Automakers Struggle With Pairing Smartphones To Car Infotainment Systems

Lucas123 writes "As Toyota owners have often found out the hard way, they cannot use Bluetooth to pair an iPhone to their car's Entune infotainment system in order to use mobile apps. Drivers can set up their iPhones as a WiFi hotspots, but there's a fee for that. Part of the problem is that Toyota bundles all of the available Internet apps — such as Bing, iHeartRadio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable, Pandora and other data services such as local fuel prices, traffic and weather information — on the infotainment system so it can track how they're being used. The company suggests drivers simply plug their phones into the car's USB port. Toyota's not alone in its wireless dilemma. Part of the problem is automakers can't keep up with mobile app software upgrades, so they use proprietary interfaces. But that may soon be changing. Toyota said its next model year will include Bluetooth pairing, but it still doesn't solve the longer term problem of how to upgrade infotainment systems without waiting the two to four years that new car models typically take to roll off the lines. Some automakers, like Audi, are moving to modular infotainment systems that allow chipsets to be replaced on the fly."

Comments

Simple...

[Anonymous Coward]

Allow software update of the system through USB.
Download the latest version from the Toyota website, put it on a usb key, plug in the car, select Software update in the contextual menu, and boom, you're done.
Or have it all running directly off an SD card which can be replaced/upgraded if it ever fails instead of built-in storage that can fail over time and is harder to change.

Re:Simple...

[AK Marc]

That doesn't include the hardware. The CPU needs to be a screen-less tablet in the center console or dash that's locked, but easily removable by non-thieves. Swap out the $50 tablet core for hardware upgrades.

The problem is that makers have deliberately built cars to be complex and expensive. Changing radios from the '60 and '70s was easy. At most you needed a faceplate and a small wiring adapter. Now, you can't. The radio is connected to the A/C (for no good reason). If you could replace the $10,000 upgraded stereo with a $100 commodity version that's better, they'll not sell the high-profit accessories and such.

Re:Simple...

[thegarbz]

It may sound like a simple thing to send out an update with a USB key and simple instructions on properly evaluating a unit for eligibility prior to upgrade, but trust me on this - in that industry, it isn't.

Instructions? Please don't make excuses for the incompetence of the auto industry. You should NOT need instructions. The vendor has all the data, all the knowledge. There's no variance, and heck even if there was a modular design would work around that too. Just think about that next time you buy a new video card. Do you write down the name and model, and clock frequency, and brand, and then search through a giant database looking for which sub sub sub model of the GTX 7xx series of card you have? No! You go to NVIDIA's website, click download and click install.

There is no reason why all validation can't be automatic There's no reason why a simple update process isn't available. There's no reason why this couldn't even be done OTA in the presence of a WiFi connection, not even needing USB.

This is not "hard" and the lack of a solution is more a case of corporate laziness. It's called modular design and standardisation. The car industry could learn a bit by looking up these terms in the dictionary.

Re:Simple...

[dywolf]

I dont see why they make "infotainment" systems at all.

Just make it a dumb terminal, IE, screen and speakers, that you just plug your phone into, and your phone does all the actual processing and work, etc. Sensors can report over the connection to the app on the phone, but also keep one basic builtin display function that can report all the sensor information (for those that care about that nonsense) incase no phone is present.

Use an open standard for communication and data flow, so anyone can right their own app if they so wish.
And if someone writes some really super cool app that's even better than the official one....buy it and make it the new official one.

OR....

Alternatively, instead of everyone making their own proprietary UIs and car softwares....just install bloody android. and (again) keep the communication and sensor flow stuff open and standardized so anyone can right an app that can display it.

And this is hard?

Re:It's the money.

[whoever57]

Ten years from now, I expect this will be a solved problem, but right now it's like personal computers ca. 1980 - everyone has a different solution, each has its own merits and faults, and we're just going to have to wait until standardization occurs.

Unless customers express a strong preference for standards, nothing is going to change. The manufacturers believe that they can make a lot of money from updates and upgrades during the life of the vehicle (just look at how much updated maps for integrated GPS systems cost) and they are not going to give up that income without a strong signal from car buyers.

Car manufacturers love this income stream because it doesn't affect the price of a new car -- it may be the second owner who has to pay it.

Re:I hate these things.

[ElementOfDestruction]

Oh it sounds like that Prius C her dad got for her is a real pain in the ass.