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Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

money.cnn.com

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Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#91

Post by mrpippy »

UVB-76 wrote: post #86
Someone1234 wrote: post #39

This is why Carplay/Android Auto are so key. They're safer than using your actual phone, they offer legitimate maps apps (Google Maps/Bing Maps/Apple Maps/etc), and are somewhat future proof. Too bad the MirrorLink consortium dropped the ball so epically. MirrorLink arguably does the same thing as Carplay/Android Auto and has been deployed to millions of vehicles, but nobody uses MirrorLink 1.1, why? Because to get y…

The average age of cars on the road in the US is something like 11 years [0] Even if CarPlay/Android Auto last more than five years, I expect new versions will come out which render old vehicles incompatible. [0] http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-ihs-average-c...

Apple takes backwards-compatibility very seriously for MFi protocols, because they know that the "accessories" are cars that people keep for a long time. I used to work at a company making iPod car kits--we took an interface from 2006 (with a hard-wired 30-pin connector), hooked it through a FireWire->USB charging adapter, a 30-pin->Lightning adapter, and it worked fine with an iPhone 6.

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#92

Post by noir_lord »

stillworks wrote: post #74
jmcdiesel wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waze continually gets me to work through back roads and side streets in 20 min, a trip that in traffic on the "normal" routes takes roughly an hour... Maybe one day cars will have GPS on that level built in... but for now... nope

If everybody has that kind of intelligent routing, then any advantage of that kind of intelligent routing will stop being an advantage.

Not sure that would be true in all cases.

If you have a truly intelligent system it would spread the load across the roads equal to what they can handle rather than the system now where everyone seems to take the "main" road leading to congestion on that road and quiet side streets.

Similar to Braess Paradox :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27_paradox#Traffic

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#93

Post by Someone1234 »

UVB-76 wrote: post #86
Someone1234 wrote: post #39

This is why Carplay/Android Auto are so key. They're safer than using your actual phone, they offer legitimate maps apps (Google Maps/Bing Maps/Apple Maps/etc), and are somewhat future proof. Too bad the MirrorLink consortium dropped the ball so epically. MirrorLink arguably does the same thing as Carplay/Android Auto and has been deployed to millions of vehicles, but nobody uses MirrorLink 1.1, why? Because to get y…

The average age of cars on the road in the US is something like 11 years [0] Even if CarPlay/Android Auto last more than five years, I expect new versions will come out which render old vehicles incompatible. [0] http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-ihs-average-c...

Why would new versions cause incompatibility?

Carplay/Android Auto are just, at their core, dumb protocols for transmitting screen information and receiving back touch inputs. If you go disassemble Mirrorlink 1.1 apps they use the VNC protocol behind the scenes, the protocol isn't complex (the certification nonsense is all artificially added).

The reason for the fragmentation and pain in this particular space (infotainment units) is a combination of: raw greed, vehicle makers trying in vein to retain control, not-invented-here syndrome, and "safety."

The only issue I see with Carplay/Android Auto is that Apple & Google should have worked together to create a single protocol, which would have made implementation easier and likely resulted in a faster rollout. They both benefit by having the infotainment unit hand off to their respective smartphone OS.

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#94

Post by filereaper »

Someone1234 wrote: post #39

This is why Carplay/Android Auto are so key. They're safer than using your actual phone, they offer legitimate maps apps (Google Maps/Bing Maps/Apple Maps/etc), and are somewhat future proof. Too bad the MirrorLink consortium dropped the ball so epically. MirrorLink arguably does the same thing as Carplay/Android Auto and has been deployed to millions of vehicles, but nobody uses MirrorLink 1.1, why? Because to get y…

Yup, bought a new Accord specifically for CarPlay/Android Auto support over all the competitors models.

CarPlay works well enough though no Google Maps, having issues with Android Auto mostly due to issues on my phone side :(

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#95

Post by dopamean »

jasode wrote: post #89
dopamean wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you're buying a new car today, the reason to get navigation is for the LCD screen and not for the GPS. I could have sworn the US govt mandated that all new cars, after some soon to come year, must have rear facing cameras. Perhaps I heard incorrectly.

You appear to be correct and my google search shows 2018 to be the date. https://www.google.com/search?q=all+new+usa+cars+require+rea...

I suppose I could have just googled it myself. Thanks!

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#96

Post by aeharding »

joezydeco wrote: post #90
coldpie wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, just use the physical HVAC and radio controls that have worked just fine for forty years.

