Why Automakers Should Stop the Infotainment Arms Race 317
New submitter SomewhatRandom writes "Dailytech recently published an article titled 'Detroit Automakers Vie For App Devs Amid Infotainment Arms Race.' Unfortunately for auto manufacturers, they are in a poor position to complete with companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc... and they should give up the arms race and take a different direction. Mobile operating systems and their associated hardware have a rapid release cycle that significantly outpaces vehicle infotainment systems. Additionally, mobile OSs are developed by specialized companies that can spend dump trucks filled with money on their platform. I'm sorry Dodge, Toyota, Honda and all your friends; you simply can't compete."
SomewhatRandom continues,"The in-house infotainment systems being brought to market by the automotive industry typically try to replicate a limited subset of features provided by a mobile operating system (ex: Android, iOS), while implementing a clunky interface that feels like a blast from the past. Replicating features that already exist in a consumer's device with a clunky interface does not offer any value to the end consumer.
Automakers should stop throwing money at developing a 'doomed to fail' in-house infotainment solution, and start catering to the consumer by developing a system that allows the consumer's mobile device of choice to control in-vehicle assets (speakers, in-dash touchscreen, noise-canceling microphone) directly.
Consumers would prefer to see a standards-based system that allows the interface of their existing mobile OS of choice duplicated or extended on an in-dash touchscreen, while having audio redirected from their device to the vehicle's speakers. Start focusing on technologies like Miracast and Bluetooth and how they can be used to augment a customer's mobile device, rather than replace it. Manufacturers that choose to adopt this focus not only provide better value to the end consumer, but also be able to reduce the size of their development budgets. Win-Win.
What are your thoughts? Am I crazy, or does it seem like the automotive industry has lost sight of what will best serve the consumer?"
Replaceable computer (Score:5, Insightful)
Good thing car companies are behind (Score:5, Insightful)
Mobile operating systems and their associated hardware have a rapid release cycle that significantly outpaces vehicle infotainment systems.
Let's hope car companies don't learn to emulate this, Engine Control Units actually work reliably.
Or maybe (Score:5, Insightful)
"Infotainment" (Score:4, Insightful)
... can we stop using that word? I don't know if it's the same for anyone else, but whenever I hear that word it sounds like something between the word "synergy" and an ice pick stabbed into my ear.
Re:Replaceable computer (Score:5, Insightful)
That is why you would rely on a standard interface, like Bluetooth or USB, for connecting devices. Don't replicate what you think people want, give them a way to put what they actually want on the screen, job done!
Re:AppRadio (Score:5, Insightful)
Pioneer AppRadio looks ideal - basically mirrors your phone's screen on it's 7" display. You need to do a bit of hacking to unlock the full potential, but the basic idea is brilliant.
The only real down-side is that the FM radio side sucks. If you mainly listen to playlists on your phone though it isn't a big issue.
I really don't want to be using a touch-screen interface while driving at all. If I want to change radio station/volume/whatever I want nice tactile buttons that I can feel without taking my eyes off the road, touch screen systems in cars are a disaster.
Re: Or maybe (Score:5, Insightful)
Being rear-ended is never the fault of the person getting rear-ended. If you can't safely stop when the car in-front emergency brakes then you're driving too close. Yes it's an invite for someone to jump in front of you but that's not the point.
Re:RAM 1500 'Infotainment' system (Score:4, Insightful)
Navigation: I have a Volvo V40 that's 10 years old. It has a navigation unit built in. 5 years ago Volvo stopped providing map updates for it. And even if updates were available, its user interface sucks, it's slow and the CD player (it reads the map data from CD) is becoming increasingly unreliable. So yes, I want to be able to upgrade the infotainment, and not be stuck with 10 year-old technology that can't be removed from the car.
What we need is the return of the DIN standard for car stereos, with some additions:
1. a standard video connection to the screen that's usually found at the top the dashboard.
2. a standard protocol and connector so the steering wheel buttons can control the stereo etc.
