[bluedevils]

Just a small rant

The smartphone market was dysfunctional and fragmented before the iphone
The tablet didn't take off until apple reinvented the definition.
The onboard automobile computer for any brand just isn't user friendly or functional enough.

Apple should remake the idrive to be a simple but powerful solution. I know many people don't like apple. I feel for android users, but it's time for connectivity and functionality in the car for whatever phone you use. Lucky there is this whole driving thing that distracts me from the computer.

rant off

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by bluedevils

Just a small rant

The smartphone market was dysfunctional and fragmented before the iphone
The tablet didn't take off until apple reinvented the definition.
The onboard automobile computer for any brand just isn't user friendly or functional enough.

Apple should remake the idrive to be a simple but powerful solution. I know many people don't like apple. I feel for android users, but it's time for connectivity and functionality in the car for whatever phone you use. Lucky there is this whole driving thing that distracts me from the computer.

rant off

This will result in an electrical bastardization of the functionalities for which we already have enough assistance. I love Apple products, but I will not swipe to unlock my car.

[bren]

I'm not sure you have a great grasp of the actual market forces that you are attributing solely to the iproducts, but we don't really need to get into that.

I would argue that none of this crap should be in the car at all. If you want to use the internet or txt msg or whatever then pull over!

[bluedevils]

agreed, I kept it very general for brevity sake.

swiping is probably not the input of choice for a car. Siri seems to be the trend for apple.

Even for navigation (nevermind the internet) I find inputting locations or rerouting around traffic to be less efficient and more dangerous than it needs to be. The car already notifies me when the temperature is too low or when I'm driving too fast. Why can't it remind me to pickup milk (from my calendar) or someone text/email me that they are ready to be picked up from the airport? I like texts because I can read at my own time (pull to the side or waiting at the light), but I get the message immediately.

I understand the point about safety. There was at least one train wreck in the US caused by the engineer texting.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by bluedevils

Just a small rant

The smartphone market was dysfunctional and fragmented before the iphone
The tablet didn't take off until apple reinvented the definition.
The onboard automobile computer for any brand just isn't user friendly or functional enough.

Apple should remake the idrive to be a simple but powerful solution. I know many people don't like apple. I feel for android users, but it's time for connectivity and functionality in the car for whatever phone you use. Lucky there is this whole driving thing that distracts me from the computer.

rant off

I do agree on the functionality of the iDrive in places although it's apparently much better than it used to be and also better than many rival manufacturers. A good example is the Music Collection. The user interface is a dog and looks like it was designed by someone who has never used an mp3 player. You can put up with it but I could do a much better job on the design easily with a few simple changes

[bluedevils]

Originally Posted by sfax

I do agree on the functionality of the iDrive in places although it's apparently much better than it used to be and also better than many rival manufacturers. A good example is the Music Collection. The user interface is a dog and looks like it was designed by someone who has never used an mp3 player. You can put up with it but I could do a much better job on the design easily with a few simple changes

exactly (about the music interface). I'm not saying BMW is the worse, but the whole industry needs a shakeup like what apple has done for the markets I mentioned earlier.

[Markap]

At a recent motorcycle show, BMW demo'd a scooter where the iPhone snapped into a bracket between the hand grips. The phone then became the start button for the scooter as well as the gps unit and the souce to feed the speakers, Really no reason it could not have displayed speed and gas level too.

I would like to see better phone integration where Siri (or similar) becomes the verbal interface to the Nav system, music, etc and the on board unit merely becomes a better screen for the smartphone. Why have multiple similar devices in the car when you really only need a better screen and better integration of the phone. I agree it should support Apple and Android but there does not yet seem to be a standard for the Android connector.

I don't know about you but I forget the keys on the way out the door of home and office way more often than I forget to pick up the phone.

[bluedevils]

Markap,

I agree with your points. There's emerging technology to integrate credit cards into the phones so you don't have to carry a wallet either.