Over the past six months MotoringFile has featured reviews on both the Dension ICE-Link connector and the soon to be released for the MINI, official BMW/Apple connector. However, as you can expect, we get lots of mail asking us to give opinions on what's the best solution for certain price ranges and scenarios. This is especially the case when someone doesn't want to spend more than $50-$75 on a solution.

Recently the New York Times took on this subject of in-car iPod connectors from the high-end Dension units to the new iPod compatible Alpine headunits, to even low-end tape adapters. The articles does a good job of explaining the different potential solutions and downfalls of each. While it's obviously not vehicle specific, all the solutions could conceivably pertain to the MINI.

First a couple of notes. The BMW/Apple connector should be out later this fall for the MINI… so don't get too concerned when they don't specifically mention it in the article. Also there auxiliary port available for the MINI that retails for around $40.

Here's an excerpt of the article:

Even Apple acknowledges that there is one place its popular iPod music players can't easily go: for a ride in an automobile.

“We've heard from our iPod customers that we could really improve upon the experience in the car,” said Stanley Ng, director of iPod product lines at Apple.

The problem: The audio systems of most cars now on the market were not designed to accommodate the iPod or any other hard-drive-based portable music device. And while the iPod's clever controls enable listeners to easily find songs while walking down the street, they can be a dangerous distraction for drivers.

There are, however, some solutions. None of them are perfect.

You can read the entire article here (registration required after first viewing).