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I've long wished for a "slot your iPad in here" solution for this sort of thing. Sure it might not stand up to automotive grade punishment, but you can remove

I've long wished for a "slot your iPad in here" solution for this sort of thing. Sure it might not stand up to automotive grade punishment, but you can remove it when leaving the car in the sun and if it breaks it is easy to replace and much cheaper than custom parts (thanks to Apple's economies of scale).

noelsusman 7y ago
I wonder if iPads could hold up to all that vibration.
- qball 7y ago
  To be fair, they technically already do when you take it with yours with you somewhere. As long as the mounting plate is sufficiently isolated from the rest of the car's movement, they shouldn't need to suffer any vibration in excess of what they'd endure under normal use and transport conditions. Of course, it's still a better situation for consumers: if the iPad does die, you can replace it that same day with an off the shelf part (or you plug your phone in for that day instead), it's trivially expensive compared to what head units of similar type cost (it's actually even cheaper if you can use a bargain-basement 50-dollar Android tablet instead of an iPad), and it's something that you can upgrade as you get the money to do so. Plus, it also heavily discourages manufacturers from pulling a Tesla and refusing to start your car before you update the infotainment software, which is also a shockingly anti-consumer trend.
jstandard 7y ago
I've worked on "Bring Your Own Device" concepts together with Honda.[1] There are plenty of wins for consumers in this type of setup. Automakers have taken notice that people are using their phones for an increasing share of infotainment functions. The tough, time-consuming parts are working through the supply chain to build out the connectivity and "happy coexistence" of phone and car. Also, I've yet to find a UX which blends physical, voice, and touchscreen controls while accounting for their strengths, weaknesses, and learnability. Tesla included. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnMwI6SGAOg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnMwI6SGAOg
- femto113 7y ago
  Cool! That's pretty much exactly what I'm imagining, except tablet sized instead of phone sized.
fergie 7y ago
Agreed. I'm a big fan of the cradle/clamp thing on the VW e-up- it's supposed to be a "cost saving" feature, but I think it actually works better than most centrally mounted built-in systems.
- olig15 7y ago
  My girlfriend has a VW Up! and I think the cradle idea is brilliant. It’s not as good as the new Polo setup, but changing music/sat nav is so much better on an iPhone than it would be on a cheap integrated system.
m_mueller 7y ago
The only car I've seen it in is VW Up. Too small for my needs.

noelsusman 7y ago

I wonder if iPads could hold up to all that vibration.

qball 7y ago
To be fair, they technically already do when you take it with yours with you somewhere. As long as the mounting plate is sufficiently isolated from the rest of the car's movement, they shouldn't need to suffer any vibration in excess of what they'd endure under normal use and transport conditions. Of course, it's still a better situation for consumers: if the iPad does die, you can replace it that same day with an off the shelf part (or you plug your phone in for that day instead), it's trivially expensive compared to what head units of similar type cost (it's actually even cheaper if you can use a bargain-basement 50-dollar Android tablet instead of an iPad), and it's something that you can upgrade as you get the money to do so. Plus, it also heavily discourages manufacturers from pulling a Tesla and refusing to start your car before you update the infotainment software, which is also a shockingly anti-consumer trend.

jstandard 7y ago

I've worked on "Bring Your Own Device" concepts together with Honda.[1] There are plenty of wins for consumers in this type of setup. Automakers have taken notice that people are using their phones for an increasing share of infotainment functions. The tough, time-consuming parts are working through the supply chain to build out the connectivity and "happy coexistence" of phone and car. Also, I've yet to find a UX which blends physical, voice, and touchscreen controls while accounting for their strengths, weaknesses, and learnability. Tesla included. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnMwI6SGAOg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnMwI6SGAOg

femto113 7y ago
Cool! That's pretty much exactly what I'm imagining, except tablet sized instead of phone sized.

fergie 7y ago

Agreed. I'm a big fan of the cradle/clamp thing on the VW e-up- it's supposed to be a "cost saving" feature, but I think it actually works better than most centrally mounted built-in systems.

olig15 7y ago
My girlfriend has a VW Up! and I think the cradle idea is brilliant. It’s not as good as the new Polo setup, but changing music/sat nav is so much better on an iPhone than it would be on a cheap integrated system.

m_mueller 7y ago

The only car I've seen it in is VW Up. Too small for my needs.