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I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful. It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile

I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful. It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car.

hx87 10y ago
Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car (Lexus LS600h L).
- dionidium 10y ago
  And you can buy the Echo Dot, which I'm willing to guess works so much better that it might as well be in a different category, for $90.
- relaxatorium 10y ago
  It was available in 2009 in a fairly cheap Ford sedan. Microsoft Sync got a lot of shit because from what I've heard, the touchscreen version was a total mess, but the voice only version before that in my car's been pretty solid.
- Alupis 10y ago
  >> It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car > Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car Voice command entertainment system are available in your run-of-the-mill $14k car nowadays. 2016 Ford Fiesta S model has Sync 3 voice command system built in.
  - dionidium 10y ago
    Meh. I've never used one of these car systems, but without any knowledge at all I can confidently say that the experience and capabilities come nowhere near matching Alexa. Totally different products. I'd love to be wrong. But I doubt I am.
    - Alupis 10y ago
      Alexa helps Amazon encourage you to buy more products. I don't see how that would actually be appropriate embedded in an automobile.
      - dionidium 10y ago
        I use my Echo every day and never once to buy a product. I use it to get sports scores, hear the news, check the weather, check my calendar, get answers to simple questions, play music (across multiple services), and so on. There is actually no more suitable place imaginable for performing those functions by voice than behind the wheel. I don't want a replacement for the dials on my dashboard. I want the breadth of services Alexa provides.
- dionidium 10y ago
  To call Alexa "voice commands" is to diminish it beyond recognition.
nashashmi 10y ago
> how broken and far behind automobile tech is Because it is controlled by car companies. Software solutions for Automobiles have been around for a very long time. Lots of grassroots entrepreneurs have made attempts, but there is so much friction at the automobile level, that innovation literally is slow and frustrating. I do not know too much about the culture there, but from the stories I gather from the people who work there, management is very smug about industry position, engineers are not very tech oriented, it's engineering heavy, software light, and have a mentality of tech-is-cool-and-useless. Management and leadership are not very focused on integrating on these cool useless tech objects. And they have other focuses.
- int_handler 10y ago
  Exactly. And the bar they set for themselves is frustratingly low. Case in point: [Subaru's new "tablet-like" infotainment interface](http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7982525/in-car-navigation-systems-are-terrible http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7982525/in-car-navigation-s...).

hx87 10y ago

Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car (Lexus LS600h L).

dionidium 10y ago
And you can buy the Echo Dot, which I'm willing to guess works so much better that it might as well be in a different category, for $90.
relaxatorium 10y ago
It was available in 2009 in a fairly cheap Ford sedan. Microsoft Sync got a lot of shit because from what I've heard, the touchscreen version was a total mess, but the voice only version before that in my car's been pretty solid.
Alupis 10y ago
>> It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car > Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car Voice command entertainment system are available in your run-of-the-mill $14k car nowadays. 2016 Ford Fiesta S model has Sync 3 voice command system built in.
- dionidium 10y ago
  Meh. I've never used one of these car systems, but without any knowledge at all I can confidently say that the experience and capabilities come nowhere near matching Alexa. Totally different products. I'd love to be wrong. But I doubt I am.
  - Alupis 10y ago
    Alexa helps Amazon encourage you to buy more products. I don't see how that would actually be appropriate embedded in an automobile.
    - dionidium 10y ago
      I use my Echo every day and never once to buy a product. I use it to get sports scores, hear the news, check the weather, check my calendar, get answers to simple questions, play music (across multiple services), and so on. There is actually no more suitable place imaginable for performing those functions by voice than behind the wheel. I don't want a replacement for the dials on my dashboard. I want the breadth of services Alexa provides.
dionidium 10y ago
To call Alexa "voice commands" is to diminish it beyond recognition.

nashashmi 10y ago

> how broken and far behind automobile tech is Because it is controlled by car companies. Software solutions for Automobiles have been around for a very long time. Lots of grassroots entrepreneurs have made attempts, but there is so much friction at the automobile level, that innovation literally is slow and frustrating. I do not know too much about the culture there, but from the stories I gather from the people who work there, management is very smug about industry position, engineers are not very tech oriented, it's engineering heavy, software light, and have a mentality of tech-is-cool-and-useless. Management and leadership are not very focused on integrating on these cool useless tech objects. And they have other focuses.

int_handler 10y ago
Exactly. And the bar they set for themselves is frustratingly low. Case in point: [Subaru's new "tablet-like" infotainment interface](http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7982525/in-car-navigation-systems-are-terrible http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7982525/in-car-navigation-s...).