Re:AppRadio (Score:5, Insightful)
Ford decided to take the idiocy to a new level, though. And I guess this makes sense given their relationship with Microsoft. So Ford was probably hearing all of these complaints about no tactile feedback and needing buttons and they say, "you know what, you're right, and boy do we have the solution for you!" They decided to put buttons in, but instead of regular old buttons (cause those are for losers!) they use touch sensitive buttons built into a textured panel. They function similar to those buttons that are not really buttons that some laptop and TV manufacturers started using a couple years ago (which I HATE) and the main Android buttons on many smartphones.So it looks like your old buttons, with each function having a dedicated location and being raised up from the dash with painted on labels/logos, but a little slicker since there are no gaps/seems around the buttons since nothing needs to be pressed in. At first glance, you think, neat, Ford gets it. Then you try to use it like your old school button interface, and that's where it all breaks down. You feel for the radio station seek buttons. There is a + and a -. You what to seek up, but your fingers find the down first
I'm OK with including a touch screen, but it can't be the only way to interact. It has to be a combination of buttons and touch. Buttons should be there for all of the standard, commonly used functions like volume, input change (i.e. FM, AM, SAT, AUX), seek, etc. If you want to then make all of the audio tweaks (Bass, treble, balance), car setup, device pairing, or other odd functions, sure, put them on the touch screen, since those are things I will typically only do when I'm not driving. Or if it's something like answering the phone, it just becomes a big touch screen button that I can mash with my hand quickly without the need for much accuracy. I think some manufacturers get this, or at least used to get this, and have done what I suggest (My parent's VW has such a system) but so many are getting carried away with turning the car into an iPad that they forget where they are putting it (a car) and what you will also be doing while trying to operate it (driving).
Re:AppRadio (Score:4, Insightful)
What amazes me is that companies like Ford refuse to acknowledge this. To me, it's incredible that they can be so stupidly focused on trying to make a product that can never be made to work properly, because humans don't work that way.
And it's not like they aren't being told this repeatedly. Consumer Reports states in every article featuring a Ford product that has their "Ford MyTouch" system that the car lost somewhere between 4 and 8 points on its overall score due to the crappy interface. And in many cases those points would take the vehicle from the middle or bottom of their grouping to the top of their category. This has been going on for every MyTouch equipped vehicle they have released since the 2012 model year.
After looking at this carefully, the conclusion I have come to is they must have some hyper-egotistical VP of infotainment who has an MBA or marketing degree but no engineering background, and he has deemed by fiat that "touch screens are what people buy on their phones, make it happen on the dashboard", ignoring the advice of his safety engineers and human factors team. Microsoft was overjoyed to sell them their misnamed SYNC system (it actually syncs with nothing) as a base product, which they then had developed by some team who had no idea they were writing a car interface, and who still think popup "Are you sure you want to exit?" dialogs are appropriate for a vehicle. I wouldn't be surprised if their next release has the Windows 8 interface, complete with animated tiles trying to tell the driver that he has a new Facebook follower, three emails, and a coupon offer for a free trial of Angry Birds.
If Ford can't change under pressure from engineers and consumers, I expect that there will be several lawsuits from the victims of distracted drivers. And that's a tragedy.
Re:AppRadio (Score:5, Insightful)
The make it such a "rich" interface that I can't easily tell what is info and what is an actionable button. Then add in the fact that once you find a button and tap it, the whole screen changes and you have a whole new set of information and buttons to try to process (and god forbid the buttons stay in the same place or follow and common pattern from screen to screen).
I think half the trouble is they are trying to make a good first impression rather than a good lasting impression, because its the first impression that sells - people look at the cars *in the show room* and fiddle with the entertainment system and obviously they prefer the one that looks really flashy. The only time they get to use it in anger, where functionality is more important the flashyness is after they've parted with their money.
Same reason why most laptops are now glossy screens instead of antiglare screens - in the showroom the glossy screens look brighter and sharper, so people spend their money on those machines; but in real-world use, the anti-glare screens are nicer because they don't have horrendous reflections all over them all the time while you're trying to work.
Re:AppRadio (Score:0, Insightful)
...Touchscreens have absolutely no place in cars with relatively untrained people driving...
Yes, and you can see how far that shit has gone with every fucking cell phone manufacturer in the world going to touch-screen interfaces, knowing that people will willingly and very often use them while driving.
Not to mention the complete lack of blanket policy and enforcement for violators of distracted driving, starting with insurance companies either refusing to pay claims for accidents, or downright blackballing customers found guilty of distracted driving and denying them insurance altogether.
Sorry, until these kinds of drastic measures are taken, plan for your fucking steering wheel to be converted to a fucking iPad within 10 years, because that's what makes the customer happy and creates revenue.