Intel Puts a Mini PC in a MINI

Sections: MF Feature Mar 4th, 2005 50 Comments

mini

While it may not be as cool as the Mac Mini in a MINI, Intel is planning to display an ultra small PC installed in MINI for CeBIT 2005. Here’s more (tomshardware.com):

Intel is planning to display the “world’s smallest PC”. Intended for the car, it’s meant to be used in place of the radio in the standard-size car stereo slot, and to act as a “center for switching, entertainment, communications and navigation”. This project was put into action by the company EEPD, working on behalf of Intel. You’ll be able to see this solution in a BMW Mini, the first pictures of which we’re already able to show you.

[ Intel: Mini PC For Cars - Digital Lifestyle ] tomshardware.com

Written By: Gabe

http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Thanks Peter for the heads-up!
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

BTW – as someone who creates user interfaces now and again, I can tell you (IMHO) that what’s shown in the picture above is pretty poorly designed. Let’s hope they refine the UI a bit more if something like this is ever officially released to the public at large.
nemi

No problem Gabe ;-) - Peter
Kurt

As someone who does software programming of low level hardware, I can say that this product, IF designed well and explode on the market, but the chances that it will be a smooth operating machine in the first generation will be close to nill.
nemi

Conversley to this news, there is also this:

http://www.reed-electronics.com/electronicnews/article/CA508224?nid=2019

“Car Navigation Not Catching on in U.S. by David Manners — Electronics Weekly, 3/3/2005 “
Eric

If you want to watch a movie, stay in your living room please. Yeesh… Sometimes I think these types of things are developed just to develop them.
Walley

This would be illegal in New York State since the DVD/movies/TV would be visible to the driver.
ajigel

Eh, why bother? Its just as easy for my to plug my iBook into the cigarette lighter and the aux. port. I get a bigger screen out of the deal and I can still use the mini’s stereo. Pretty nice alternative to a drive-in movie if you as me.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

I think most states have laws against the displaying of tv or movies within the view of the driver. However, in Europe and Japan it’s common for cars with Navigation to also have TVs built in. I believe they get around the safety issue by only allowing operation while the car is stationary.

That said this represents much more than just watching a movie in a car.
Eric

I agree Gabe, but realistically, how many Americans who install this would use it for more than watching films?
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

True…
mini vanilli

very cool. just one problem. ITS A PC AND NOT A MAC. no thank you.
Mike

Wow! I think that this would be an awesome feature if it could control many aspects of the k-bus. It would be nice to be able to control the car’s radio via the built-in screen, get the car’s service info, current tire pressures, allow the user change the car’s memory settings (DRL’s, etc.) all via the one common location/interface. Many cars such as the Infinity FX-35, Toyota Puris, etc. already have a similar feature. I’d love to see it implemented in the MINI along with a better nav system.
mini vanilli

if there was ever a great example of the phrase “its like putting a suit on a pig” this might be it. no PC for my mini.
Patrick

On the other hand, this could make for awesome navigation possibilities (like much better 3d navigation mapping with traffic alerts). You also could have huge MP3 libraries, scheduling info, speech to e-mail, contact info, data logging, etc. As much as I like the idea of bringing a laptop in my car, in my M coupe the laptop (like anything not bolted down) does not stay where I put it too long. 1G + acceleration, braking, and cornering does that I guess :-)

And of course, touchscreens (wish my MINI’s Nav had this).
TSizemore3

Just what we need… Blue Screen of Death in our MINIs. Imagine the fun hackers could have if it’s tied into the MINI’s electronics! (Just Kidding) Seriously though, the new Mac Mini has had me looking for possible mounting locations and wondering how heat and vibration tolerant they might be. Either that or finding an old Powerbook G4 with a damaged screen to canniblize for an integrated in-car computer.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Personally I’d rather have a mouse-like device to control the input rather than on screen buttons. On-screen interface can be tricky since there is no tactile feedback to it. This is especially needed in an enviroment such as an automobile.

