Comments on: Do you care about the idea of an “iCar”?

By: A Fresh Start | MildlyHotBlog

A Fresh Start | MildlyHotBlog — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:35:27 +0000

[...] I almost forgot – how does an iCar sound to [...]

By: mikhailovitch

mikhailovitch — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:59:06 +0000

Indeed. If it’s just iPod integration, it’s nice but trivial. But to talk about the iCar, it sounds like much, much more.
Apple are the best mainstream designers of human/electronics interfaces in the universe.
BMW’s effort in this direction (iDrive) is a confusing, embarrassing mess, world’s worst practice. Other car makers’ efforts are better, but not much.
If Apple can transform the whole way the driver interacts with the electronic functions of the vehicle, make it simple, intuitive and a recurring source of pleasure – which is what Apple does so well – then yes, I’ll be very excited, and it will be a significant consideration in my choice of car.

By: Steve Grenier

Steve Grenier — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 01:04:16 +0000

I wouldn’t buy a VW, but I would like Apple somewhat involved in my car. I doubt its just a stereo in the car, I’m sure its much more than that. Besides Apples worked with Jaguar on their new car, and Mercedes too.

By: Hal Mann

Hal Mann — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:08:35 +0000

I’m in the other camp. I recently bought a 2006 Scion xA partly because of the iPod integration package the original owner had installed. Since I spend 2 hours a day commuting (1 hour each way), having something to listen to (that I actually like) makes a critical difference in my quality of life.

In my previous car I fiddled with cassette adapters and FM transmitters, which were cumbersome, took my eyes off the road when I had to fool with it, and had inferior sound quality. Direct connection is definitely the way to go for sound quality, and having the interface on the dashboard and in the steering wheel is a big plus for safety.

What I’m looking forward to is a riff on the recently-announced Amazon store thing, but with HD or satellite radio. Hear a song on HD or satellite radio you like, but don’t have in your iTunes library? I want to be able to press a button and have track info stored onto the iPod, and the next I sync it shows up in ITMS in a special pane, for further investigation, and perhaps purchase.

By: krye

krye — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:22:41 +0000

I don’t see the point either. Who knows what the state of the ipod will be in 2012. Just think, if someone in 2002 asked you about what the iPod would be doing in 2007 would anyone have ever though iPhone/iPod Touch? Not on your life!

There are so many car integration options on the market already. Dozens of car manufacturers are already offering iPod itegration. Why VW and the notion of an iCar are getting all this attention is beyond me.

I saw a car stereo on eBay not too long ago that was only $50. It had a built in USB port right on the front of the display. You can plug in any USB device and play your mp3 through the car stereo without the loss in quiality heard using FM transmitters. Sounds like a good deal to me.

By: Rick ONeil

Rick ONeil — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:22:47 +0000

I think its a cool idea, but I wouldn’t buy a car based on an apple integration. Especially if its a VW. I’d rather just see a system that you could have installed.