The latest in-dash “infotainment” systems are turning into a giant headache for drivers. Problems with phone, entertainment and navigation functions were the biggest source of complaints in the latest J.D. Power & Associates survey of new-car quality, easily outstripping traditional issues such as fit and finish and wind noise.
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But the next generation of in-car technology will get much more interesting, with embedded systems making a comeback of sorts, in more sophisticated form.
Such systems may focus on collecting data that only the car can provide — and transferring it to Web-based systems to large numbers of drivers. If cars signaled that their windshield wipers were on, for instance, that information could be fed into a navigation system that could warn other drivers of a rainstorm ahead.
Why do you need cars signaling that their windshield wipers are on to warn of a rainstorm ahead? I have a close friend who recently bought a 2013 Ford: it has weather information integrated into the navigation system. As I recall, his 2011 Ford had the same feature.
But my primary reason for blogging this is so I can link to episode 11 of the Neutral podcast, in which John Siracusa, Marco Arment, and Casey Liss discuss why car software stinks. I think all of the Neutral podcasts are worth listening to, but if you’re only going to listen to one, this is the one I’d recommend.
This entry was posted on Saturday, June 29th, 2013 at 8:39 am and is filed under Android, Apple, Cars, Clippings, Geek. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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