satnav

I am WDJ subscriber so I read constantly and read this article when it came out. The funny thing is this is a supposed to be a review of the RX, but he spends the entire time reviewing the navigation system. Also everything is pretty much opinion based. Finally, coming from an Audi A6 that had MMI I can say the Lexus system is so much better (other than scrolling through iPod music). The Lexus systems doesn't crash, the system also responds to inputs, its so much easier to enter addresses, and it doesn't make you take you eyes of the road to make simple adjustments while driving.

tfischer

The article is not a review of the Navigation system, but only of the controller. It's the strangest thing I have seen in a major newspaper in a long time. The WSJ has a full page automotive story every week, often a review of a new car or car line, usually with driving impressions, etc. This article is a giant gripe about the square mouse controller that Lexus has been using, to pretty good reviews, since 2009 or '10. What's up for next week: "Seat Controls: Up By the Window or Down on the Side?"
The whole thing was just stupid.

satnav

sorry that's what I mean, but I am not sure what Lexus calls their "System.," like MMI or iDrive.

tfischer

Actually, Lexus calls it the "Lexus Remote Touch," a name that's not clever, memorable or informative.

TomT127

Just one persons opinion. He probably only uses a keyboard with his computer and has never used a mouse.
I actually like the Lexus controller.

tfischer

A Mossberg computer article is also "just one persons [sic] opinion," but when that person holds himself out as an expert and has his views fill a page in the most widely circulated newspaper,* that opinion has gravitas and influences many readers who look to seasoned professionals for guidance.
Any quick tweet is just one guy's opinion; a large article in the Wall Street Journal cannot be dismissed with the same caviler nonchalance.
I remain surprised that so much valuable space was allowed to be devoted to so insignificant a matter, especially when far more serious automotive matters deserve serious discussion.
___________________
*The USA Today is not really a newspaper, although it is good for wrapping fish.

LeoDLion

This guy Dan Neil was fired from a magazine for writing a deragatory, unsubstantiated review. I think it has something to do with a girlfriend finding the car unsuited for some purpose. And he did the same style with his taking an ax to a Lexus. I think he should be fired again.

rayaans

"Remote Touch" is pretty damn memorable unless you have memory problems.

tfischer

Actually, he was fired from a newspaper (The Raleigh News and Observer, locally referred to as the Raleigh Nuisance and Disturber), not a magazine, because one of his car articles discussed good times in the back seat of a Ford.
Even after that, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Criticism in 2004, which was quite controversial, as that prize has never been awarded to someone who writes about hardware, but rather is given to writers of literary or theater criticism.
That's what we call a "checkered past."
I still think the article was just dumb.

dflowers

I have been using the Lexus system for the few months since we bought our RX 450h, and to a certain extent I agree with the guy. It really feels like stepping back in time using that system, compared to today's smart phones. It feels very clunky. I am not going to totally dismiss it though since integrating all the features into a vehicle is a lot more complicated than putting stuff into a phone. Overall I love the car. I don't have any problems using the Remote Touch controller, but rather the software and nav system seem pretty dated. Also the voice recognition system is sort of a joke after using something like Siri....way too limited in recognizing voice commands. Again, phone software can advance way faster than auto software. But I have found myself screaming at the voice recognition system on the Lexus, and have to resort to using a cheat sheet I made to get the system to work. Siri like systems have really spoiled us!

LeoDLion

I got Siri on the Iphone5. It was a novelty at the start. Now I don't use it at all. I find it faster to just thumb thru. And I wish I can change the voice into another with american accent (you can change voice but its got a foreign accent).

dflowers

I had the same experience as you with the phone although the Siri voice does not bother me. But I think I would use a Siri like system a lot more in a car. It would be great to have a system that works with fairly normal speech instead of rigid commands. I am sure that will be a common feature in cars in probably 5 years at most.

dflowers

Guess I was off by about 5 years!

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/...d-sonic-models

Would be nice if Lexus could upgrade their current system in the 2013 to work with this.

dwlink

This guy thinks gestures are the future for interfacing with your car?!?!? With a comment like that, I bet if he were designing the gestures they'd require two hands hands in the air and both feet far away from the pedals...

dflowers

I tried a few very rude gestures to try and interface with the voice recognition on my RX. Didn't work