I own and drive a sportive Audi A5 and will order a new one but I cancel my order directly if Audi delivers Android. No go! I love to drive this car 250 km/h on the German Autobahn, where I live. But Android? Shitty Android in such a car? No! No go! No order! No money for crap in this sports car!
You're all either full of shit, sarcastic, or your priorities when choosing a car are out of whack.
I would suspect the latter. I was behind a BMW that was involved in a terrible accident. I ran up to the driver who had lost his whole left arm in the accident and he was bemoaning the damage to his "poor Beemer." I told him to refocus because he also just lost his left arm. He looked down, saw his missing arm and screamed, "OMG, where's my Rollex !!!"
Android is what embedded Linux used to be: the starting point for building the brains of all kinds of devices. It's great to have for that purpose, and I expect to be using tons of "Android" devices in future whether I know it or not. Some will be well-designed.
That doesn't mean all those devices are "Android" in the sense any user or developer cares about, and I don't see this being much better in that regard.
In fact, I expect the ideal system in future will be an Android-based car computer (because what else would it be?) connected to an iPhone delivering iOS in the Car.
I have no interest in actual apps running ON the car itself--not from Google nor Apple. They can try to sell me on that concept, but I don't see it yet. I want the basic driving functions to work really well (maps, media, communication) and am happy to have my phone serve those applications, with the car being merely a UI for it.
Hugely disappointing. I was thinking of getting an Audi for my next car and this decreases the chances of me doing that significantly. I agree with other commenters, this is a huge misstep on Audi's part. I'm really disappointed with this. All I can hope is that they offer ios in the car as well, but something tells me that ain't gonna happen. I'm floored and saddened. ????
Bull. Nobody is considering Android for anything mission critical (like medical). QNX and other embedded OS's have those markets locked down. Android would be an utter joke used in something that was supposed to have high reliability and guaranteed up time.
You should do a bit more reading then. Would you like me to research it for you or can you do it yourself?
Either way your priorities need to be fixed, clearly the drive of the car or other related attributes are missing from your check-list.
I know right? Crazy that some people claim to use the in-car OS as the deciding factor of whether or not to buy a vehicle, throwing out fuel economy, safety, styling, performance, etc. Certainly within their right, but very strange indeed.
Never knew Audi is the only car in the market!
Lot of great Cars around. Right? If yes please shut your horizontal vagina " src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />
I am surprised the Koreans didn't do it already. They can call it "Open Dashboard Alliance" with "Open" = "do what Google says or else."
It would be nice if the protocol(s) for connecting to any in-dash system was standardized in some way that mobile OS could connect to any call in the same way that (say) VNC is platform independent.
I can see where Auto manufacturers would find Android OS integrated into their car as a way to garner control over the services, albeit, Google Android is notoriously not open when the apps compete with Google e.g., music, maps, search, etc. thereby compromising this control, ask SAMSUNG.
However, this is a very complicated endeavor where underlying infrastructure is important. A car has a 5 to 15 year lifespan and this means support in the software and hardware for nearly an order of magnitude time horizon greater time horizon for Android 18 months. Apple, albeit not yet in that time league, has a 4X time line support and infrastructure upgrades advantage of 3-5 years for iOS and OSX, respectively. For the auto manufacturer having the driver bring the device to the car, substantially reduces the lifecycle support challenges. Note, i do not mean to say it goes away, but sure is easier.
A big concern for the automobile manufacturers is going to be licensing costs, Nokia, Apple, Microsoft, etc. are aggressively pursuing licensing agreements or denial of patents when using Android. Google has not developed an IP strategy that reduces any liability, case in point HTC with Nokia bans in Germany, soon in the US and UK, Apple's successful IP lawsuits with Samsung and more to come on that, and Microsoft on Motorola.
It is easy to imagine a licensing cost for auto manufactures of $50 to $100 or more per car. This is a liability that must be on the minds of the car manufacturers.
So allowing a phone iOS, Windows Mobile 8, or Android to interact in a limited way with the car is certainly valuable to customers and since these are "bring your own device" relatively low cost and risk free, but Android as core OS in cars is much more problematical.
I think from a car mfg point of view it's more like carriers. It's about having 'control' and a 'low price component' when it comes to this sort of thing.
The problem with an outside device connecting to your car is that in 3 years, Apple can come up with a new and amazing thing that your make won't be compatible with and the cost for the new stuff is out of your hands. Clients then evolve to another make and you're 'locked into' a decision to support apple forever.
embedding android&HW in a car in 2014 is a fixed price for that year, and next year, the 2015 models could have MS, or Apple or whomever is the low bidder. This is purely the mindset of Audi et al...
and I doubt it's a 'core' os (like one that is maintaining ignition and safety controls), and more the 'interface' control (The brakes will work if android BSOD's on you, you just won't be able use the google glass HUD that shows you where all the Starbucks are.
Amazing what the media will hype. Now we have iOS and Android war for the car. :rolleyes: And not one media outlet questioning that report about Chromebook sales. :rolleyes:
You should do a bit more reading then. Would you like me to research it for you or can you do it yourself?
Why read when this is my full-time job (working with embedded systems for automotive)? You want to start an in-depth discussion of all the current systems, which processors they're using, what software development platforms are common, what communications buses they employ, protocols used on those buses, which manufacturers use which systems or just anything related to automotive electronics?
Go on, ask away. Nothing generic please, be as detailed as possible. Or would you like me to ask you the questions instead, so we can test your knowledge?
Here's a couple to start you off...
On a CAN bus what voltages could you expect to see on the High and Low lines when referenced to vehicle ground using a multimeter? Why do you see these voltages? What about voltages in reference to each other? What will happen to the data patterns on the CAN lines if a short occurs between the two CAN lines themselves? What is it about how the CAN lines are electrically connected that causes this pattern? Will module on the CAN bus still be able to communicate when this happens?
I agree, bring your own device is not a panacea over typical life of a car. In your model the car gets shipped with a set of features, Android version x, and remains with this set for the next 5-15 years with the car manufacturer perhaps only obligated to do some egregious bug fixes, like MS Synch in Ford cars. Albeit that model has been panned by pretty much anyone who reviews Sync in Fords, however, lets assume this is MS and Ford mismanagement. This is consistent with people's general expectations in a car, what you get on day1 is what you get on day 3650.
Alternatively, you contractually require Apple for provide some subset of capabilities consistent with Day 1 and that this capability needs to be retained for 3650 days, albeit new capabilities can be added as part of the bring your own device. This clearly puts a constraint on the degree and speed of innovation that Apple wants, 3 years for mobile and 5-6 years for MacOS.
In either case, the lifecycle scales of automobiles and computers [mobile or fixed] is pretty incompatible by a factor of X8 for Android and X3 to X5 for Apple. However, if iCloud or THE Cloud is where the magic happens, then the device [or car] just becomes a dumb interface to the Cloud and need not change much to provide Day1 and Day 3650 capabilities.
It will be interesting so see how the very different business models and rhythms of change work across these technologies. I wonder if AM, AM/FM, 8 track, cassette, CD, DVD, and now SiriusXM might reveal a workable pattern?
Why read when this is my full-time job (working with embedded systems for automotive)? You want to start an in-depth discussion of all the current systems, which processors they're using, what software development platforms are common, what communications buses they employ, protocols used on those buses, which manufacturers use which systems or just anything related to automotive electronics?
Will it become commonplace to see Android used in embedded systems? I don't know. I do know that there's interest in Android for that market. You apparently would not be one of those with any interest.
You are right that I'm not an engineer myself so no need in wasting time failing your engineering knowledge test. Congrats to you tho on landing what's probably a pretty good paying job in an interesting and quickly changing field. I mean that sincerely.
I see a lot of negative towards Android being in cars. How people are saying they won't buy a certain brand because of Android? Since when do people decide on their next car based on the OS? I know I buy a car based on the way it looks, number one. Never had been about the OS in it all these years, why now? Seems kind of silly to me.
Comments
I would suspect the latter. I was behind a BMW that was involved in a terrible accident. I ran up to the driver who had lost his whole left arm in the accident and he was bemoaning the damage to his "poor Beemer." I told him to refocus because he also just lost his left arm. He looked down, saw his missing arm and screamed, "OMG, where's my Rollex !!!"
That doesn't mean all those devices are "Android" in the sense any user or developer cares about, and I don't see this being much better in that regard.
In fact, I expect the ideal system in future will be an Android-based car computer (because what else would it be?) connected to an iPhone delivering iOS in the Car.
I have no interest in actual apps running ON the car itself--not from Google nor Apple. They can try to sell me on that concept, but I don't see it yet. I want the basic driving functions to work really well (maps, media, communication) and am happy to have my phone serve those applications, with the car being merely a UI for it.
You should do a bit more reading then. Would you like me to research it for you or can you do it yourself?
So you're saying iOS shouldn't be in a Honda?
Ouch. Honda sells a $40K Accord Plug-in, btw. And a new NSX is coming, ftw.
Actually, I think iOS should be an option for Honda based on what I've seen.
Maybe you are, or maybe you're not.
Either way your priorities need to be fixed, clearly the drive of the car or other related attributes are missing from your check-list.
I know right? Crazy that some people claim to use the in-car OS as the deciding factor of whether or not to buy a vehicle, throwing out fuel economy, safety, styling, performance, etc. Certainly within their right, but very strange indeed.
Never knew Audi is the only car in the market!
Lot of great Cars around. Right? If yes please shut your horizontal vagina " src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />
Stop being such a jerk. In that segment, there are some pretty darn good choices on all of the latter attributes.
(Pipped by helicopterben).
It would be nice if the protocol(s) for connecting to any in-dash system was standardized in some way that mobile OS could connect to any call in the same way that (say) VNC is platform independent.
I can see where Auto manufacturers would find Android OS integrated into their car as a way to garner control over the services, albeit, Google Android is notoriously not open when the apps compete with Google e.g., music, maps, search, etc. thereby compromising this control, ask SAMSUNG.
However, this is a very complicated endeavor where underlying infrastructure is important. A car has a 5 to 15 year lifespan and this means support in the software and hardware for nearly an order of magnitude time horizon greater time horizon for Android 18 months. Apple, albeit not yet in that time league, has a 4X time line support and infrastructure upgrades advantage of 3-5 years for iOS and OSX, respectively. For the auto manufacturer having the driver bring the device to the car, substantially reduces the lifecycle support challenges. Note, i do not mean to say it goes away, but sure is easier.
A big concern for the automobile manufacturers is going to be licensing costs, Nokia, Apple, Microsoft, etc. are aggressively pursuing licensing agreements or denial of patents when using Android. Google has not developed an IP strategy that reduces any liability, case in point HTC with Nokia bans in Germany, soon in the US and UK, Apple's successful IP lawsuits with Samsung and more to come on that, and Microsoft on Motorola.
It is easy to imagine a licensing cost for auto manufactures of $50 to $100 or more per car. This is a liability that must be on the minds of the car manufacturers.
So allowing a phone iOS, Windows Mobile 8, or Android to interact in a limited way with the car is certainly valuable to customers and since these are "bring your own device" relatively low cost and risk free, but Android as core OS in cars is much more problematical.
I think from a car mfg point of view it's more like carriers. It's about having 'control' and a 'low price component' when it comes to this sort of thing.
The problem with an outside device connecting to your car is that in 3 years, Apple can come up with a new and amazing thing that your make won't be compatible with and the cost for the new stuff is out of your hands. Clients then evolve to another make and you're 'locked into' a decision to support apple forever.
embedding android&HW in a car in 2014 is a fixed price for that year, and next year, the 2015 models could have MS, or Apple or whomever is the low bidder. This is purely the mindset of Audi et al...
and I doubt it's a 'core' os (like one that is maintaining ignition and safety controls), and more the 'interface' control (The brakes will work if android BSOD's on you, you just won't be able use the google glass HUD that shows you where all the Starbucks are.
You should do a bit more reading then. Would you like me to research it for you or can you do it yourself?
Why read when this is my full-time job (working with embedded systems for automotive)? You want to start an in-depth discussion of all the current systems, which processors they're using, what software development platforms are common, what communications buses they employ, protocols used on those buses, which manufacturers use which systems or just anything related to automotive electronics?
Go on, ask away. Nothing generic please, be as detailed as possible. Or would you like me to ask you the questions instead, so we can test your knowledge?
Here's a couple to start you off...
On a CAN bus what voltages could you expect to see on the High and Low lines when referenced to vehicle ground using a multimeter? Why do you see these voltages? What about voltages in reference to each other? What will happen to the data patterns on the CAN lines if a short occurs between the two CAN lines themselves? What is it about how the CAN lines are electrically connected that causes this pattern? Will module on the CAN bus still be able to communicate when this happens?
I agree, bring your own device is not a panacea over typical life of a car. In your model the car gets shipped with a set of features, Android version x, and remains with this set for the next 5-15 years with the car manufacturer perhaps only obligated to do some egregious bug fixes, like MS Synch in Ford cars. Albeit that model has been panned by pretty much anyone who reviews Sync in Fords, however, lets assume this is MS and Ford mismanagement. This is consistent with people's general expectations in a car, what you get on day1 is what you get on day 3650.
Alternatively, you contractually require Apple for provide some subset of capabilities consistent with Day 1 and that this capability needs to be retained for 3650 days, albeit new capabilities can be added as part of the bring your own device. This clearly puts a constraint on the degree and speed of innovation that Apple wants, 3 years for mobile and 5-6 years for MacOS.
In either case, the lifecycle scales of automobiles and computers [mobile or fixed] is pretty incompatible by a factor of X8 for Android and X3 to X5 for Apple. However, if iCloud or THE Cloud is where the magic happens, then the device [or car] just becomes a dumb interface to the Cloud and need not change much to provide Day1 and Day 3650 capabilities.
It will be interesting so see how the very different business models and rhythms of change work across these technologies. I wonder if AM, AM/FM, 8 track, cassette, CD, DVD, and now SiriusXM might reveal a workable pattern?
You are the one that's full of shit. You go buy a
Car that doesn't have the features you want. Make a comment about the article or go f*ck yourself.
http://blog.vdcresearch.com/embedded_sw/2013/10/android-to-transform-medical-device-market.html
http://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/multimedia/using-android-in-automotive-systems-with-linux-containers
http://hsc.com/services/product-engineering-services/embedded-android/telematics
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49743-report-gm-eyes-android-for-in-vehicle-telematics
Further, 16% of embedded engineers surveyed by UBM say they are already using Android as their OS of choice.
http://images.content.ubmtechelectronics.com/Web/UBMTechElectronics/{a7a91f0e-87c0-4a6d-b861-d4147707f831}_2013EmbeddedMarketStudyb.pdf
Will it become commonplace to see Android used in embedded systems? I don't know. I do know that there's interest in Android for that market. You apparently would not be one of those with any interest.
You are right that I'm not an engineer myself so no need in wasting time failing your engineering knowledge test. Congrats to you tho on landing what's probably a pretty good paying job in an interesting and quickly changing field. I mean that sincerely.