I hope the new navigation has a display similar to an iPhone, iPad, and iPod. The flow of controls would be awesome, have native support for iPhone, apps,etc. Use the iOS as the nab interface. Be able to control the air, car setup (race mode, etc.), radio, and everything in between.

 

God I hope not. Just give me simple ***** and make it look nice.

 

I want a tomtom

 

For me, all a phone has to do is call n text. A car just has to perform well. I could care less if it has nav, touch screens etc. I got pc's at work, at home, as well as lap tops etc. To me it is nicer to have a great driving experience & some good tunes.

 

I'll get behind Android but not ios, screw that crap in a car. I'm buying a Corvette, not an Icar and I HATE Apple products, almost as much as Bose.

They take 1-2 year old technology, dust it off, polish it up, then sell it to the masses as "NEW".

Apple hasn't really done anything innovative for about 3-4 years. Including their Ipad which stole tablet PC technology from like ten years ago and just added Ipod interfaces to it.

 

What they need to provide is an information system to the driver which is easy to use, yet fully featured. It would be nice if they added weather displays to the map. Best yet, get rid of all the extra fees needed to have weather, traffic and etc... on the display. All of that should be free when we're spending a ton of money on a nice car. Allow for changing destinations while moving if there is a passenger in the car. Include a backup camera. Include onboard vehicle diagnostics. Have a vocabulary that will actually understand us. If we're going to have phones in the car, go to bluetooth and tie in a screen with more information like who is calling us, call lists and etc.

 

Anything but the calculator screen now offered. Glad I didn't get it.

 

No way will I buy a car that has that kind of control system! Having to scroll through a menu of choices to get to the feature you want, like radio, heater, etc., is time consuming and distracting, especially while engaging in the driver's primary function - actually DRIVING the car. A simple analog system works just fine and can be engaged intuitively and directly, without having to take one's eyes off the road to read the screen.

The digital approach has been tried before. Anyone remember the disaster that was the original BMW "idrive" system about 6 or 7 years ago? You had to scroll through a menu just to change the radio volume or heat/air settings! Then the system developed software bugs and acted on its own!!

We don't need technology just for the sake of technology here, folks. This is a perfect example of when K.I.S.S. works best!

 

Know that one all too well...just got rid of a 745i that the nav was terrible and the iDrive was something else...

 

You can't be serious.

 

I do believe Ford has recently tried that with their MyTouch system, and many auto reviewers just rip it to pieces. I suppose it is certainly something a person could get used to after a while. It just seems to be something that will distract the driver even more.

 

I'm with you on Bose, but I think you're way off base on Apple. Apple is by far the most innovative technology company in existence. They might not start with a totally original idea on many products...for example...they didn't invent the cell phone. But what they do is make products usable and necessary for the masses. You don't see people camping out for Microsoft products....or Android for that matter. I only hope Apple can continue to be as innovative with the loss of Steve Jobs. I suspect that the culture he created is engrained enough that you'll continue to see great products for years to come. We'll miss you Steve!!

 

Your right, maybe not all touch, it should be like audi's a6 nav, it performs much better than bmw's idrive. It could use google maps, it just can't be outdated like the current nav in the c6

 

Good lord, if they used iOS or any Apple anything, I'd never buy a new Corvette. Apple stuff is awful. Always behind the times, and 10x more expensive.

I don't want them to use ANY mainstream OS like iOS or Android. They need to keep it simple. They should just buy their nav systems from Pioneer which has the best navigation setup for a car that there is. Their controls are awesome. And their menus are perfect.

 

Jobs was a visionary and the comment was not only borne of pure ignorance, it was ill-timed.

 

And what exact Apple stuff have you ever actually owned? You want it simple? My granddaughter, now age 4 has been able to navigate an iPhone since she was 2. I can hand her my phone and she can call her mom or dad (can't read yet, but they have an app with pictures you press and it calls that person). She can take pictures and put them in a disneyland frame, switch front and back cameras, watch movies, go to youtube, play games etc. She has a page dedicated to her apps.

 

What's that supposed to prove? You can hand almost any modern smartphone to almost any modern kid and the same would be true, especially if it already has been loaded with apps that eliminate the need to read by placing photos with contacts (which my phone does automatically anyway). Apple doesn't market revolutionary technology ; Apple sells products using revolutionary marketing.

