It's been available in North America for some time. It's $199.00 per year, or thereabouts.

I declined it, given that I have an iPhone. But, I'm thinking of signing up for it the iPhone Interface is difficult to use when one has a client in their car.

I was told by the BMW rep, that general e-mail will be offered soon, and most likely Internet. The site you guys are looking at is not BMW North America's site.

It looks like you're on BMW's German site.

To answer the other part of your question, it works on 2009 Models, I believe. It also communicates via the vehicle's built in cell phone, and does not rely upon your own person cell phone.

There's no firmware update, that requires a trip to the dealer. There's some "data" that's sent via cellular networks to the car, but that's it.

As for now, in the U.S. you can only use google to look up addresses and phone numbers, which can then be directed into your navigation or contact books. So, for $200 per year, it's not worth it.

If they offer additional Internet capabilities, it's a good deal, for sure.