Dice Media Bridge – The Ultimate iPod and Bluetooth Integration for BMW

For years, Parrot bluetooth kits have dominated the market, building up a brand so strong that anyone looking for a bluetooth kit will automatically think Parrot. Although Parrot do have an excellent product range, their kits use telemute leads that bypass and mute the vehicles radio, which means they have several disadvantages. The main disadvantage being the kit cannot be controlled by the factory fitted stereo so a separate display and controller is required.

For a lot of people, having after market units present in the vehicle is an eye sore, and many seek a solution that works with what is already fitted, especially when steering wheel controls are present.

Dice have always offered the very best in vehicle integration for BMW, their simple connection utilises the BMW pre wired CD changer lead that was fitted as standard to most vehicles (3 and 6 Pin connectors). The interface effectively emulates a CD changer, showing the iPod text as CD MP3 information. Their last kit, the Silverline Pro, allows you to search your iPod from the stereo by album, artist, track and play-list, as well as also giving you the ability to control the iPod from the mp3 player itself.

Dice step up to rival manufacturers by incorporating iPod integration systems with hands free calling with their new Media Bridge MB1500.

The MB1500 is essentially the Dice Silverline kit with and integrated bluetooth chip. The kit can support music playback from iPod, Auxiliary and USB, giving the user a wide range of options to listen to their MP3’s, the kits text display ensures all iPod and USB information is clearly shown on the vehicles display.

In terms of bluetooth, the kit will connect to 99% of phones on the market today, displaying who’s calling, along with all of your phone book contacts. When a call is received, the music playback is muted, and the sound from the call is played through the vehicles speakers. The MB1500 microphone provides the audio input for the call, which is also cable of handling voice dialling, all at the touch of a button.

Dice did have an issue a few years back when Apple changed the way their iPods received charge. Millions of consumers were effected when iPods moved from 12V to 5V charge, and Dice shared some of the issues with their kits. Thankfully this issue has been addressed and all of their kits, including the MB1500, now fully support 5V charging. On the same note, both the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4G are fully supported by the Media Bridge.

Currently the MB1500 is only available for BMWs built up to 2006. From 2007 onwards, BMW use the fibreoptic MOST system and you need a Dension Gateway MOST product to connect your devices.

In summary, if you are looking to integrate your iPod and phone into your BMW, the Dice Media Bridge will offer you the most effective solution, with the least amount of fuss and clutter. It takes no more than an hour to fit, and with its competitive price, it easily runs circles around its competitors.