Regardless, digital touchscreens requiring the driver to focus extensive attention in any other direction but forward is counterproductive to the advances made in automobile comfort controls. They move stereo controls to the steering wheel to enable drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, then a decade later use a touchscreen for stereo and climate controls, forcing the driver to divert the majority of their attention AWAY from the road. Ridiculous.

 

Can your 4 year-old grand daughter drive? Probably not. Kid toys are just that... Kid toys. Yes, an iPhone is simple to use. That doesn't mean it's a silver bullet for all things technology-driven. You probably think it's impressive that a 4 year old can do cool stuff with a phone. I've got a 3 year old here that whoops butt on game consoles and can play with a windows computer like nobody's business. Welcome to the new age.

But I'm sure you'd like a big picture of your house in one button to tell your navigation to take you home. No reading required.

Yes, I've owned Apple products and have even been forced to use them for professional services. I was a Network Engineer for 12 years. Please don't talk down to me about what I've owned and used as you have no clue. As an IT professional, a web developer, a IT help desk tech and avid computer user for over 20 years I can tell you that there's no such thing as an "all purpose" user interface. Apple products have their place. Only the Apple yuppies that pre-order every new Apple device that's coming out would believe that such a solution is correct. That's caused by a lack of knowledge in interface design. The same kind of thinking is what makes people think a Silverado 1500 Pickup can tow a yacht. No thinking ahead.

With your logic we should have jet-fighters that are controlled by iPads... Because it's just easier.

Given that Apple is so far behind the times, if we were going to use a mobile device operating system, Android would be better because it's actually built for voice-command which is what you'd want in a car. Not a lot of sliding your finger around a screen. But again, since you're not acquainted with interface design, you don't realize these things. That's the reason you're not in charge of this kind of stuff. Leave these kinds of decisions to the people with tons of experience in it.

I realize I sound like a jerk right now, but it's really annoying hearing people say Apple is the holy grail to anything that has a screen. I've pushed Apple, Microsoft, and Google products for a VERY long time to people for different purposes. Sure you CAN use an Apple product to do most things, but you can also use a bb gun to hunt boar and bring a knife to a gun fight.

To summarize this: Yes I know ALL about Apple products and have used them all. No, Apple products are not mature enough to handle replacing the navigation and information center of a vehicle. No, Apple currently does not have any good voice recognition and therefore even Infiniti's antiquated navigation system would be better than an Apple product. No, a mobile OS is not the key for a solid navigation system. Open source is not the solution in this case. No there should NOT be a way to load apps from ANY app store onto the system that controls a large portion of your vehicle's computers and information system. And yes, I know what I'm talking about from a manufacturer's stand point.

An OS that is designed specifically for the hardware they use and compiled on that infrastructure is going to be far more stable than a system designed to fit on a wide variety of hardware platforms.

As of today, there are already non-Apple head units that communicate with your precious iPhone/iPod to play music through. I don't get why you'd want to exchange something so stable for something that isn't stable.

Just not a good idea no matter how you look at it. They can make an easy to use interface without an Apple stamp on it.

 

Using that logic, I wouldn't consider buying a Corvette because it has a crap Bose system in it. But I plan on doing just that, and replacing it with what I prefer. I won't bother commenting on Apple always being behind the time and 10x more expensive. While there may be a small number of people that would agree with you, I think most would think you're way off base.

 

A nav system should have a nav system operating enviroment. The control systems should not be open. They should be secure.

User interfaces in cars very difficult to design and should not be the same as computer interfaces.

Cars should have very intuitive and TACTILE interfaces. One should not have to look at the interface much if at all. Eye time should be less than 1 second if possible.

Different key controls should fell different, if possible.

Windshield wiper controls need to be tactile, you do not want people staring a wiper controls in adverse weather and road conditions. Sorry off track.

Voice control of Nav is a good idea, with a wheel control to initate a command, as you don't want to activate controls accidently with an always listening voice command.

Auto Nav systems need to be more sophisticated than phones. They should have a combination of GPS, WAAS and inertial sensors to maintain location with temporary signal loss. They need to remeber where they last were. They should be able use a connected phone to download incremental map changes, to stay up dated.

We have an Enclave and it's Nav system is not bad. Still it needs a better screen, voice ontrol. I like the idea of simple Nav instructions on the heads up. Not maps but arrows and distances to direction changes.