In its defense, the Mazda Connect system is pretty nice. It's solely focused on entertainment, navigation, and some secondary car management functions (maintenance intervals, explanation of trouble lights, long-term MPG charts). Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the touchscreen/command knob is the way things are now. You can't do terrestrial radio, satellite radio, bluetooth, USB music playback, etc with a singl…

Mazda Connect has worked very well for me.

So weird that it came with a CD player, though. I thought those would have been gone by 2016...

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#97

Post by mikestew »

joezydeco wrote: post #90
coldpie wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, just use the physical HVAC and radio controls that have worked just fine for forty years.

In its defense, the Mazda Connect system is pretty nice. It's solely focused on entertainment, navigation, and some secondary car management functions (maintenance intervals, explanation of trouble lights, long-term MPG charts). Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the touchscreen/command knob is the way things are now. You can't do terrestrial radio, satellite radio, bluetooth, USB music playback, etc with a singl…

You can't do terrestrial radio, satellite radio, bluetooth, USB music playback, etc with a single knob and 20-character display.

The 2nd easiest-to-use interface in our vehicles is the USD$85 Pioneer DIN 1 head unit we put in our '81 VW camper van. It does all of what you list, as well as Pandora and (some other music service). Lots of buttons, not just one knob, but I'll bet that display doesn't do a whole lot more than 20 characters.

The most easy-to-use interface we have is CarPlay on the aftermarket head unit in our '04 Scion xB. Any cars we buy in the future will have CarPlay or no sale. I'm done with crap ass automotive UIs done by some designer trying to make her mark on the world. And though I'm sure some makers have UIs that don't suck, I'm not going to the trouble to find out which. CarPlay or nothing.

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#98

Post by mikestew »

Someone1234 wrote: post #61
acl wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just got the new Highlander, and can only conclude the nav (and most of the rest of the car UX) was designed by a committee of angry monkeys.

Which is really depressing. Toyota make fantastic vehicles but they're being outclassed by others simply because their infotainment system feels like a relic from the early 2000s. They've also doubled down on their refusal to not include Carplay/Android Auto. They're putting something called "SmartDeviceLink" which is yet another MirrorLink 1.1 clone (which is itself a disaster), but this time controlled by a differe…

They've also doubled down on their refusal to not include Carplay/Android Auto. They're putting something called "SmartDeviceLink" which is yet another MirrorLink 1.1 clone

I just do...not...get this. In what alternate reality do they live that would cause them to think "this time will be different"? History has shown time and again that your proprietary special snowflake platform is not going to cause app writers to flock to you when there's something like CarPlay/Android Auto available. I mean, MirrorLink was a pretty good idea, didn't have any real competitors at the time, and it still sold like dog shit sandwiches. Save everyone some time and money, suck it up, swallow your pride, and just put CarPlay/Android Auto on there. Because as I've said elsewhere in this thread, not only will I not buy your proprietary infotainment system, I won't even buy your car.

Even I, a long-time geek who will endure a lot of pain to get something working, cringes at the thought of the hoops I'd have to jump through to get "SmartDeviceLink" to an even minimally useful state. My CarPlay head unit also has MirrorLink, and while I was waiting for Pioneer to update the firmware to include CarPlay, I thought I'd give MirrorLink a whirl. First, I apparently needed to go get a special cable. Yeah, fuck that, you exceeded my tolerance for friction in the first sentence of your user manual. CarPlay? Plugged my iPhone in, waited to see what Apple's special version of frictional hell would be and...it just worked. There's your competition, car makers, and if takes more than just plugging my phone in I'm not buying it.

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#99

Post by jmcdiesel »

stillworks wrote: post #74
jmcdiesel wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waze continually gets me to work through back roads and side streets in 20 min, a trip that in traffic on the "normal" routes takes roughly an hour... Maybe one day cars will have GPS on that level built in... but for now... nope

If everybody has that kind of intelligent routing, then any advantage of that kind of intelligent routing will stop being an advantage.

I think that's demonstrably false... if more traffic is using the side routes, it reroutes to other side routes... it distributes the load across the road system... my route is often different every day because of this...

Re: Most drivers who own cars with built-in GPS systems use phones for directions

#100

Post by macjohnmcc »

My car's map was so out of date when I bought it it instantly became useless to me. My wife sitting in the passenger seat cannot select destinations while we are driving so it is far easier to just use a phone with the added benefits of up-to-date maps and traffic.
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