
Auto Makers Losing Battle for Dashboard Apps - prostoalex
http://www.wsj.com/articles/auto-makers-losing-battle-for-dashboard-apps-1449713771?mod=e2fb
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blisterpeanuts
I'm looking forward to having all my settings, preferences, and layouts as a
separate app that I can use in any car without having to relearn the controls
and UI.

My Toyota has a terrible set of climate and information controls, divided
between a clunky joystick and a multi screen touch interface, both of which
require the driver to take your eyes off the road for the most trivial tasks
such as turning up the fan.

Apple and Android aren't perfect themselves, but they at least have a process
for updating iteratively until it works.

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pjc50
On the front page this is right next to
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10715888](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10715888)
"Hundreds of thousands of engine immobilisers hackable over the net
(theregister.co.uk)". Not unrelated.

If the car is to become a peripheral of the smartphone, it _really_ needs to
be done in a modular, open, futureproof way. Having a car tied to a particular
model of phone is ridiculous.

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mkoryak
And this is somehow surprising? My 2013 Honda crv has the most horrendous ux
for ours navigation system. The rest of the software feels like it was built
in 2003.

Car makers never invested in good in dash software and now they are paying the
price as new choices emerge and users want them

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Silhouette
I am struggling to think why any mobile phone app would be useful or relevant
in a car. If you're driving a car, why is your mobile phone even turned on?
And if you're not driving, what's wrong with the controls integrated into the
dash, which are probably much larger and more flexible than any phone screen?

~~~
blisterpeanuts
I'd like to see physical, programmable knobs and sliders that resemble the
traditional car dashboard of yore.

If your preference is top-left knob turns on radio and controls volume, for
example, why should you have to relearn it? Just jack your phone into the
charging cradle and "poof!" all your preferences are synchronized and the
knobs do the right thing.

Seat adjustments, rear view mirrors, and steering wheel height could also be
automatically synched, along with your preferred radio and music presets. You
and your spouse or whoever else drives the car won't have to keep readjusting
these things, as my wife and I have to do twice a day.

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paulojreis
I think the biggest problem is users losing the battle. Do users really want
more crapware? More distractions?

