BMW announces new app integrations with Audible, Rhapsody, and more

A lot of automotive manufacturers are working to get more technology integrated inside of their vehicles. Much of the push is to add additional entertainment options and streaming capabilities to the in-car infotainment systems. BMW announced this week that it has four new partners that will provide BMW Approved Apps for the BMW Apps option for the Apple iPhone.

The apps that have just been approved include Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody, and TuneIn. If you're familiar with these companies, Audible is a service that offers downloadable audio books and other spoken content, Glympse is a location sharing service, Rhapsody is a subscription streaming music service, and TuneIn is an Internet radio provider. BMW says Audible integration with BMW Apps is the first time a graphical integration of the app is available for the BMW infotainment system.

Drivers will be able to access their own library through the BMW iDrive controls. Glympse will allow drivers to share their location information with anyone during a specific period of time. The app is useful for things like letting family know you are in route and where exactly you are at any given time.

Rhapsody is self-explanatory and allows drivers to listen to on demand music with more than 16 million tracks to enjoy using the iPhone and fully integrated vehicle controls. The TuneIn app integration allows the driver to select from all sorts of streaming Internet radio stations using the app running on the smartphone and controls inside the vehicle. The BMW Apps option is available on 2011 later BMW vehicles when the iPhone has to be connected to the car using either the USB cable that comes with the iPhone or a special snap in adapter.

[via BMW]