arU4ic

I put this as part of a different thread, but felt this discussion deserved it's own posting.

Why do we act so amazed when car manufacturers launch the latest automotive tech that's been on our iPhone for 5 years already?

I ordered my A3 without nav, buying an EXTRA iPhone just for that purpose, over the course of the lease is actually cheaper… or, you know, just using the one you're already paying for;

iPhone=
- HotSpot
- Nav
- Music
- Google Search
- Software Upgrades are easy, even invisible
- LinkedIn
- Texting
- Siri to chat with
- Movies
- Cool selfles of you driving your new ride
- (can I stop now)

habu987

I get nav because usually the nav comes as part of a package that includes a bunch of other equipment. On various cars I've seen over the last few years, sometimes the nav comes bundled with an upgraded sound system, rear view camera, upgraded interior tech package, etc.

From an aesthetics standpoint, I think most cars look better with a nav screen than without. That doesn't really apply to the A3 and other cars that have a retractable screen, but I think the ones with fixed screens look better with it. Even the ones that offer touch screens without nav generally offer a bigger screen with nav, and that almost always looks better in my opinion.

As far as all the other stuff you mentioned the iPhone having, I don't particularly want any of that in my car's nav system, besides music and nav. I have a phone that does everything else already, so why would I want to text or check out LinkedIn through my car?

All that said, I would love it if the automotive manufacturers went with a customer accessible, modular infotainment system and rolled out regular updates like the phone manufacturers do.

jdong

I agree with the previous poster. The reason I get the nav system is much less for the navigation aspect of the unit, than for the higher-resolution center display, color instrument cluster display, better and more fluid UI throughout, etc etc etc.

Even though a smartphone can do a lot of the things you mentioned, there's something to be said about the convenience of having it all integrated into the car. I don't like to have to pull out my phone and clip it on my dash for everything.

Furthermore, the car nav UI's from decent carmakers tend to be better thought out than a phone for operation while driving with the minimum distraction.

And, if you live in states such as California with strict distracted driving laws, operating a smartphone for any reason could net you a nasty $165 + tax ticket.

doobs41378

You pay tax on a traffic ticket in California?? Yikes!