221–230 of 393 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A CD player's still convenient on a long road trip when one wants to listen to one's own music, not the radio or the satellite. A phone can only hold so much!
With 64GB MicroSD cards running for $20 or so are you really phone limited? How many CDs do you have? My note4 has 32GB (internal) and a 64GB microsd.
Semi unrelated question: Am I the only one who wished navigation apps allowed more precise control of route complexity? Just a slider that goes between "minimum number of turns" and "most efficient" would be nice. Optimizing a route for complexity vs efficiency is a very important consideration when planning a route. A way to do that in a navigation app would be really nice. I appreciate the intention but taking four…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've often wondered, while using the somewhat substandard media navigation of my bluetooth enabled car stereo which has a touch screen, why there isn't some standard for specifying a very simple, somewhat static visual interface for bluetooth touchscreens (or screens with a set number of external buttons). A very constrained HTML, perhaps, that apps could choose to supply to provide better control through external in…
I think that is more or less exactly the idea behind Android Auto and CarPlay for iOS. The problem is that many manufacturers still don't support it, and customer demand isn't high enough (yet) to force them to. I went ahead and bought the Taco, even though it didn't have Android Auto, because it was otherwise a good truck, and the bluetooth support was Good Enough™. Until enough people don't behave like me, support…
That's a shame, because I think they missed out on a real opportunity to attempt to define a standard that could have been useful for more than a closed ecosystem, and more than just cars. I'm sure it would be less featureful than what they came up with, but I think that would have been justified with the expanded scope. Imagine, if you will, if your phone could just as easily export controls to some virtual/augmented reality device you are wearing, without having to run the Android Auto operating system on that device. Such a shame.
Smartphone maps are so superior because they are always up to date, can provide real-time traffic data, can tell you to take an alternative route and can provide other data about places to eat, etc. While a lot of car GPSs have some of this, they are no where near what Google Maps or Apple Maps (or a targeted app like Waze) has. I bought a new car last year, and intentionally didn't get the GPS, even though my car ha…
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…
Smartphone maps are so superior because they are always up to date, can provide real-time traffic data, can tell you to take an alternative route and can provide other data about places to eat, etc. While a lot of car GPSs have some of this, they are no where near what Google Maps or Apple Maps (or a targeted app like Waze) has. I bought a new car last year, and intentionally didn't get the GPS, even though my car ha…
Yeah, I'm not sure why car companies invested at all in attempting to build their own mapping software. It's a hard thing to do well, and I had been using GPS in the car since Windows 98 + Microsoft Streets + Garmin eMap + serial adapter running NEMA days. PC or smartphone navigation software has always been better than what is available in cars. Additionally, while the upgrade cycle for phones is yearly for some peo…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a stupid question: Why is the user interface on a $30K car so bad compared to a $99 smart phone you can buy at the drug store? What is with the garbage they call software these days? The response time on some of these in-dash systems can be measured in seconds.
The CPU, Display, etc of a car is designed extremely conservatively. Cars lasting 20 years are not uncommon, vibration, temperature extremes, and direct physical abuse (kids, fingers, ice cream, feet, fists, pounding, etc). Not to mention being turned off for months. Car buyers are also pretty sensitive about monthly costs (thus no data connection). Your smartphone is designed to die around 2 years (expoxied battery)…
Semi unrelated question: Am I the only one who wished navigation apps allowed more precise control of route complexity? Just a slider that goes between "minimum number of turns" and "most efficient" would be nice. Optimizing a route for complexity vs efficiency is a very important consideration when planning a route. A way to do that in a navigation app would be really nice. I appreciate the intention but taking four…
A simple "don't use this road" marker seems to me like a really useful feature, yet I've never seen it in any of the satellite navigation systems I've used.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bluetooth headset + phone gives you the same functionality. They even have bluetooth buttons you can attach to your steering wheel if reaching up to your ear isn't something you want to do. Easily replaceable, cheaper, better design.
Now you have to keep track of chargers, and kludge things onto your car. A button on your wheel, a holder on your window or clipped somehow onto your dash. No thanks.
I assume most people take their phone around with them these days. I have a magnetic mount in my car, so as I'm sitting down I just lay it on the magnet on the dash and go.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, I'm not sure why car companies invested at all in attempting to build their own mapping software. It's a hard thing to do well, and I had been using GPS in the car since Windows 98 + Microsoft Streets + Garmin eMap + serial adapter running NEMA days. PC or smartphone navigation software has always been better than what is available in cars. Additionally, while the upgrade cycle for phones is yearly for some peo…
Does Carplay allow choosing which maps app serves the maps, or are you forced to use the apple maps? I'm sure people love Apple's app but it's given me many, many, many too many illegal directions for me to ever trust it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think some states have laws that restrict navigation control access when car is in motion.
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.
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?