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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

#291

Post by thirdsun »

tdkl wrote: post #208
mtanski wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 2016 VW Sportwagen I does have a touch screen console either with or without Nav. The SE model and below does not have Nav and SEL does. I got the SE because it was the nicest model without Nav. Built in Nav in cars is so shitty that I would personally pay extra to not have it.

Point taken for being a nav or not, but those touchscreens are still functional as in being a car stereo, contact manager (for BT calling), handling settings for the car computer etc. But to answer my question why there's no standalone mode for Android Auto/Car Play - probably because they struck a deal with car vendors to sell more extras with the cars or newer cars. So if you drive something older - fuck you and co…

This feels familiar - I have a 2014 Volkswagen with touchscreen, bluetooth audio, calling, contact management, MirrorLink, etc. - about 1 out of 10 times upon starting the car the iPhone won't be able to connect to the car. It will only work again if I stop the car for a few minutes and start it again. Of course there are no VW software updates to be found and I'm not interested in bringing my car in to be serviced for this. All I want is Apple to be the software vendor of my car. However using CarPlay of course requires me to buy a new car. There's no upgrade path which is very, very disappointing.

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

#292

Post by thirdsun »

mtanski wrote: post #259
tdkl wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Point taken for being a nav or not, but those touchscreens are still functional as in being a car stereo, contact manager (for BT calling), handling settings for the car computer etc. But to answer my question why there's no standalone mode for Android Auto/Car Play - probably because they struck a deal with car vendors to sell more extras with the cars or newer cars. So if you drive something older - fuck you and co…

I've seen that Pioneer, Alpine and the usual after market head unit vendors have options with car play. So you might not be entirely out of luck.

That's not a realistic option - most cars use their head units to control everything, from audio to car and safety settings. Those are essential features you'd be missing.

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

#293

Post by s0rce »

ptmcc wrote: post #240
jtolmar wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Briefly going faster than the regular flow of traffic is sometimes the best way to avoid an accident. But I think the real reason is that people would be very, very grumpy about that law and regulators need to pick their battles.

It's also legal, in some states at least, to briefly exceed the speed limit while passing on a 2-lane highway. For example, in Washington: http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.425

The link appears to be related to minimum speed limits...

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

#294

Post by dreamcompiler »

copperx wrote: post #230
lukaslalinsky wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars can generally go much faster than the maximum speed limit, so it wouldn't be the first time the car allows you to do something against the law.

I'm honestly surprised they don't restrict that. Does anybody know why? I know different states have different speed limits, but I think a 85mph speed limit could cover them all. Is it because Canada and Mexico? They have lower speed limits. Is it because the car could be exported to Germany and driven on the Autobahn? or what?

The main reason car companies don't put (un-overridable) governors for 85mph in cars is that their sales would instantly plummet. That said, all "fast" cars sold in the US do have governors at 140 mph if memory serves. The same car sold in Germany has no such governor.

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

#295

Post by kalleboo »

macjohnmcc wrote: post #101
jasode wrote: post #11

Another reason not mentioned by the article is map updates . Lexus charges $169+ to update the map data and requires a dealer appointment. A smartphone with google/Apple maps is always more up-to-date. If you're buying a new car today, the reason to get navigation is for the LCD screen and not for the GPS. The LCD is used to see the rear view camera image for parking. Also, playing music shows the song titles.

We bought a Gamin GPS for my wife as she prefers it over using a phone for navigation. It has lifetime map updates and costs less than the map update for my car's built in navigation. It's also far superior in several ways including knowing the speed limit on more roads, showing the name of the upcoming cross streets and better multi-lane information. I personally tend to use Waze on my phone but like the Garmin navi…

I got annoyed by how poor Apple and Google Maps were here in Japan so I tried a local third-party app, and the navigation in it blows anything else I've seen out of the water. Just the lane guidance is amazingly good, and it does things like highlighting your destination on the road signs you're looking at

Screenshots: https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3855/14390588297_f2743d8f05_b....

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5233/14573660131_396715c2bf_b....

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

#297

Post by ajmurmann »

gmarx wrote: post #141
macjohnmcc wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We bought a Gamin GPS for my wife as she prefers it over using a phone for navigation. It has lifetime map updates and costs less than the map update for my car's built in navigation. It's also far superior in several ways including knowing the speed limit on more roads, showing the name of the upcoming cross streets and better multi-lane information. I personally tend to use Waze on my phone but like the Garmin navi…

Better multi lane information is great. I would also like better info on which lane to be in for a turn taking account of the fact that soon after I need to make another turn and don't want to have to cut across a lane to make it

This can't be said often enough! Whenever I am driving somewhere new I constantly have to look at the screen to see on the map what the turn after the upcoming one is going to be so that I can chose the right lane. For that very reason my wife and I still tend to have the passenger navigate which comes down to supplementing the Waze directions which information about what lane to likely chose depending on the turn after the next. To me this seems like a obvious short coming and I am surprised it's not a feature one can commonly expect.

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

#298

Post by owenwil »

Someone1234 wrote: post #93
UVB-76 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 (infota…

Believe it or not, Android Auto and Carplay are a single standard underneath. They both use the same core technologies (very similar to Miracast) to do what they do.

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

#299

Post by dreamcompiler »

samsonradu wrote: post #224
gutnor wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also forgot that they are fast with responsive UI. And that's only if you compare the best of the car built-in GPS. If it is not the top of range (which btw is not related to the price of the car), the UI is generally awful. If you are a google/apple map user. Searching for an address is a million type easier: roughly type some part of the address and it will find it. No such luck with car gps. At this stage you…

This 10x! Car manufacturers are reinventing the wheel. I wonder how Tesla does this though, its display looks pretty cool but never had the chance to play with it.

Tesla's system is pretty good, and it's the only one that is. Then again, Tesla is the only car company that employs people who actually understand software.

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

#300

Post by dmritard96 »

i really just want a chromecast equivalent for my car. phones get updated every couple years but cars last much longer. it simply doesn't make sense to put too much smarts in the car itself but i do see the value in a well placed screen and integration with the cars audio system.
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