it will keep your phone charged up too.

Make sure to ask whoever you buy it from whether it supports handsfree calls on the phone, either via bluetooth or the USB cable.

WITHOUT wires

Alternatively, you can get a bluetooth car stero. There are two types of bluetooth and I'd suggest you get a stereo that can handle both:

1: Bluetooth handsfree, aka "HFP1.5" : your iphone supports this out-of-the-box, it's what wireless hands-free mobile phone headsets use.

2: Bluetooth stereo, aka "A2DP", aka AVRCP : This is the type of Bluetooth used to play music via wireless speakers and wireless headphones. It is not supported by your iphone, but you can get accessories which add this ability to the iphone, like this one. With both types of bluetooth active at once you'll have handsfree calling, music playback and remote control with no wires at all.

Getting Bluetooth devices paired up can be a little fiddly or confusing but you only need to do it once, and once it's done the connection process is automatic when you enter the car, you don't even need to take your phone out of your pocket (or handbag ).


Whichever option you go for, make sure the stereo has remote control support as well so that the steering wheel playback and phone buttons work correctly. A good merchant should know whether it will work with your car's steering wheel. You can also google search or yell.com for a car audio specialist in your area, they should be able to tell you.

Have fun pimpin' yo MINI


UPDATE: Also check out www.newministuff.com for kits to add bluetooth and/or ipod connections to the factory-shipped stereo.