Eseentially what I’d like to see is just a better implementation of iDrive run on a Unix base (which the new versions of iDrive run on).
Michael Burchill

This isn’t actually a product shot. It looks to me to be a comp worked up in PhotoShop. Therefore, it might not even be true to what the end product will look like. It’s just something the manufacturer is probably using in their media kit to hype the announcement.
Frank

Anything that takes away the attention from the driver is not a good thing in my book.
Bart

ok, but I want a round LCD screen please….
joe

i think its very cool, but not just for watching movies, the possibilities are endless,

examples – imagine being able to see the trafic immediately around you in a 2D birds eye view, or a warning when someone is in your blind spot, notification of upcoming traffic jams, etc ..

the computer could possibly have all sorts of peripheral devices attached like cameras, etc.
petsounds

Gabe – iDrive? The BMW e-interface that was universally panned? No thank you! Even Audi’s MMI system doesn’t look much better.

I’m not too much on these touchscreen interfaces in cars. I like tactile feedback because I like to drive when I’m in a car, not work on a computer.
James Irmiger

First cell phones…now this? Don’t get me wrong, I like the general idea, but only if they shut it off while driving. I’ve been in too many close call commutes with business types reading the paper, shaving, and blabbing away on their phones.

A radio data system (RDS) traffic update map would be nice. Maybe even, god forbid, tying it into the engine managment software so we can actually see what’s going on with the engine and ditch the idiot lights. Keep the functions relevant to enhancing the driving experience, not taking more of it away.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

petsounds – I knew I’d get some comments on that one. I actually think the new version of iDrive isn’t that bad once you spend some time with it. There’s still some core issues I have with the IA, but it’s better than most out there. Audi’s MMI system isn’t quite as elegant in it’s design (way more buttons) but it’s another stab at a worthwhile solution.

Don’t get me wrong… I love simiplicity. Car elctronics should operate in a very simple and easy to understand way and their biggest priority should be towards safety.

But if we’re going to go down this path as an automotive soceity, we need to do it right.

My guess is that the next MINI will be very similar to the new 1 and 3 series. In other words… no big surprises.
KevinR

I’ve thought that the best use of the navigation display area would be as a monitor. Then you could plug in the components that would work best for what you need, such as: AM/FM/SAT/TV/PC or MAC/camera/nav/cell/PDA/radar detector display/other technology.

But can you imagine the array of antennas that would be required for such a setup?
ChrisW

And if future devices like this incorporate Windows, enjoy the complimentary spyware/adware. How about continuous pop-up ads every time you jump in your car?

I’ll stick with the big speedo, thanks.
http://www.anthonyguido.com ANTSMINI

These people are already putting mac minis in cars. Much rather have that than a PC. They are close to where I live to…hmm…..

http://www.classicresto.com/macmini.html
paulgraz

I just wish they would stop calling it a “BMW Mini”
petsounds

Gabe – I don’t disagree with you that it is this is going to come to every car eventually, like it or not, and we might as well do it right to begin with. I’m just not sure any of the current solutions do it “right.” I think the focus needs to be more on voice-control and perhaps HUDs on the windows themselves. If it was good enough for F-16 fighter jets, it’s good enough for passenger cars. Having a screen that takes a driver’s eyes off the road is not something I want in every car, because people already have enough trouble with just a cellphone.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Good point. I’m excited to see the 5 series HUD in action. From what I’m hearing it’s the first HUD that actually is useful and readable in daylight. Now if they’d just stream-line iDrive just a bit more…
edward n.

Perhaps there should be the 20mm cannon and tow missile options to accompany the hud and voice-control? :D Speedo and tacho I think could be useful in a hud. Certainly not a mp3 title.

For me, the less driver distractions the better.

“Mini… Acquire cellphone using driver target. Missiles away!”

