Touch Screen Nav Systems And German Cars
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Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 412
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From: New York
Touch Screen Nav Systems And German Cars
Not one of them has one!!!
Now call me silly but I find a decent nav system to be an absolutely essential feature in a car.
The ones that come in $50k+ cars are absoloutely primitive by todays standards.
I see dozens and dozens of aftermarket nav systems from multiple manufacturers that have touch screen nav systems, many with 'text to speech' circuitry (announces the street names..."turn left on Wilson Ave," etc.) selling for $300-600.
Is it too much to ask the snooty Germans to install a $300 (retail price...their price wholesale would be probably half that) in their $50k cars?
Now call me silly but I find a decent nav system to be an absolutely essential feature in a car.
The ones that come in $50k+ cars are absoloutely primitive by todays standards.
I see dozens and dozens of aftermarket nav systems from multiple manufacturers that have touch screen nav systems, many with 'text to speech' circuitry (announces the street names..."turn left on Wilson Ave," etc.) selling for $300-600.
Is it too much to ask the snooty Germans to install a $300 (retail price...their price wholesale would be probably half that) in their $50k cars?
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 5,813
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From: The Bay Area, CA, USA
Ahh here we go again...the neverending debates between touch screen lovers (such as myself) and I-Drive derivative proponents, although it would be cool to have both types of input systems at the same time, which I believe is what Infiniti is already doing. This is also one reason I love Dell laptops, as they usually offer both pointsticks (my preferred "mouse") and touchpads.
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Lexus Champion
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Or go the Infiniti route. Offer both touch and joystick control lol.
I think the Germans went with joystick control because it allows the screen to be put further away from the driver, making it easier to re-focus the eyes. Also, it's easier to memorise the strokes and the rotations to get to a menu than to press onscreen buttons.
That said, I love touchscreens :P. They're easy to use and I don't have to scroll, just touch and go. The only issue is the first few weeks as you try to memorise the rough locations of the onscreen buttons. After that, you only need to reach out then just before you press, glance at the screen then back on the road and press the button.
I don't see any logic in those people who complain that they have to stare at the screen (and therefore crash) to press damn button.
I think the Germans went with joystick control because it allows the screen to be put further away from the driver, making it easier to re-focus the eyes. Also, it's easier to memorise the strokes and the rotations to get to a menu than to press onscreen buttons.
That said, I love touchscreens :P. They're easy to use and I don't have to scroll, just touch and go. The only issue is the first few weeks as you try to memorise the rough locations of the onscreen buttons. After that, you only need to reach out then just before you press, glance at the screen then back on the road and press the button.
I don't see any logic in those people who complain that they have to stare at the screen (and therefore crash) to press damn button.
I use both touch screen on Lexus and Command system on MB I think I like the MB commend a little better.. but that's just me... they are both equally easy to use... driving under the sun the screen in the Lexus is kinda hard to see but in MB it is still very clear...
Lead Lap
Joined: Dec 2006
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From: CA
Toyota's touch screen is just Nav .
German's have total car control/configuration options via an interface controller. Big difference.
One is Nav, the other is a lot of features of which Nav is one small part.
Since touch screens have glare, fingerprint and safety issues while driving, the Germans opted for a more safe solution.
This is the way of the world. more companies adopting this technique all the time. Touch screens are a cheap alternative because they require far less engineering. You just have to pull over to use them.
German's have total car control/configuration options via an interface controller. Big difference.
One is Nav, the other is a lot of features of which Nav is one small part.
Since touch screens have glare, fingerprint and safety issues while driving, the Germans opted for a more safe solution.
This is the way of the world. more companies adopting this technique all the time. Touch screens are a cheap alternative because they require far less engineering. You just have to pull over to use them.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,474
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From: Tennessee
German nav systems in general pretty much suck, though there are exceptions. Many Mercedes, some even costing well into the 6-figure range, use the most ridiculous early-90s looking tiny sized low-res low-color screen with a terrible 'keypad' type interface. It's pretty ridiculous. One of my coworkers just got a GL550 SUV and when I saw the nav I honestly had to try not laugh because I liked it otherwise... but I just don't know who could look at what is going into some of these high dollar german cars these days and not just laugh.
I actually like BMW's current nav system. The screen and interface is very nice. The i-drive interface has a steep learning curve, sure, but if you own the car and are technically inclined, you'll have it down in a couple of weeks no problem, and it's safer than using a touch screen with no tactile feel or touch to the input options. Plus making it a non-touch screen allows them to set it high up on the dash where it's well within the driver's line of site/vision when he's watching the road. It's definitely less distracting to the driver, IMO, once they get used to the interface.
I actually like BMW's current nav system. The screen and interface is very nice. The i-drive interface has a steep learning curve, sure, but if you own the car and are technically inclined, you'll have it down in a couple of weeks no problem, and it's safer than using a touch screen with no tactile feel or touch to the input options. Plus making it a non-touch screen allows them to set it high up on the dash where it's well within the driver's line of site/vision when he's watching the road. It's definitely less distracting to the driver, IMO, once they get used to the interface.