Edible Apple

A common rebuttal to the tired assertion that the Mac is irrelevant due to its sub 10% marketshare is to mention the relatively paltry marketshare enjoyed by car companies such as BMW and Porsche, who make a lot of money delivering premium products to folks fortunate enough to be able to afford it.

That said, premium car companies have always been quick to integrate the latest technological advancements into their automobiles. We saw it first with the iPod and now we’re seeing it once again with the iPad.

At the upcoming Paris Motor Show, scheduled to kick off on October 2, BMW will showcase a new iPad docking system it’s integrated into the back seats. Not only is the set up ideal for watching movies and keeping your kids from causing a ruckus, the car will also come equipped with a mobile hotspot system so that passengers with a wi-fi only iPad can partake in the wonders of the Internet. Note that these features are only part of BMW’s ConnectedDrive System and we imagine that this touch of luxury won’t come standard, but we’ll find out for sure in the coming weeks.

And in case you’re wondering about the photo above, the dock can swivel 180 degrees for landscape viewing.

This, of course, isn’t the first time we’ve seen BWM at the forefront of iOS integration. Back in July we reported of the company’s plans to implement the iPod-out functionality in iOS 4 to enable drivers to use BMW hardware to control iPod and iPhone software via a built-in dashboard display. This feature is expected to start shipping on BMW vehicles in early 2011.

via e90

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