Now, if the HUD supported IR imaging, we can spot the deer at the dead of night and launch ECMs in response. :)
not-a-mac-man

I love my Mini so much I just bought a 2nd one. I also like pc’s and despise macs and apple in general. From reading the comments here it looks as if there is an affinity of Mini owners for mac products.

Do I have to sell my Mini? I never want to touch an apple product again or deal with an idiot “genius,” so please don’t suggest that non-solution.

As for developing genuinely useless ideas I want the invisibilty shield, the tacks, and the rocket launcher that Mini promised me when they sent me the toggle switch relabling kit way back when.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Hope your flame suit is on and tight…
RB

I was wondering when the “I hate Apple/Mac” folks would show up. What’s the point. It’s just as STUPID as “I hate PC’s” or the Mini is a girlie car bit.

What’s ta hate? The dazzling products? Steve Jobs? The Logo? The kool commercials? The ease of use? Our Cockiness? Products that actually work or the products that have revolutionized the way we buy and listen to music?

Some of us enjoy, nice looking products, ease of use and excellent customer service.

Please tell us what’s ta hate?

I don’t hate PCs I’m just glad there’s a very kool alternative, thank you very much!

Flame suit on and ready.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

zing!
KevinR

No hate for Mac’s here. My wife is a computer graphic artist and only uses Apple products. But I work in healthcare and in that environment a Mac is about as useful as a slide rule or an abacus.
Randolph Lee

Gabe Has anyone put a MacMini in a MINI this way? My searches keep coming up with the Nova and the Jeep mentioned above by AntsMINI… the truly cool installation would be a round screen that filled the whole space and Voice activation would be best for safety using the buttons on the MFSW too would be good and using one of those flatpack DirecTV Sat dishes for the internet access… slight problem… the whole thing debuged and working smoothly would cost as much as another MINI! and untill robot drive lanes show up on the interstates would not be very useful…. but look ahead 10 or 20 years when you will be able to pull into a robot drive lane and hand over control to the auto pilot for the next few hours…. well then internet access on the go becomes practical
http://users.adelphia.net/~rocketboy/index.html Rocketboy

Ummm RB, why the hate for someone who isn’t in the same lovefest as you? That’s what I don’t get about AppleAddicts. It’s even more of a cult than being a MINIAddict. Only Apple can release non-new products (Hey, it’s an MP3 Player with a random feature! I want 3 of them! or Hey! It’s a computer in a box that you can fit in your pocket! Give me 12!) and pretend that they are the ones who thought it up in the first place. They revolutionize just as much as Microsoft does, it’s just that they are the underdogs, so people go along with it. And not everyone is a huge fan of their interface either… http://www.asktog.com/columns/044top10docksucks.html

Erik…
http://users.adelphia.net/~rocketboy/index.html Rocketboy

Oh, here’s another page showing that the Apple, yes indeed, has silly bugs/errors/problems that have been around for years…

http://www.asktog.com/Bughouse/bhOS-X.html
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Okay…. this is naturally off-top but… I’ve used OSX for 5 years now (I’ve also used XP plenty during this time as well) and I have to say that I don’t recongnize a single one of those OSX bugs.

And I’m not generally one to get involved in stuff like this, but the sentence “They revolutionize just as much as Microsoft does, it’s just that they are the underdogs, so people go along with it”, is one of the most misguided technology statements I’ve ever heard. No offense of course :)
http://users.adelphia.net/~rocketboy/index.html Rocketboy

