4 ms·

That's not quite true. In 2007 you would see 90% of the Internet comments talk about how feature-less an iPhone was compared to the Nokia N95 (or whatever was i

That's not quite true. In 2007 you would see 90% of the Internet comments talk about how feature-less an iPhone was compared to the Nokia N95 (or whatever was its Nokia competitor at the time). In fact there were some memes comparing the iPhone with a rock. The original iPhone didn't have video recording, had only 2G support (Nokias supported 3G for a while), didn't support MMS, and it didn't even have apps! And of course something like 1/3 the battery life of Nokia phones with 2" screens. The iPhone at the time "only" had the benefits of a big screen, touch, and an "easy to use interface". But that was about it - which of course was game-changing. But the point is it didn't have "many" benefits over the phones at the time. Quite the opposite (especially from the perspective of Nokia/Blackberry/etc phone users at the time - which were 99% of the people). Electric cars have maximum torque (and usually much higher than your average gas-powered car in the same class) from the moment you put your foot on the pedal, they give smooth liniar acceleration (no gear changing), are very silent, cost much less to recharge (about 1/5), have 1/3 the maintenance costs, an order of magnitude fewer parts that can break on you, and have the potential to use 100% renewable energy in the future.

dzhiurgis 11y ago
Maximum torque will get you home faster by... 1%? You still can't fly in residential areas at 160MPH. Whereas big capacitive touchscreen allowed to read text at least twice as fast. And you can actually manipulate websites UI. That's entirely new enabler. Electric car does not enable you to sleep in it or grow potatoes. It's a great car, but still a car.
- brc 11y ago
  one-pedal responsive operation is a win in the same way multi-touch is a win. It doesn't sound like a big deal,but once you get used to it, everything else seems dated. Operating multiple pedals to operate a vehicle is a leftover from crude technology. Sure, some people like it that way (a set that includes me). But for most people, once they get used to push pedal a bit to go slow, a lot to go fast, let go to stop - they will love it because it makes more sense. To operate a internal combustion/geared car, you have to modulate the pedal to match the acceleration rate and gears. Max pedal pressure to start, lightening off, re-pressing when gears go up etc. It's normal because it's what we're used to. Single gear, peak torque engines are much more intuitive to drive. That's why toddler can handle electric toy cars so easily.
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    You must be joking mate. All movies since 90s tell me that most Americans can't even drive manual transmission. Modern automatic transmission is totally invisible. Some cars even have variator transmission. I get it, the car is more dynamic. So what? It's an incremental change. By the way, if you do not like pedals, there is even better technology, called cruise control.
    - _ph_ 11y ago
      Most electric cars have regenerative breaking. So just lifting off the power pedal will decelerate it (regaining energy for the battery). This means, in most situations you don't even have to switch over to the break pedal, which is quite convenient. For this reason I miss my old stick-shifted car which had a short gear reduction ratio. I could drive it in the city without breaking except for reaching a stop.
      - dzhiurgis 11y ago
        That is actually clever. Did not know that. Indeed that somewhat change the driving behaviour. Does it add more value than the cost premium of the electric car? Doubt it.
        _ph_ 11y ago
        We are currently looking at the first generation of mass-made electrical cars. With the second generation in about 2 years from now, we can expect significant cost reductions making most discussions about a "cost premium" moot - the advantages of the concept of the electrical cars are going to stay though.
    - brc 11y ago
      Not joking at all. By multiple pedal I'm talking about accelerator and brake, not accelerator brake and clutch. The i3 has single pedal operation in city mode. This means it uses regen braking to intelligently slow the car down if you lift your foot off. Brake pedal is for emergency or highway stops only. It's one of those things that, once you get used to, feel a lot more natural.
Decade 11y ago
The iPhone had a few more advantages than that. WiFi and "unlimited" data with an uncrippled web browser, when everybody else was nickel and diming you for WAP. Email that worked with every major email provider, and didn't require you to play with BES. Voicemail that came from the Internet era instead of the cassette tape era. Oh, how I hate old voicemail systems. One of my biggest objections to gasoline cars, now that electric cars are practical, is pollution. Hydrocarbon + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water. Carbon dioxide and water are colorless and odorless. So if I smell anything coming out of the exhaust pipe, it's obviously poison. Why are we subjecting ourselves to poison? Gasoline cars have got to go.
ekianjo 11y ago
> and have the potential to use 100% renewable energy in the future. Except when it comes to manufacturing them.
- eru 11y ago
  Recycle them?

dzhiurgis 11y ago

Maximum torque will get you home faster by... 1%? You still can't fly in residential areas at 160MPH. Whereas big capacitive touchscreen allowed to read text at least twice as fast. And you can actually manipulate websites UI. That's entirely new enabler. Electric car does not enable you to sleep in it or grow potatoes. It's a great car, but still a car.

brc 11y ago
one-pedal responsive operation is a win in the same way multi-touch is a win. It doesn't sound like a big deal,but once you get used to it, everything else seems dated. Operating multiple pedals to operate a vehicle is a leftover from crude technology. Sure, some people like it that way (a set that includes me). But for most people, once they get used to push pedal a bit to go slow, a lot to go fast, let go to stop - they will love it because it makes more sense. To operate a internal combustion/geared car, you have to modulate the pedal to match the acceleration rate and gears. Max pedal pressure to start, lightening off, re-pressing when gears go up etc. It's normal because it's what we're used to. Single gear, peak torque engines are much more intuitive to drive. That's why toddler can handle electric toy cars so easily.
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  You must be joking mate. All movies since 90s tell me that most Americans can't even drive manual transmission. Modern automatic transmission is totally invisible. Some cars even have variator transmission. I get it, the car is more dynamic. So what? It's an incremental change. By the way, if you do not like pedals, there is even better technology, called cruise control.
  - _ph_ 11y ago
    Most electric cars have regenerative breaking. So just lifting off the power pedal will decelerate it (regaining energy for the battery). This means, in most situations you don't even have to switch over to the break pedal, which is quite convenient. For this reason I miss my old stick-shifted car which had a short gear reduction ratio. I could drive it in the city without breaking except for reaching a stop.
    - dzhiurgis 11y ago
      That is actually clever. Did not know that. Indeed that somewhat change the driving behaviour. Does it add more value than the cost premium of the electric car? Doubt it.
      - _ph_ 11y ago
        We are currently looking at the first generation of mass-made electrical cars. With the second generation in about 2 years from now, we can expect significant cost reductions making most discussions about a "cost premium" moot - the advantages of the concept of the electrical cars are going to stay though.
  - brc 11y ago
    Not joking at all. By multiple pedal I'm talking about accelerator and brake, not accelerator brake and clutch. The i3 has single pedal operation in city mode. This means it uses regen braking to intelligently slow the car down if you lift your foot off. Brake pedal is for emergency or highway stops only. It's one of those things that, once you get used to, feel a lot more natural.

Decade 11y ago

The iPhone had a few more advantages than that. WiFi and "unlimited" data with an uncrippled web browser, when everybody else was nickel and diming you for WAP. Email that worked with every major email provider, and didn't require you to play with BES. Voicemail that came from the Internet era instead of the cassette tape era. Oh, how I hate old voicemail systems. One of my biggest objections to gasoline cars, now that electric cars are practical, is pollution. Hydrocarbon + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water. Carbon dioxide and water are colorless and odorless. So if I smell anything coming out of the exhaust pipe, it's obviously poison. Why are we subjecting ourselves to poison? Gasoline cars have got to go.

ekianjo 11y ago

> and have the potential to use 100% renewable energy in the future. Except when it comes to manufacturing them.

eru 11y ago
Recycle them?