Threxx

This has already been explained.

In the i-drive interface the screen is mounted up considerably higher, closer to the line of site with what's ahead of the car.

It also requires less attention from the driver as you have to actively watch where your finger is aiming for to touch a screen - with a scroll wheel you just scroll, glance to see if you're on the right selection, and select, as your attention allows.

Trexus

Siemens was number 22 in 2006 and number 28 in 2007 as far as global companies. Samsung and Hitachi are the closest competitors.

LexFather

This has not been PROVEN. Its a theory that the Germans believe in. The Japanese think differently for the most part.


Lexus has stated they would NEVER move to any **** or I-drive device as it is considered distracting to their engineers. Germans have the sport down, and Lexus has interiors down, so I trust their judgement.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/339784/top_gear_bmw_m5/
fast forward to 2:10
(after a week you want to stab Bill Gates in the heart)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTZE8taaZ0
Go to 4:14...

Clearly the car drives like a beast but its not easy to live with.

Nextourer

You need an Infiniti system. It allows both touchscreen and joystick/**** operation.

Mr. Jones

I meant Siemen's revenue has little to do with consumer electronics or just electronics in general.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

not when there are multiple submenus to move through, with slight load times for each selection

rominl

iTrader: (4)

on our sc430, input street name, glance, see the letter, press

on our is300, input street name, glance, see where i am at. glance again, see the destination letter. guess and try to use the controller. glance, nop still off by 2. move twice. glance, yes it's there. press.

you are telling me which one takes my eyes off more from the road?

please, there is a reason why mouse is so popular and widely used on most computer systems. try to just use keyboard and the tab buttons

splitfire

iTrader: (6)

I think I can enter a address in equal amount of time or faster in the S550 than in my 04 LS430... but that's just me And if I need to play with the radio or turn down the A/C I think I can actually do it in MB without my eye off the road and right arm in the same position...but in Lexus I actually have to look and find the button.. but again that's just me

PsychDoc

OK, controller guys and touch screen knockers.

Tell me why every one of the independant nav manufacturers (Garmin, Magellan, Tom Tom, etc.) are touting touch screens in all of their ads?

Why is "touch screen" such a universal selling point in all nav ads?

http://www.magellangps.com/products/....asp?segID=354

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=8673

Simple question.

Now answer it.

Threxx

Because the alternative to touch screen interface on 3rd party non-integrated nav systems is actual buttons located on the sides of the screen.

There is no joystick interface located on the center arm rest available for those units - and if there were it would be one heck of a ghetto installation and ruin the portability of the unit - so there probably never will be.

There's the simple answer your to your simple question.

I answered it.

doug_999

OMG - you are serious?

As Threxx pointed out, we are talking about an integrated NAV system that is to be used from the drivers seat - often while driving (at least I use mine that way).

The problem (at least for me) with touch screens was two-fold
1. Touch screen is down low - must take eyes off road
2. Hand/Eye co-ordination is much greater - once again, especially while driving - must press finger in the exact spot.

But here is a fun one for y'all. Why don't they use these touch screens in the cockpit of an airplane?

PsychDoc

Are you sure they don't?

Have any references?

LexFather

Not only that, its really just landing and taking off. The auto-pilot does all the work.

Threxx

If you guys really want answers to that... my dad has been a commercial pilot for Federal Express for the last 13 years flying a wide range of Airbus and Boeing models, and flew for World Airlines and the military before that - extending back to when he first came out of Officer training school.

I sent him an email asking. I'll post his unedited response when I hear back.

I will tell you I went up on a test flight with a friend of mine who's currently an officer and F-16/fighter pilot in the airforce. A few years back before he started into the airforce he worked for NASA on some experimental aircraft. Nothing too crazy or top secret - but cool stuff none the less. He picked me up at a small commuter airport near my house in one of the planes he was testing at the time. It was a very nice but fairly basic twin prop of some sort - only 16 hours on it, and what they were testing was a 90% digital cockpit. The screens literally flashed up with a DOS looking boot screen for a few seconds before the gauges came up. There were only the bare minimum analog gauges available in case the computer failed. In fact I remember thinking it was a bad sign that one of the analog gauges (altimeter) had already failed, but I guess planes are like computers - the quirks get sorted out early in the flight hours.

Anyhow - for what it's worth this plane was a collaborative experiment between NASA and Garmin (yes, the nav company), and while the cockpit was 90% glass/digital and very high tech, none of the screens were touch screens.

I don't know if this is due to interface issues (lack of tactile feedback and distraction), or because of potential reliability issues with touch screens, since planes are all about sticking with what is absolutely known good, and experimenting with very little that isn't 100% proven reliable.

Anyhow... I'll post my dad's response when I get it...

edit: Also, I can already tell you that the "it's only landing and taking off, the autopilot does all of the work" statement isn't really true. While autopilot is used quite often between taking off and landing, the pilots are of course always prepared to fly the plane off auto pilot in extenuating circumstances, and they very often DO fly the plane manually. Not to mention when the plane is on auto pilot, the pilots are still required to interface with the screens and computers that control auto pilot. Auto pilot isn't just as simple as setting the altitude, speed, and heading and pushing cruise control. Constant monitoring and adjustment is required, and that means that the interface with those screens remains important.

On some planes auto pilot can even be used to LAND the plane - but this feature is only used in circumstances of extreme low visibility and bad weather where the computer has better chances of success than the pilot. You better know they aren't just sitting back and leaving well enough alone when that's going on.

STIG

I-drive is safer???

I have been using I-drive on our E70 X5 and I'll tell you. It's a disaster.

I can list 1000 reasons why I-drive can turn into I-Crash.

It's the most poorly designed navigation interface I've ever seen. Even 300$ pocket navigation has way better logical interface than I-drive.