BMW to Offer Internet in Cars

Before you read that headline and say to yourself, “Accident waiting to happen,” hear us out. Drivers will not be able to actually use the wireless internet technology known as ConnectDrive while the car is in motion.

This is a relief, as the thought of workaholic businessmen or rich daddy’s girls checking stock quotes and PerezHilton.com while zipping along the freeway at 80 mph should be enough to strike fear into the hearts of drivers everywhere.

While sitting safely in a parking lot, drivers can control the browser through the iDrive controller, which will manipulate the cursor on the iDrive screen (presumably connected to the iDrive drive). There may still be limitations to the technology. For instance, BMW will reformat the pages to its own servers before sending them to the car, and the browser uses EDGE technology, which according to TechnoRide.com may mean a good long wait time for page loading.

Hopefully, we’ll get answers to these questions when BMW debuts ConnectDrive at the 2008 Geneva auto show.

2008 Geneva Motor Show: BMW Offers Unrestricted Internet Browsing (TechnoRide)