Yet more on that iPod integration everyone seems crazy about these days (via Maccentral):

“We are beginning a really big push into a world we all spend a lot of time in — our cars,” Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, told MacCentral. “So many people invest in great cars that have great stereos, but one thing they don't have is access to their music library. Now you can put your iPod in your BMW or MINI and have all of your music everywhere you go.”

BMW recognizes a shared customer base with Apple: Both companies attract technology-adopting, successful people. It's this synergy that brought them together.

“We know that a lot of BMW owners are people that achieve success early in life — they are work hard, play hard kind of people and they adopt new technologies that help them save time or empower them,” said Jim McDowell, vice president marketing BMW North America. “We knew when we saw the iPod come out that it was something that would appeal to a lot of BMW owners.”

…The success of the iPod has spawned a burgeoning market of third-party solutions used to connect iPods through car stereos, ranging from wireless FM transmitters to wired cassette tape adapters. Such solutions have drawbacks, however: FM transmitters can produce low-quality sound or may not work correctly unless they're tuned to an unused frequency. And while cabled solutions may sound a bit better, they also tend to create a mess.

“As we saw the number of iPods sold increase at an amazing rate, we said, 'There just has to be a way we can combine the two,'” said McDowell. “Then we discovered how many BMW owners were attempting to do this on their own using the auxiliary jack in the car. That really is an awful solution because you don't have the same sound quality and your iPod is sitting in the cup holder — that's why this was such an elegant solution from our perspective.”

The difference between third party solutions and the Apple/BMW offering isn't just cosmetic: The integrated connector offers something nobody else can at this point — a digital connection.

“Above all this really delivers phenomenal audio quality because it's a direct digital connection through the connector in the bottom of the iPod,” said Apple's Schiller. “Now you can have the best mobile music experience that's ever been in a car — you have your whole music library, a digital link and an incredible stereo.”

….Apple's fit with automobile manufactures will go beyond BMW in the future. Apple's Phil Schiller said this is the first of what he thinks will be several partnerships.

The kit to hook up your iPod will cost $149 plus installation, according to BMW.

“Our drivers have known the ultimate driving experience for some time; this combines the ultimate listening experience with the ultimate driving experience,” said McDowell.

You can read the entire article here

Since there's so much interest in this product from our readers we're planning on reviewing the BMW kit (which will operate in an identical way to the MINI) in a couple weeks. We'll also be able to do a complete comparison to the Dension ICE-Link. And barring any other big news we swear this will be our last iPod/MINI story until then… or at least a week 🙂