wayner

I bought a 2013 GS350 a couple of months ago to replace my IS350. I was excited by the improved technology with the large screen, etc. It was far better than my 2006 IS350 which only had an audio input for my iPod.

But if I look at it objectively the technology that you are buying sucks and you are paying a fortune for it. I don't know how I would unbundle the amount that I paid for this whole system but I am betting that it is well over $1000.

They should really just come up with a way to be able to mount an iPad or something in the dash. Mobile technology (like iPhones, iPads, etc) are on a 2-3 lifecycle which is far shorter than most of us own our cars as I had my IS350 for 6-7 years and it was still fine when I traded it in.

Why does it suck?

• It only holds 1000 contacts - my phone ideally holds my company's entire directory which is 900 employees. Add in external and personal contacts and I am WAY over 1000.
• Scrolling through the contacts to find ones that you want to add to your SpeedDial, or to call is painful, even though you can jump to some letters.
• The reply functionality for emails doesn't work.
• For XM radio the presets are stored as channel numbers rather than names so I have to remember that "Channel 20" is "E Street Radio"
• Song and artist names for now playing songs are truncated rather wrapped or displayed in a larger window.
• "Mother" Lexus decides what I am allowed to do while driving and what has to wait until I stop.
• The read email functionality is really lacking as it can't seem to struggle with ampersands and apostrophes.
• Not enough USB ports.
• Typing in street names with a joystick is a slow and painful exercise.
• There is very little upgradability in the system.
• The "don't mark emails as read" for email notifications does not appear to work.
• For the first 20 seconds after I turn on my car it says "Phone connected" and then something like "Media player connected" which obscures the top 25% of the backup camera. Pretty much the only time I ever need the backup camera is the first 20 seconds after I turn the car on and back out of my parking spot.
• There is some sort of an app system for the car but it is not available to those of us in Canada even though we pay more for the same car in Canada.

Last summer I rented a Lincoln which had the Microsoft Sync system and it wasn't much better.

neurocity

iTrader: (17)

One of the most technologically advanced cars produced in mass quantity.
Relatively cheap when you look at the market.
Reliability backed by years of happy customers.
That fact that it has an email option. Its email... in your f'ing car!!!

I'm not a 4GS fan by any stretch. But there is no way I could sit in that car and be all nit picky.
In fact the part i was amazed with and want. Is all the cool techno-features it has.

James5

there's a way to change the names of the radio stations, i think

NewSpace

in car info systems are way behind the times. it's taken the industry a long time to adopt any of these features and they are still playing catch up. even lexus. that will change, though, the vehicle systems will have to live up to the smart phone standards we are used to.

yardie876

I hear you on the these concerns, but Lexus is of course not alone or harder to use than any other system in my opinion. I was recently reading about Cadillac's CUE infotainment system that was supposed to be revolutionary and make using a car touchscreen synonymous with a tablet. Upon reading reviews and long term tests, it's obvious that this system is still light years away from the experience we have with tablet computers as it is laggy and still cumbersome. That said, I believe Enform has some shortcoming that need to be addressed. At the same time though do we really need more distractions while driving....

wayner

How much do we as consumers pay for these in-car systems? Probably a minimum of $1000. I am guessing a lot more.

Why not just integrate an iPad or iPad mini (or Android tablet) into your car and release some specialized apps? Why should Lexus/GM/Ford/BMW/etc reinvent the tablet for the car? Let's lever off what is available while adding a few apps that integrate it with the car.

sydtoosic

i would like to add something if i may... you don't have to type in street names, you can use the voice command for that.

yardie876

I definitely agree with you but I'm pretty sure it would be cost prohibitive for car manufacturers. Leasing out the dash to lets say Apple means big costs Lexus would have to pay in licenses, etc. Also, how else would car companies make money if we didn't have to go to dealerships and sell our organs to pay for replacement parts lol.

JPC65

There is a thread which addresses your back up camera issue. The gist is the ability to disable those messages exists. Do the following (copied this from the thread):

Menu -> Setup -> Phone Display Settings

Display Phonebook Transfer Status: Off
Display Call History Transfer Status: Off

Menu -> Setup -> Bluetooth -> Detailed Bluetooth Settings

Display Phone Status: Off
Display Portable Player Status: Off

6465496362

You should buy a laptop and take it with you ... Lol... Gs f sport great car!!!

SW17LS

I think the technology in the car is excellent...when compared to other in car technology available through other manufacturers. You can't compare the technology in a vehicle to an iPad or computer, the two things are completely different. When you use the tech in the GS...and the tech in a 5 series or E class...there is no comparison, especially the E class which is archaic. Audi is close, perhaps slightly ahead of Lexus.

wayner

I think you only need to do the Bluetooth settings changes - that appeared to work for me, but that likely depends on how one has set other options.

The Phonebook transfer only happens manually for me, at least with my settings. So it isn't an issue when I start the car. The Call History sync only happens when I go into the Call History screen from the phone.

It may be a coincidence but when I made this change this monring my email notifications went away.

wayner

Why can't you compare thge two?

The main purposes of the car technology are Navigation, phone management and media playback. These functions can also be done with an iPhone, iPad or other similar device.

Again why not just take a regular iPad, or Android tablet, and integrate it into the car? Isn't that easier for the car makers as they only have to deal with developing an API between the car and the tablet, they don't have to develop everything else.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Because they have to jump a lot more hopes just to get it integrated and then it would probably become a Apple or Android problem to fix in which, the end result it just creates more hassle and like someone stated before, The automotive company wants to make money they would probably lose money. This is why people customize cars, you can have your iPad and have it integrated if you need to have it. There is no car manufacture that will integrate an iPad or android tablet for that matter because of the headache and loss of money it would bring them.

wayner

I am guessing that this will happen in the future, just like this Oven with an integrated Android tablet:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/d...oven-hands-on/

You already have these integration problems today at a lower level which is why functions like the Reply email function doesn't work. Is that Lexus'f fault? Or is it Apple/Google/RIM's fault? Currently they are half-in when it comes to integration with a smartphone, what I am suggestng is that they be all-in.