iPhone too heavy? Volkswagen brings out motorised ride-on dock Apple and Volkswagen have joined forces to produce a new version of the iconic Beetle enhanced with all sort of Cupertino-inspired bells and whistles. Teams from both firms worked together on the iBeetle, which looks pretty much like the car which used to be produced without a lower case 'i' inserted in front of its name. It …
Who in their right mind needs a dedicated Apple dock in their car?
I thought that was what Bluetooth was for.
It will probably be cheaper to go out and buy a phone cradle than add the dock to your list of options.
At £300 as an extra option would you buy it?
Then change to an android phone a few month later?
The world has gone mad, mad mad mad mad.
Something else I just thought of is re-saleability. If you don't have an iPhone, how many of the car's features will you not be able to use?
If this car was to be sold on to another owner, would they have to sell an iPhone with it? Or in several years time would a new owner have to have two phones? An old iPhone to get the car stuff to work, and a new phone to take with them?
Assuming the life span of the average car is about 20 - 30 years before it is no longer roadworthy/scrapped, will people want to have a car that needs a 20 - 30 year old phone to work?
The iPod 30-pin connector dates back to the third generation iPod of 2003, which would mean Apple changed its connector after NINE years. And they also ship a tiny adapter which would, if Apple's behavior repeats itself, allow iBeetle users to adapt when Apple changes its connector in 2021.
ESPECIALLY since it's an inescapable part of the i-culture that users must swap phones every time an incremental improvement is shat out, or run the risk of not being hip. So what do users do the first time an i-phone comes out that won't fit in their i-car? Replace the car? Wow, if VW can get away with that, they'd be set for life.
Is it just me, or has the fad for producing products like this *specifically* designed around the iPhone (or at least prominently featuring iPhone-only docks) died down recently, with the increase in popularity of Android devices?
Good thing, too. They always truck me as.... just naff, basically. Something about building them to work only with the single device-du-jour, probably to be rendered obsolete when Apple released a new version just made it obvious that they were cheesy boys' toys one couldn't take seriously.
Even if the device worked using other supplied interfaces or connectors, the empty, unused dock in a position of prominence screamed "If I'm not dated now, I'll be dated in 18 months time!"
Seems ironic that VW released the ultimate obsolete-before-its-time Apple device at this point in time. 2010 called, they want their tacky iPod docks back.
Nothing against devices that work with the iPhone, I just don't want them to be *specifically* designed round that- nor any other phone or OS that's going to be obsolete by the time the phone's contract comes to an end.
Given Apple's penchant for offloading blame for defects (and the resulting $bn's of cost) on it's suppliers, VW better watch out.
Not to worry - it's a VW, so the driver will at least be familiar with the recall process and has probably memorised the trip to the dealers already - probably for the oil consumption.
Woohoo! I can see the automated Facebook statuses now!
Apple Fanboi ... has spent 45 minutes in a jam at the same set of traffic lights and unlocked "Who phased these b******ds?" achievement. Sent from my iBeetle.
Apple Fanboi ... has just parked across two disabled parking bays and won the "Handicap by crippling stupidity and selfishness" achievement. Sent from my iBeetle.
Apple Fanboi .. has just died in a fiery ball of flame by not paying attention to the ro@d and unloc+ed the "Game Over" ac4ievement. Se^t fr&$ m@ !i} ..... .. .
Does it have cameras pointing outward to automatically take pictures of the best hipsters it spots on the streets, and Instagram them using your favourite filter?
Can it tweet your order to your favourite barista while it drives itself to the closest and trendiest Starbucks?
Will it self combust if driven out of Shoreditch?
"In a nod to the iPhone’s color scheme, the new iBeetle can be ordered in “Candy White”, “Oryx White Mother of Pearl Effect”, “Black Monochrome”, “Deep Black Pearl Effect”, “Platinum Grey”, or “Reflex Silver”."
So yeah, black or white.
Funnily enough, I was thinking just yesterday that the touch-screen (aftermarket) MP3-playing "radio" in my car is woefully inept compared to state-of-the-(prior)-art tablets.
Which leads me to ponder the idea of a car with, say, an iPad mini in place of the radio/satnav/"trip computer" stuff. I would have suggested a Nexus 7, but for this application (only) the Apple Lightning connector is a more elegant solution (technically; commercially, it's typical Apple scumminess, but that's another matter).
We know the Lightning interface can carry a lot of data (although quite what is a mystery, due to typical Apple scumminess) up to and including HDMI video, and it's bidirectional. So one could design a vehicle dashboard with audio interfaces, vehicle interfaces, and a feed from a GPS. The iPad mini could them handle the user interface, providing audio (from internal music), controlling audio (from an embedded radio), satnav (from an embedded GPS), etc.
Another nice feature of Lightning is that it's quite robust;; so when the device you build your car for dies and the replacement has moved the connector an inch to the right, you "just" need a new fascia insert for the new device.
Best bit is that different car users can have their own devices, and when you leave the car, you carry it with you...
Usually I dislike the idea of that sort of tech in the car, but this idea has me interested. Just have a tastefully hidden amplifier under the dash, and an outside aerial for the radio. The last may not be so important in much of the world, but I have family in remote parts, and even the half-decent car aerial has trouble getting enough signal to work. I suppose that you could even have a basic radio built into the amplifier that's fixed in the car, to be used when if you forget/break/don't have a suitable device to plug in.
It might not be necessary to have a new insert for a new device either: just an angled shelf on the dash, with a lip on the bottom that houses a connector that can move from side to side with some sort of clamp. The lip hides the connector and the mechanism, and it provides some sort of restraint so that the device doesn't fly about the cabin.
Taking it with you could be a good security idea, too: like the removable face plates some radios have nowadays, but more reliable and not so much of a hassle to remember. And it would be far better than getting a blast of what passes for music with you flatmate/partner/mechanic too.
Now we just have to get the manufacturers to agree on how to make it work, and we'd be set.
You can buy a double-din head unit that runs on android.
These have built in amplifiers and connections for external amps, steering wheel controls etc. USB for external storage or wifi/3g dongles, hardware buttons for the basics such as volume, and programmable buttons for launching navigation, radio etc.
The benefit of these are you don't need to remember to take your iphone or ipad with you, and nobody will break into your car to steal them if you forget to remove it from the dash.
As for the original article. Meh. The previous beetle was a lame attempt to cash in on the mini/500 market. It failed in every way except for provinding the rest of us drivers with an easy way to spot someone who is likely to drift out of lane, or straight-line a roundabout as they have no driving talent. I expect the new beetle to be just as pointless. As I have seen elsewhere - Nu beetle is not allowed scissors.
The thought arises: Given that Apple own your photos and license them back to you, could they also own your car in the same way? Also, given the US stance on data access for law-enforcement does that mean that the bandit-chasers (ok - only American ones, but still) can access your g-meter? Distance/Time graph?
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