"Infotainment"... good or bad?

[sportyaccordy]

What do you guys think about the integration of email, internet, etc with cars?

[MX793]

Bad idea.  On one hand, you've got many states banning the use of cell phones for talking/texting/surfing the web to try to reduce distracted driving and on the other you've got carmakers building these features into their cars.

If you're behind the wheel, you should be driving.  Not texting, emailing, surfing the web or watching videos.  If you want to do that stuff, get a smart phone and take a bus/cab/train.

[Laconian]

Could be good in that the car could present all that shit as a less distracting modality. If the alternative is that people are going to be pulling out their smartphones and staring at their laps, I'd rather have the car do it in a way that is less distracting to the task of driving.

Ideally there'd be no distractions at all, but that's not a realistic hope.

[sportyaccordy]

I'm not a fan myself.

[Rich]

I think it would be great if the automakers can get a Siri like AI that interacts with my phone via bluetooth.... or at least get to interact with iPhone Siri via bluetooth.  And then use some kind of "Airplay" wireless functionality that gives a mirror image of my phone on an OLED display or on a heads up display on the windshield.

I'm imagining something like "Siri, call XX restaurant for reservation at 8pm, then give me directions to it (directions would pop up on the display) and text my wife to be there at 8pm"

Otherwise, meh.

[AltinD]

You guys do realise that the Internet (except Google maps) is available for the passanger, right? Modern screens on top end luxury cars are dual (directional): The driver sees the maps and navigation or radio/music datas on it, while simultaniously the passanger can see the video source or internet.

[sportyaccordy]

You guys do realise that the Internet (except Google maps) is available for the passanger, right? Modern screens on top end luxury cars are dual (directional): The driver sees the maps and navigation or radio/music datas on it, while simultaniously the passanger can see the video source or internet.

I suppose that is fine, though I still think one should have to pull over to make any changes to navigation. Even the voice recognition stuff is rough and can be distracting once on the go.

[mzziaz]

I like it.

I wanna get a Fiat just to try that Blue&Me-stuff.

[Byteme]

What do you guys think about the integration of email, internet, etc with cars?

In the Galaxy Of Bad Ideas it's a pretty bright star.  

Anything that distracts the driver from the primary task at hand, driving the car, is a bad idea.  I think back to the primary lesson drilled into me during my private pilot training.  One's primary responsibility, above all else is to FLY THE PLANE. That takes precedence over puking passengers, radio calls, checking the GPS, reading maps, thinking you are lost, looking for that dropped flashlight, etc.  

Maybe all that connectivity should be enabled only if the speed of the car has been zero for 60 seconds or longer (60 seconds to shut down stoplight texting).

[MexicoCityM3]

I think it is inevitable. If you don?t like it, you can ignore it or turn it off I guess.

[Byteme]

I think it is inevitable. If you don?t like it, you can ignore it or turn it off I guess.

I really dislike paying for features I don't want or need. 

[sportyaccordy]

I really dislike paying for features I don't want or need. 

Yea this.

Not to mention, I will be sharing the road with more and more people watching Jersey Shore reruns & checking their Twitter feeds. It's kind of a silly thing for manufacturers to be pushing in the context of hypersafety. Radio, navigation I get. But email? Even hands-free phones are dubious.

[Colin]

Whilst I can see that there are some benefits in providing useful services and information sources to the car, on the whole I think that this is a Bad Idea.

People seem to think that they can allow themselves to be distracted by all sorts of things whilst their 2 tonne projectile is at lose on the roads..... whatever happened to the idea that you need to concentrate on Driving?

It was deeply scary to hear that a recent UK survey revealed that 30% of people had Admitted to texting while driving.. if 30% admitted then surely the real figure was probably nearer double that. This is outrageous. Makes simply answering the phone on a hand held device seem like a trivial infraction by comparison.

If people want to entertain themselves, or slurp coffee, then whilst behind the wheel is not the place to do it. if it was down to me, I would punish these infractions very heavily indeed. Instant driving ban would be just the start!

