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The iPad As In-Car Entertainment System Killer
theodp writes "Cars.com's David Thomas speculates that the iPad could prove to be a serious problem for automakers that charge a ransom for rear entertainment systems. The base iPad, Thomas notes, costs far less than most DVD options offered by automakers. Ford charges $1,995 for a dual-headrest-mounted DVD system in its Flex crossover. In the Acura MDX, its single-screen system, with three wireless headsets and a 9-inch screen, costs $1,900. At $500 a pop, giving two kids their own iPads would cost far less than what the automakers charge for an ICE system. The Cars.com article mentions some of the advantages of ICE, including being weather-tested to work from -5 to 160 degrees F (-20 to 71 C), and being far less prone to breakage."
I thought mounted entertainment systems were killed by portable $100 DVD players already...
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
Automakers still seem to charge ridiculous amounts for integrated navigation systems - the fact that you can pick up a GPS unit for under $100 doesn't seem to prevent them from charging $500-2000 for nav systems. Somehow I doubt they'll change anything here either. I figure that the thinking is they can charge a huge premium for the benefit of having a system integrated vs. just a separate device.
i figured that out when the iPad was first announced. $2000 for a glorified $300 DVD system vs $500 for a dumbed down computer that can play movies and games and you don't need to take shiny discs with you that scratch easily
and you can use the ipad outside the car as well. and if you're an IT geek with kids, the App Store has tons of IT management apps to give you console and any kind of remote access to almost any platform from anywhere. just in case you get a call while on vacation that something is wrong
Damn right!
Kids these days with their "in car entertainment" and their "iPods" and whatnot; when I was their age all we had to do in the back of the station wagon was fight with our brothers and sisters and make faces at the cars behind us! And we were damn glad to do it!
Now get off my lawn!
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
...to steal the factory installed DVD system than they are to grab the two iPads in your back seat.
Maybe one day Apple will develop an iPad which is portable so that it can be removed from the vehicle? One can only hope!
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
As any parent with a kid will (or should!) tell you, giving them access to things like that is all part of a managed activity schedule, much like access to TV or the computer. You can set aside times when your children can use these things, and for how long, and various other rules. In car entertainment is just another medium where this occurs.
in the same way that multiple TV sets in homes added more flexibility for families where someone wants to watch channel A while others watch channel B, the in car systems mean not everyone has to listen to the radio, which can be a total blessing if your kids really want to listen to the high school musical soundtrack *again*, or the Bob the Builder greatest hits.
Like anything involving parenting though, not everyone makes good parents, but allowing kids access to things like this doesn't automatically put people into that category.
Sure. I have a just-turned-2 year old. Legally he cannot be placed in the front seat (even with a proper carrier), so his car seat is in the row of seats behind me, where I cannot even physically touch him. I cannot read to him, or play with him, or do anything but say words out of my mouth. Last week we made a 14 hour round trip (and Mom couldn't go), and I was very, very thankful that he enjoys watching Curious George and Elmo on the integrated entertainment system, because otherwise he would have been miserable - bored out of his mind, screaming his head off, and stressing me out and taking my concentration away from driving.
We stopped and grabbed a couple DVDs out of a RedBox for a buck a piece, and returned them the next day at our local RedBox when we got home.
We even have a TV and DVD player at our house too. More than one, believe it or not.
Better known as 318230.
I don't know, my 3.5 year old daughter and 1.5 year old son love daddy's "omputer" far more than TV right now. They can draw and color wherever they touch, then send the picture to grandma. Play animal sounds by touching the picture. They can watch an awesome animated Toy Story book as it reads to them (I read to my kids everyday, but try as I might I can't make books animated). She can watch cartoons on netflix anywhere in the house. And that's just in the first few weeks, Who knows what they'll come up with months from now. I went on a trip a few weeks ago and took my iPad and my laptop. My laptop is still in it's bag.
Now I am like some of you in that your against apple's walled garden, but it's a big damn garden and I've yet to find something I need that's not in here.
Is it just me, or do you hate it when people say "Is it just me..."?
No kidding! We made our own entertainment as kids. We played games, and not just the tame ones like "I spy" and the like. We made our OWN games, thus increasing our creativity! We played games like, "What's that smell?" and "Does this hurt?" and "Let's make the veins pop out on the driver's forehead"! And, of course, the ever popular "I'm not touching you!" while waggling a finger mere millimeters away from your siblings body after being instructed not to touch them. This last game was a real challenge, as a pothole or sudden change of direction could jostle you just enough to come into contact with your sibling, and therefore breaking the "rules" and getting you into trouble.
Ah, good times. Good times.
psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo