Rumors: iPhone update to add disk mode, iCar project on hold

[AppleInsider]

A forthcoming iPhone software update will add features such as voice recording and disk mode, according to an unconfirmed report from an overseas publication. Meanwhile, a previously rumored relationship between Apple and Volkswagen appears to have never made it to first base.

iPhone Software 1.1.3 rumors

Apple may be preparing a significant update for the iPhone as early as this weekend that will have some heavily requested features, according to a claim from CNET France translated by Electronista.

The overseas publication says multiple rumblings suggest that a 1.1.3 upgrade for the iPhone will appear by Saturday, adding both a disk mode for storing general data on the device and a voice recording mode for capturing lectures or voice memos.

The disk feature will reportedly behave like the equivalent for iPods but will still block users from simply dragging and dropping media content onto their phones, CNET says.

While unverified, the reported release would come roughly a month after the 1.1.2 update that added international keyboard support and other minor upgrades to the iPhone for its launches in Germany and the UK.

It should be noted that the report runs contrary to recent claims by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who in a note to clients last month stated that Apple would hold off on issuing any additional significant software updates for iPhone until early next year. At that time, the analyst said, the touch-screen handset would gain a system-wide Spotlight search function.

iCar project "on hold"

Not that there was ever an indication that such a partnership had blossomed, but Germany's PressPortal is reporting this week that talks between Apple and automaker Volkswagen over an "iCar" concept have stalled.

"The project is shaky," according to the report, which notes that Apple has since entertained discussions with several rival automakers.

Back in August it was reported Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn flew to California where he sat down for a brainstorming session with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.

Though in the early planning stages at the time, it was report that the two firms hoped to cooperate on the development of a new generation of Volkswagen compact cars that would include several Apple tie-ins.

Soon thereafter, market intelligence firm iSuppli weighed in with its thoughts on the matter, essentially warning industry watchers that such a partnership was unlikely to materialize for several years.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[backtomac]

What happened to the NAV/Entertainment system Apple was working on for Mercedes?

[RBR]

I am not in the least bit surprised that this project is on hold. I think the auto manufacturers are tired of being screwed with by Apple. Honda, yes Honda discontinued their efforts at iPod compatibility several years ago and withdrew their parts from the market as a consequence of Apple not providing them with the information necessary to keep the system up to date when Apple kept changing things (which "broke" the system).

Honda now simply provides a headphone input jack which any player can use with control of the external device left to the device itself.

Even so Apple continues to list Honda on the iPod ready lists which simply is not true and has not been true for quite some time now.

[GQB]

I have to wonder if 1.1.3 would add the same functionality to the touch.
Adding disc mode would only be fair and I'd be pretty ticked if it didn't.
Granted there's no built-in hardware to support sound input on the touch, the same is true for Nanos that use recorder add-ons.
I've seen recent reports that its been confirmed that the touch docking connector does have pins dedicated to voice-in, just like the nano, so there's no reason not to provide voice recording mode to allow folks like Griffin to provide the hardware.

[KennyWRX]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The disk feature will reportedly behave like the equivalent for iPods but will still block users from simply dragging and dropping media content onto their phones, CNET says.

Why do they do this?

[nvidia2008]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

....Meanwhile, a previously rumored relationship between Apple and Volkswagen appears to have never made it to first base....

Damn, I hate it when I never even make it to first base!



..........
thought i'd lighten up after that the-world-is-going-to-hell
thread i started

[nvidia2008]

Originally Posted by KennyWRX

Why do they do this?

because for average users, they lose all sense of synchronizing with itunes.
randomly throwing stuff on the disk part and hoping it will show up in
playlists etc is all a bit too Creative/ HTC windows mobile mp3 style.

you have to hunt through directories to find where movies videos music
are, have to try and see which can and can't play on your mobile because
you can watch it on the computer why can't i see 1080p scaled down
high definition on my mobile dammmit!

[Booga]

Not to be a troll, but who wants a great company like Apple working with the company who makes the "most likely to break down" cars on the market? Volkswagon quality is so low these days (several times worse than GM and twice as bad as Ford), I hope Apple stays far away for fear of tarnishing their brand.

[palegolas]

These are hard days for the iPhone hack community. They didn't seem to manage to fully hack 1.1.2 safely in a month and now there's already 1.1.3 around the corner..

[oceans777@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by Booga

Not to be a troll, but who wants a great company like Apple working with the company who makes the "most likely to break down" cars on the market? Volkswagon quality is so low these days (several times worse than GM and twice as bad as Ford), I hope Apple stays far away for fear of tarnishing their brand.

I don't know what Apple you're talking about but the one I bought my Mac Book Pros from (2) had to replace both of them for a dead display and one that literally melted down inside. Then on one, the battery swelled up and 'exploded' nine months later.
The Mac Pro we have at work made it six months before the fan started running at jet speeds and would not shut down. It's had to go in for repairs TWICE.
The iPod Touch my wife bought 30 days ago has already been replaced TWICE because of a dark, defective screen and then the new replacement that would not output any audio.
We still like Apple but man, they have serious QC issues.


Our 2007 New Beetle however has never had a single problem and is probably the most hassle free, fun car I've driven in many years. (Nor does VW dictate what roads I can drive it on or shut it off if decide I'd like some options.)

You have a VERY hard sell trying to pass present day Apple off as anything even near decent quality control. Maybe VW didn't want to be associated with a company whose customers have to wonder "now what?" every time they make a purchase .

I think a car may also be slightly more complex than a Nano.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by Booga

Not to be a troll, but who wants a great company like Apple working with the company who makes the "most likely to break down" cars on the market? Volkswagon quality is so low these days (several times worse than GM and twice as bad as Ford), I hope Apple stays far away for fear of tarnishing their brand.

What do Volkswagen USA do that the parent company don't?

In the UK Volkswagen are just above average, just behind BMW and Mercedes for customer satisfaction. Two other VW brands (Skoda and Audi) do much better even if they're essentially the same cars with different body shells.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/new...spx?ID=2007069

[alienzed]

That car is fugly.

[oceans777@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

What do Volkswagen USA do that the parent company don't?

In the UK Volkswagen are just above average, just behind BMW and Mercedes for customer satisfaction. Two other VW brands (Skoda and Audi) do much better even if they're essentially the same cars with different body shells.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/new...spx?ID=2007069

Our "US" VW was made in Mexico I am told. Again, I don't know what the statement that VW has such big quality issues is based on but ours is great and way more reliable than anything we've bought from Apple has been.

[oceans777@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by alienzed

That car is fugly.

Ya got me there. My wife loves it but I'm not crazy about the look. Drives great though.
Sorry for turning this into a VW thread.

[ascii]

Adding a disc feature to the Touch would be great (it doesn't have it already?!), but increasing the capacity to 32GB is when it will really take off. At that point it passes a lot of the classic ipods out there in capacity.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by oceans777@gmail.com

Ya got me there. My wife loves it but I'm not crazy about the look. Drives great though.
Sorry for turning this into a VW thread.

I think he's referring to the tangerine "iMac car" used in the story.

[Booga]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

What do Volkswagen USA do that the parent company don't?

In the UK Volkswagen are just above average, just behind BMW and Mercedes for customer satisfaction. Two other VW brands (Skoda and Audi) do much better even if they're essentially the same cars with different body shells.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/new...spx?ID=2007069

Customer satisfaction, perhaps. But not quality.

JD Power's quality ratings showing Volkswagon in last place.
JD Power's dependability ratings showing Volkswagon in last place.

Volkswagon makes fun cars that have nice looks, but they are consistently the least reliable car for the money you can possibly buy, for many years running.

Some have argued that perhaps that matches Apple, but my admittedly biased view about Apple is that their problems are more anecdotal in nature with the people having problems disproportionately represented on forums and elsewhere on the web.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by Booga

Customer satisfaction, perhaps. But not quality.

I don't follow cars that closely. Haven't had one since 2001, which oddly was a VW Golf and never had an issue with it in the two years I had it.

I don't think JD Power split it out like that in the UK. If you look at the UK list, you'll note Chevrolet and Chrysler are bottom, whereas in the US they're near the top. VW are just behind BMW in the UK, which are middle of the road here but high in the USA.

One suspects there's more at work here than is immediately apparent from each list.

I've never understood why Apple gets compared to BMW. BMW are more common than Ford here and you're looked on as a bit of a wanker if you drive one. VW are more like Apple - slightly upmarket, understated and clean design without being pretentious like most Japanese cars. If I was to pick a European brand most like Apple, it'd be VW or Audi.

I also don't understand the attraction with Lexus. Bit ostentatious and chavvy both at the same time.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

I don't follow cars that closely. Haven't had one since 2001, which oddly was a VW Golf and never had an issue with it in the two years I had it.

I don't think JD Power split it out like that in the UK. If you look at the UK list, you'll note Chevrolet and Chrysler are bottom, whereas in the US they're near the top. VW are just behind BMW in the UK, which are middle of the road here but high in the USA.

One suspects there's more at work here than is immediately apparent from each list.

I thought it was already mentioned, different assembly plants supply different regions. I think that can explain a lot.

I've never understood why Apple gets compared to BMW. BMW are more common than Ford here and you're looked on as a bit of a wanker if you drive one. VW are more like Apple - slightly upmarket, understated and clean design without being pretentious like most Japanese cars. If I was to pick a European brand most like Apple, it'd be VW or Audi.

The brand images are different.

[Booga]

It's true that in the US the Volksagons are made at their Mexico facility while in Europe I believe they're made in a German factory. Perhaps that's the difference. In any case, it means being associated with VW here in the US is probably a lot different than a European would see it. In the US I'd think Toyota (or perhaps Honda) would be the company of choice to try to tie your brand to.

[jasenj1]

We have a 2003 VW Jetta. For at least three years running it had this problem in the summer where the brake pedal sensor would die not allowing you to shift the car out of park. We eventually got a recall notice and VW replaced it AGAIN - we'll see what happens this coming summer. Just a few weeks ago, the orignal VW branded battery exploded - as in *KABOOM!* - when my wife tried to start the car. The super-extended warranty we bought (and felt ripped off for buying) has paid for itself I'm sorry to say. I'm not a hater, but based on our experience, I won't be buying another VW anytime soon.

As for Apple and the car industry: Apple has some very nice tech - Core Image, Core Animation, a UNIX OS - and UI experience that would be very neat to see in a car navigation/control system. I hope the iPhone is only the first of many embedded device applications for OS X. I don't know if Apple has the scope, scale and maturity that would be required by a car nav system, though. For example, a few years ago Apple was all, "the Mac will be the BEST Java platform", now we don't even have Java 6 - Apple's focus changed and they dropped the ball. I don't know if the car market could afford this fickleness.

- Jasen.

[maxmann]

Originally Posted by RBR

I am not in the least bit surprised that this project is on hold. I think the auto manufacturers are tired of being screwed with by Apple. Honda, yes Honda discontinued their efforts at iPod compatibility several years ago and withdrew their parts from the market as a consequence of Apple not providing them with the information necessary to keep the system up to date when Apple kept changing things (which "broke" the system).

Honda now simply provides a headphone input jack which any player can use with control of the external device left to the device itself.

Even so Apple continues to list Honda on the iPod ready lists which simply is not true and has not been true for quite some time now.

Well, why wouldn't Honda be on the list? An ipod plugs in and works doesn't it? And, one doesn't need to pull open the glove box every time updates or a change needs to be made as is on a complex expensive installation my Mercedes on my 2006 model.

And where do you come down with "the auto manufacturers are tired of being screwed with by apple?" where does that come from? I know for a fact that car manufacturers stalled for two years hoping a format that would replace CD would come to light that they all could install OEM. When that didn't happen, they started looking into it. Car design teams are not exactly "next generation" in their thinking or we would have something built here besides gas hogs and tanks to drive around.

are you a busy body or just ignorant about the facts?

[lepton]

Instead of a gimped disk mode on this not so huge storage device, gimme an integrated ToDo.

[Cicero]

A voice recorder would be a great addition to the iPhone since I can't use the one from the 3rd gen iPod I just replaced. (BTW I still get @ least 2.5 hrs of battery out this old iPod and I used the heck out of it for the last 4 yrs, including to record lectures 2 days a week per semester).

I just hope they open the software for 3rd parties to make extension mics bc I don't think the sound quality will be that great from the internal phone mic

I hope this is true.... Merry Christmas to me

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by maxmann

Well, why wouldn't Honda be on the list? An ipod plugs in and works doesn't it? And, one doesn't need to pull open the glove box every time updates or a change needs to be made as is on a complex expensive installation my Mercedes on my 2006 model.

The authentication & control codes change a little bit with each generation. IIRC, 4th gen and before wasn't encrypted, 5th gen and later required an authentication chip, basically making the older systems useless on a newer iPod. That's not a situation you want to be in when iPods change just about every year but the car will be owned and operated for a decade or two. There's such a mismatch in product life cycles and design cycles.

Car design teams are not exactly "next generation" in their thinking or we would have something built here besides gas hogs and tanks to drive around.

They are responding to different market forces. If the US market wanted fuel efficiency at the time, they would get them. The Asian and European markets do get them because gas is more expensive. The US market kept buying the large luxury vehicles at top dollar, and business economics is to chase the money were it's easiest to make. Changing design cycles is very hard to do, the work on a '08 model probably started before '03. It's really hard to predict where things will go. Consumer electronics design lead time is probably less than half that.

[heyjp]

I have an iPhone, but I'm not overly excited about the disk mode. I have a super-tiny 2Gig USB stick I carry on my key chain which requires no cables and takes virtually no space. I would rather carry that for 2G rather than keep 1-2 gig cleared on my iPhone which I keep 90% loaded with music, videos, podcasts and photos at all times.

Just my eccentrics of course.

Jim

[heyjp]

Originally Posted by lepton

Instead of a gimped disk mode on this not so huge storage device, gimme an integrated ToDo.

There ya go. Or the universal spotlight search.

Jim

[RBR]

Originally Posted by maxmann

Well, why wouldn't Honda be on the list? An ipod plugs in and works doesn't it? And, one doesn't need to pull open the glove box every time updates or a change needs to be made as is on a complex expensive installation my Mercedes on my 2006 model.

And where do you come down with "the auto manufacturers are tired of being screwed with by apple?" where does that come from? I know for a fact that car manufacturers stalled for two years hoping a format that would replace CD would come to light that they all could install OEM. When that didn't happen, they started looking into it. Car design teams are not exactly "next generation" in their thinking or we would have something built here besides gas hogs and tanks to drive around.

are you a busy body or just ignorant about the facts?

Oh obtunded one. I see that your head resides in the warm dark places.

No it does not work as an "integrated" system. Nothing shows up on the display and the steering wheel controls (or those on the radio itself) are not functional because the additional adapter which Honda used to sell before Apple abandoned them was supposed to fully integrate for control and display.

Where do you come from when you are plainly ignorant of the facts.

Can you even pick a Honda Accord out of a lineup of mops and brooms? I doubt it by your description of them as tanks and gas hogs.

Operating a motor vehicle is obviously beyond your technical abilities as you can not accurately see and relate facts.

[initiator]

Originally Posted by RBR

I am not in the least bit surprised that this project is on hold. I think the auto manufacturers are tired of being screwed with by Apple. Honda, yes Honda discontinued their efforts at iPod compatibility several years ago and withdrew their parts from the market as a consequence of Apple not providing them with the information necessary to keep the system up to date when Apple kept changing things (which "broke" the system).

Honda now simply provides a headphone input jack which any player can use with control of the external device left to the device itself.

Even so Apple continues to list Honda on the iPod ready lists which simply is not true and has not been true for quite some time now.

I made the mistake of buying the iPod connector unit for my 2006 Civic. I don't know if it was Apple's fault or Honda's, but it was a total waste of money. Now I just use the AUX jack.