Gabe… As Bruce “Tog” Tognazzini, actually worked at Apple for 14 years, it’s not just a random rant of things that a PC user does not like about Apple. Also from his bio “founded the Apple Human Interface Group and acted as Apple’s Human Interface Evangelist”. So I’d guess he knows what he’s talking about when he talks about the problems with the Apple interface. But to even say that the fact that Apple can’t even be bothered to have a manual force eject for a CD/DVD drive is not a glaring omission is just a case of being used to something that is wrong. I’d say that the people who had to take their iMacs in for service for stuck music CDs, due to copy protection on the CD, would think differently. At the risk of going even more off topic than the messages usually get whenever there’s mention of Intel, Microsoft, or PC, what are the ‘great’ innovations that Apple has done recently? Note: I will not accept an Apple design for a pre-existing product/idea as an item (which means No iPod, no Apple Mini, no iTunes, etc., as they were all pre exisiting products or ideas done by someone else). I’m not trying to say that MS is better than Apple, all I’m saying is that Apple is not the golden egg that AppleAddicts like to think it is.
RB

RocketBoy……….I don’t see where my post was hateful. I simply stated that the whole I hate MAC/PC thing is really, really STUPID.

The rest of my post was just explaining why I use & buy Apple products. And I also asked “what’s to hate.”

If PC’s float your boat that’s fine, I just get tired of the need to bash either way.

BTW I worked on “PC”s, Dells, at Fox and Sony Studios, for two years, and found them odd, unreliable, and a poor rip off of the Mac system, but I don’t hate them or the people that use them……What a waste of time.

So I am sorry if my post offended any PC users it was not meant that way.

RB
http://www.guardyourpants.com nick tripp

Of all the places I thought I’d be safe from this silly debate, MotoringFile was definitely high on the list. sigh I think it’s time I turn off my PowerMac and go for a drive.
RB

I hear ya brother!!!!!!!!
Eric

Keep up the heated debate lads! This will ensure that a decision to put the “fancy DVD with other stuff” in the console will never come about!!! Hahaha…beautiful!
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

No kidding…. but for the record, there are several ways to force eject a disc from OSX :)
ANTSMINI

Yeah there are.. The “PC People” tend to rehash the same arguments over and over that are pretty outdated by now. I would rather have a computer that I got a disc stuck in but does everything else I want it do perfectly, over a computer with a reliable CD drive but is horrid for everything else I have to do and crashes three times a day.

And for the record…my powerbook has never had a disc stuck in two years of ownership.
Goofytruax

Hey it is all what floats your boat. I take great joy in making PC’s and making them work. There is a great amount of satisfaction in taking computer parts and turning them in to a working Computer. It is kind of like the joy in moding your car but on a much cheaper front. So lets not bash each other for their pasions, lets completment them for a mod well done.
Greg W

Sacrilege…Sacre bleu…Alex Issigonis would turn in his grave! Radios in Minis – never – that’s why he never made a spot for one! Why bother listening to a radio when you can open a window and listen to the exhaust note – music to a Mini driver’s ears. TV’s and Computers in cars? Yeah I saw some on “Pimp my ride”. Leave them for these guys. Greg W.
Meg

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME?

The computer in my MINI COOPER S ’05 is FROZEN.

I am really disturbed right now. I’ve only had the car for 3 months and my nav system/computer is completely forzen. I can’t even eject the DVD from the deck under the passenger seat. Any ideas??? I think I’ll just take it to the dealer on monday, but I will get seriously lost without my computer.

and BTW…I am on my Apple laptop right now.

see it took a PC to ruin my day.

← Paddy Hopkirk Enters Hall of Fame Let's Advertise! →

Sort by MINI model

Recent BimmerFile Stories

MINI Model Cheat Sheet

1st Gen MINI
R50: One & MC Hatch
R52: All 1st Gen MINI Convt.
R53: MCS Hatch
2nd Gen MINI
R55: Clubman
R56: Hatch
R57: Convertible
R58: Coupe
R59: Roadster
R60: MINI Crossover
R61: MINI Crossover Coupe
3rd Gen MINI
F55: Clubman
F56: Hatch
F57: Convertible
F60: MINI Crossover
F62: Traveller

Advertise with MotoringFile

If you or your company are interested in advertising on the most influential MINI website in the world, please visit our Advertising section. If you have further questions about becoming a sponsor or would like to see our rate sheet please feel free to contact us directly.