I recently bought the new sedan version of the Audi a3 and I noticed that there might be two possible ways to start it. One was the quick start button on the middle console and the other was on the right side of the steering column. Instead of a slot to put the key there was an image of a key with "arrows" (like the wifi signal) on the column under the wheel, Is this a way to start the car?

 

goacid999, don't know but, could it be the key fob proximity sensor?
Recently drove a friends auto with a start button. I wondered if there was an indicator somewhere showing the "key" was recognized.

 

Your model has push button start and using the push button is the conventional way of starting it. There also is what almost looks like a button on the steering column. When the remote is placed next to it and the regular button is pushed the car will start as long as the remote does not have a totally dead battery. This is an emergency starting method for when the car is not recognizing the remote. When that happens you will see a message about that problem in the infotainment window in front of the steering wheel.

When I first got my A3 there was a defective remote sensor in the back of the car that was causing the car to not always recognize my remote. Until they fixed it I had to use the emergency start procedure to get the car going when I saw the key not recognized code. There is more info in the manual about the emergency procedure.