Why Apple's Next Revolution Should Be In Your Car

New submitter eetc writes "This article surveys the sorry state of car makers' stereo and navigation systems: 'It's clear that most of the auto companies that offer more than a car stereo want to lock you into their interface and services — as awful as they are. The rest don't care. The aftermarket stereo and nav systems are no better. Stuffed with even more buttons and light-show gewgaws, they're sure to keep your eyes off the road and may not work easily with your stuff. Add to that mix the split focus of also having to use a separate GPS unit in most vehicles, and you have to wonder what keeps our roads so relatively safe.' The answer in one word: iCar. This is just the sort of broken market that Apple specializes in taking over."

Comments

Apple will decide where you can and can't travel

[crazyjj]

Driver: Siri, why is the car slowing down?

Siri: I'm sorry, but this road has not been pre-approved by Apple for use with your Apple vehicle. Would you like me to suggest an alternate, approved route?

Driver: Wait, you can control my car...the WHOLE car? Which one of these wires will unplug you anyway, bitch? ....Hey, what is that coming out of the air conditioner?

Siri: I've detected an illegal attempt at vehicle modification. This will help you relax while I drive you to the Apple Store for sanction.

Driver: waait..iah...stoppp

Siri: Your end-user license agreement specifically stated at purchase that your Apple vehicle was to be used for the sole purpose of engaging in Apple approved activities. Any attempt to modify this car is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and may result in penalties from a fine to death.

Driver: deaaathhh?

Siri: Penalty will be determined through third-party mediation, which you also agreed to at purchase. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Sorry to rain on Apples parade n all but...

[bazmail]

they said that about the living room a few years ago, what happened there?

Re:Sorry to rain on Apples parade n all but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you actually used an iPad with the AppleTV? The Airplay functionality alone makes it worth having an AppleTV.

Re:Sorry to rain on Apples parade n all but...

[imamac]

Just because Apple didn't help change your living room does't mean it didn't change a lot of others'. Between Apple and Netflix the cable company lost my business. And I'm not the only one.

Re:Sorry to rain on Apples parade n all but...

[King_TJ]

Umm... Apple never quite succeeded in that "changing the living room" promise not because of any real failure on their own part, but because of the content industry's stubbornness. When Apple first introduced legally purchasable digital music downloads from the iTunes store, they were able to talk the recording industry into (very tentatively at first) going along with them on it. In fact, just to get THAT much done, they had to code in concessions that frustrate users to his day (such as not being allowed to sync music BACK to a copy of iTunes FROM your iPod).

By the time they were interested in TV content, THAT industry dug in their heels, determined not to lose control over some of their content and advertising revenue to Apple, who had now proven they could make BIG money off this stuff, once you gave them the opportunity.

Netflix is another company struggling with the same issues.... If one of these streaming services REALLY took off (and Apple, of all people, might just be able to do it, since they're known for building devices easy enough to use so the average Joe wouldn't be intimidated by them), it would put an end to the entire cable TV industry as we know it. No longer could they FORCE you to take a bunch of channels you didn't want in a package to get others you wanted. No longer would people be content to pay for "premium" channels like HBO or Showtime. Instead, they'd just pay for specific shows they offered that they liked. (Sounds a little bit like what happened with music, doesn't it? People could just pay 99 cents for that one good single on an album instead of being forced to buy the whole thing for $13.99.) And don't forget - the satellite and cable providers currently make some nice extra revenue charging extra for additional boxes or boxes with DVR recording capabilities in them. That would all be taken away from them as well.

Re:Sorry to rain on Apples parade n all but...

[jasno]

I just changed my mom's living room experience with a Roku box. I got her the extra fancy one that can play Angry Birds for $99, along with a year of netflix. I have to pay for a Hulu account for work, so I'll be setting her up with that, too. She's nearly 70 and didn't have a problem figuring it out.

I've got a Samsung TV loaded with apps. Netflix, Vudu(not with Ultraviolet, so the stuff I buy isn't tied to a company), Hulu, etc... Using my Synology NAS and my Android phone, I can even remotely playback media through the TV using my phone as a remote.

The cable company may lose a few more customers, but it won't be because of Apple.

Drink holder

[Toe, The]

Stereo? GPS? Car companies can't even make a cup holder that actually works.

It is strange, because as far as I can tell, people have been taking beverages into automobiles for at least... 12 years... perhaps more? And yet, car companies keep trying to reinvent the cup holder, usually horribly.

WTF? How can it be that difficult to engineer something so simple after so much time?

Re:Drink holder

[Reece400]

My Oldsmobile Alero had a cup holder right in front of the gear shift - if you put anything larger than a small 12oz cup in it you'd either crush it when you tried putting the vehicle into park or not get that far and end up with your vehicle in reverse. The cup holders in the back seat were semi circle shaped with little rubber flaps that were supposed to hold the cup - they didn't. I don't understand how anyone at GM could have though this was a good idea, but somehow they decided to design it this way anyway. Thinking back, I'm amazed it took as long as it did for GM to go bankrupt.

Re:Drink holder

[Yvan256]

Cup holder? Dude, that's the CD tray!

Car systems need to be simple

[Anonymous Coward]

What's wrong with getting a bit old fashioned - volume control know, tuning knob, slide controls or dials to control the heater (back to the '80's anyone).

Anytime you get buttons involved and a touch screen you need to look at it. Any buttons should have a unique "feel/texture" so you can differentiate by touch without looking.

Harder! Screw us harder!

[jmorris42]

> It's clear that most of the auto companies that offer more than a car stereo
> want to lock you into their interface and services — as awful as they are.

Uh huh. So if Apple locked you into THEIR interface and services it would be insanely great and you would be lining up for it.

P.T. Barnum was an optimist.

Re:Harder! Screw us harder!

[HCase]

I'm not entirely sure you understand the difference here. You do realize the auto company interfaces don't have images of fruit stamped into them? Right?

Actually, Microsoft.

[AdrianKemp]

I have ford SYNC (microsoft SYNC), and it's fucking brilliant.

I never touch my stereo, between the 4 steering wheel controls (volume,next/prev,voice command,hang up) and the frankly kick-ass voice control I just never need to.

I never have had it misdial, only very occasionally does it have trouble when I ask for a specific album (and then only when it's not a native language name) and generally just had it be all sorts of awesome all the time.

So no, Apple can sit this one out (and this is coming from someone who's entire computing existence is apple, I own the iphone/ipad/appletv/macbook/imac). Microsoft has done a great job already.

Re:Apple will decide where you can and can't trave

[ArcherB]

How is this insightful? Funny? Yes. Insightful? No.

"Insightful" gives a better boost to Karma than "Funny" so a lot of mods use "Insightful" in its place.

Re:Apple will decide where you can and can't trave

[Eponymous Hero]

no, they'll say you were holding the steering wheel the wrong way