As if distracted driving wasn’t bad enough, the BMW Motorrad Smartphone Cradle is now available at all BMW Motorrad retailers. In Germany the Smartphone Cradle can be purchased for a price of €195 ($217) including 19% added value tax.
The German maker crows that “navigating, telephoning, enjoying music and much more else – the skills of modern smartphones are multiple and made for turning motorcycling and scootering even more comfortable and eventful.” Given the small margin for error on a ‘donor cycle,’ eventful can have more than one meaning.
Mounting the smartphone cradle works by using the BMW Motorrad Navigator holder, which is not included. Depending on the model, in Germany this holder is available at a price starting from €65.
Highlights of the BMW Motorrad Smartphone Cradle
- Designed for smartphones up 5 inches
- Robust plastic hard case
- Anti-slip, vibration and shock impeding gel pad shelf
- Able to fasten smartphones quickly and safely to the handlebar clamps
- Optimum rider´s readability and handling
- In horizontal or upright positions
- See-through anti-reflection flex foil
- Power supply is made by the onboard socket (special accessory)
- Charging is done via micro-USB or the wireless way according to Qi standards
- Light-emitting diode for charging state
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
BMW Motorrad closed the first half of 2016 with a new sales record of 80,754 motorcycles and maxi scooters. (prev. yr.: 78,418 units). Year-over-year this represents an increase of 3%. For the first time ever, BMW Motorrad was able to sell more than 80,000 vehicles in the first six-month period of a year.