[Morris Minor]

I'm against it. Driving from A to B is incompatible with being bombarded with interactive text, email and the rest.  A well-designed Nav system is fine, provided it's only programmable when the car is in "Park."

Manufacturers should not bury functions like radio controls, climate controls, Nav controls etc. behind the same interface.

[giant_mtb]

They should put all the cool Internet-y shit on a screen directly in front of the passenger.

Though I suppose that may interfere with airbag shenanigans.

[SVT666]

Bad idea.

[Soup DeVille]

Doesn't GM know that if the people in their cars have attention spans that short, they already own an iPhone?

[Onslaught]

Yea this.

Not to mention, I will be sharing the road with more and more people watching Jersey Shore reruns & checking their Twitter feeds. It's kind of a silly thing for manufacturers to be pushing in the context of hypersafety. Radio, navigation I get. But email? Even hands-free phones are dubious.

No, they kick ass. I never talk on my phone driving. But now that I've got that I will take a call. All you do is push a button on the wheel and that's it.

[r0tor]

Yea, I'm not much of a phone person while driving... But when I do get a call and I'm in the jeep, I love being able to answer or call with a push of a steering wheel button and not have hold or go rushing in my pocket for a phone.

I wish the rx8 had that option...

[AltinD]

They should put all the cool Internet-y shit on a screen directly in front of the passenger.

Though I suppose that may interfere with airbag shenanigans.

Once again, the most advanced systems on the market (found on super luxury models from Mercedes, BMW, Range Rove, Jaguar etc) have a DUAL-DIRECTIONAL-VIEW screen, allowing the passanger to watch media on the screen, while the driver to see the navigation maps on the SAME screen.

[sportyaccordy]

They should put all the cool Internet-y shit on a screen directly in front of the passenger.

Though I suppose that may interfere with airbag shenanigans.

Or they could save the driver $1000 and have the passenger use their Iphone.

[sportyaccordy]

Hands-free phones make sense, esp if you're a mom or something. But texts? Emails? Internet? Manufacturers are pushing boundaries in directions we have no business heading into.

[Onslaught]

I wish the rx8 had that option...

It's one of the few things the 09 made better.

[NomisR]

bad idea, but people are still staring at their lap with their cell phones.   Most of the people causing traffic on the road today are people not driving but looking at their phones.  They need to die a firey death. 

[Laconian]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/10/18/141473671/police-blackberry-outage-led-to-fewer-traffic-accidents-in-abu-dhabi


As Mark has reported, BlackBerry users faced a text messaging outage for three days straight last week. Yesterday, BlackBerry offered some customers $100 in free apps as an apology.

And, today, The Financial Times reports another bit of surprising news born out of the outage: Authorities said the number of traffic accidents fell by 20 percent in Dubai and plummeted by 40 percent in Abu Dhabi during the outage.

The National, an English-language paper from the United Arab Emirates, first reported the story over the weekend. They report that authorities are certain the outage is linked to those drops:

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the chief of Dubai Police, and Brig Gen Hussein Al Harethi, the director of the Abu Dhabi Police traffic department, linked the drop in accidents to the disruption of BlackBerry services between Tuesday and Thursday.

Brig Gen Al Harethi said: "Accidents were reduced by 40 per cent and the fact that BlackBerry services were down definitely contributed to that."

"Absolutely nothing has happened in the past week in terms of killings on the road and we're really glad about that," Brig Gen Al Harethi said. "People are slowly starting to realise the dangers of using their phone while driving. The roads became much safer when BlackBerry stopped working."

[sportyaccordy]

I'm more amazed that BB has such a stronghold on those markets. I used to give them the benefit of the doubt but maybe those societies really are backwards

[mzziaz]

I'm more amazed that BB has such a stronghold on those markets. I used to give them the benefit of the doubt but maybe those societies really are backwards

[Cookie Monster]

+1

[AltinD]

Another one in the endlessly looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong list of sporty's bizarre statements 

[Laconian]

He forgot the , because it was a pretty funny joke.