Reverse Camera quality has improved (evidence)
 

sat in my friend's new Diesel with the new iDrive and have to say that the camera looks much better at night vs the old camera. Tried both with reverse lights on and off.. both times was pleasantly surprised. Here's a shot i took with the iphone (not best quality pics).. keep in mind it was 10pm and raining.

So is there a retrofit for this for old iDrive? (just the camera hardware?)

And we did side-by-side comparison with the camera on my 08 4.8i - same time, same weather, same place. The new camera is SOOOO much better !

This really emphasizes what has long been BMW's weakest point--electronics. BMW is perpetually behind the curve. They should be ashamed to have continued selling such an inferior nav system (camera too) through the summer of 2009 when far better systems were available at least 3-4 years ago. I had the old nav in my 2006 330 and it was already obsolete then. My brother's 2005 Lexus had a far better system.

It really seems BMW stays 4-5 years behind its luxury competitors in this regard, which when you think about it is simply amazing. BMW leads in nearly every area of engineering--engine, suspension, materials, etc--yet continually lags nearly everybody in customer electronics.

I agree with your point.. however, the new iDrive is probably ahead of everybody in many aspects.. Camera, HD Based NAVI, screen resolution, Entertainment options (including music storage), access speed (browsing through menus), intuitiveness..

overall, i give it 5 stars.. i might change my mind when i get my car a in a couple of weeks, but i speak from experience of owning/using the MKIV NAVI, latest Acura MDX, 08 X5, Infiniti NAVI..

I have the new nav in my 2009 M3. I'd say it's on par with most competitors in terms of speed, hard drive storage, etc. but I don't think the user interface is as good as the Lexus system. It is really quite good, but again, it's long overdue.

the thing is that BMW owners enjoy their cars for the ride/handling and have always (in majority) not really cared for electronics.. now it's just a nice perk! :)

I can't agree
 

I think BMW owners enjoy the performance and handling and for the most part have chosen to tolerate BMW's deficiencies in electronics rather than just not caring about the issue. Plenty of former owners are exactly that because they refuse to pay big $$ for obsolete equipment. For the prices BMW charges they need to stay even with or ahead of the competition in all aspects of the customer experience.

If you read posts on xoutpost.com, you will see that there are a lot of us that have not "chosen to tolerate BMW's deficiencies in electronics". We have been able to do little but complain though -- it hasn't chased us away from BMWs. Who knows, all those complaints to BMW NA and to the BMW dealers may have had an impact though...

I do read posts on Xoutpost.com. I think you are agreeing with me but I can't tell for sure. My premise is different from that of genemish; I feel BMW owners for the most part DO care about the quality of the electronics but HAVE chosen in the past to tolerate inferior systems since the remainder of the car is superior, rather than purchase a vehicle from another manufacturer. If you buy a BMW with an obsolete nav system then by default you have chosen to tolerate and let BMW get away with the inferior system. I did so in 2006.

I'm just glad the complaints seem to have generated some action. It's too bad it took them 10 years to mostly catch up.

Yeah when I brought up the issue to BMWNA a rep called me back and stated that I had the opportunity to try it out before I chose to buy it. That's all they had to say about the poor quality. It's in a post here somewhere.

The image is now smaller as well due to the Nav option on the left isn't it .... smaller screen image would result in better resolution.... but it looks like low light sensitivity and noise has reduced... maybe it's now a Canon Sensor !!!!

Thought I'll add my opinion too. Yes - the drive-ability of the car is important, but it's the value-add of the electronics that makes it a great car. And the electronics in the X5 is not that great.

It's certainly more of a "cheapish" extra then a feature. There is no reason why the the "user" electronics can be driven by CPU similar to a smartphone. We could have functions like :
- instant on
- high-res touch screen (wake up BMW .... look at the trend with phones). Keep to idrive controller for people to use as an option, but is like trying to drive MS windows with only a keyboard.
- Good voice recognisation (and ability for user to train recongition)
- Programmable Nav system. That way, when better features are available, it can be upgraded by software, e.g. ability to speak the street names. And yes - the NAV DVD is so old. Time to upgrade to a simple 4GB USB pen dirve (it's significantly faster on startup)
- Back-up, front and side cameras
- Time lapse camera recording when parked, and continous recording when driving. Such a simple "black box", and customers can replay to see who ran the shopping trolley into the car and scratched the paint. Storage - a separate USB drive. So when the EEPROM fails, it will only cost customers $10 dollars to replace. My 9 year old video door bell even has this technology, and can virtually to done in software only.
- Please please please fix the battery drain issue. What electricial devices are using so much power when the car is switched off? Fuel heater???
- A front distance sensor could be used to apply the brake if an object is too close, .e.g. if the car in front brakes and you don't. So simple to implement a distance sensor (user configurable of course).

- Better remote key. The induction charging is great .... no exposed contacts allowing for a water-proof key. SO WHY ISN'T IT?? arhhhhhhh. Also, build in luxen LED powered from a high efficiency capacitor. Even if it only gives 60sec of intense light, it's want customers want. It's practical, it's handy, and it so simple to implement. Still water proof of course. There is no requirement for external connections. The door switch can be presure sensitive.

Can someone in BMW consider this for the next X5 version? It would be such a great selling point. The cheap cars are starting to have better features than a BMW now.

Good points, but I'd rather they first work on creating an electrical system which permits the vehicle to make multiple short trips without killing the battery and stranding people.

"Wake up BMW"? BMW is not "asleep" in that matter, it actually "woke up" earlier than, say, Toyota/Lexus who only recently realized that "remote controller" concept is currently more appropriate (in terms of safety) for a car compared to touch screen

Totally agree. The last thing I want is a touch screen. The controller is far superior for this application.

That may be true in that paticular matter, but a navigation system that can only route to a single destination, with no intermediate way points, in a 2009 model? You have to admit that is quite a few years behind the curve (apparently fixed in the 2010 version).

I saw the new iDrive today in person and it is fantastic. A huge upgrade.

The backup camera was very cool also.

Sadly I was all ready to plunk down my money on a 2010 X5 35D. They offered me a great price. Then they told me what they would do on my 2008 X5 trade -- not good.

I really like the 2010.

Just curious, tell me the specs for your 2008 and the price they offered..

2008 X5 3.0 30,000 miles
Cold Weather
Premium Package
Technology Package
Heated Rear Seats
iPod/USB
Satellite Radio

MSRP $53,675 plus Sirius added later

Offer as trade, $35,800
Offer on new 2010 $1300 over invoice