Apple won't but they should.
Apple won't build a car, but they should. Seriously. The international automotive industry is in ruins. Apple could step up to the plate with a minimalist, highly efficient and functional, design for a car. They could hire an automotive division, get a few of the industrial designers, add some of their knowledge of technology and market trends, and fly. They could use some of that $60Bn to do this, easy. This would create tons of jobs, and eventually lead to a huge increase in profit. They could completely revitalize the automobile industry in the US.
They won't do it, but they should. Put that $60Bn to good use.
They won't do it, but they should. Put that $60Bn to good use.
Comments
http://www.smartplanet.com/technolog...ving-car/5445/
That's a market Google is already working in. I wouldn't be surprised that Apple has some ideas in mind too. They're just more secretive with their planning.
http://www.smartplanet.com/technolog...ving-car/5445/
Actually, I don't think it's quite the idea I had, but thanks for the link. Interesting stuff. I recall having read this a while ago, but I had forgotten about it.
This is definitely an "Android" car if ever they were one. Take someone else's hardware, and slap together some software on top. Who cares if it actually solves any problems or makes things easier for anyone. Just make it roboty-droidy-something, and get some publicity.
Apple won't allow flash but I guess they should
I hate to respond to trolls, but perhaps you're honestly just uninformed, and not just a blind fandroid/Apple hater. Anyway, here's my response:
Sure, Apple should add flash support, whenever it's ready enough that it's not an overwhelmingly horrible user experience that drains battery and degrades performance. I expect when it is, they will.
Let the others use this as a reason to lure customers, I don't care. The customers will see again and again that Apple are right on this one.
Apple won't build a car, but they should. Seriously. The international automotive industry is in ruins. Apple could step up to the plate with a minimalist, highly efficient and functional, design for a car.
It needs to be future-proof though so aesthetic design isn't enough, it would have to be electric-only. They'd have to put some R&D into battery design for fast charging. This R&D could help their laptop and mobile line but it's a massive undertaking.
There are so many factors that have to be taken into account building a car that Apple has no experience in: aerodynamics, handling, power-to-weight ratio, in-car electrics, vehicle servicing features, pneumatics. It's a whole other ballgame with different rules and you can bet if they got it wrong, it would be a catastrophic failure. They may have $60b but they could flush a significant portion down the drain if they made a failure in vehicle manufacturing.
If they partnered with a company who manufacturers electric vehicles already, that would likely be the best bet. Tesla have a really nice vehicle and charging system:
http://www.teslamotors.com/goelectric/charging
53kWh battery that charges in under 6 hours. Average cents per kWh in America vary between 10c-30c so a full charge capable of giving around 200 miles will cost between $5-15. That's pretty cheap for such new technology.
With improvements to electric motor efficiency, battery charging and reduced costs in manufacturing, I expect it will be a huge growth industry over the next few decades. It's not without flaws though as it requires charging points, which is fine for people who own their own garage but too many people use street parking. If they could design a battery that charged to 90% or something like that or do a battery exchange within a matter of minutes at a fuelling station then it's not problem.
I suspect this whole transition would have gone quicker had it not been for the financial problems. It's very difficult to shift brand new vehicles when people are cutting back on spending everywhere. The fuel savings and lower cost of ownership are a good incentive but people won't see the return for 10-20 years and our instant-gratification society won't accept that as a benefit.
It would be nice to see Apple taking an interest in the industry but I'm not sure in what capacity. If they partner with just one company then they probably can't revolutionise the industry (unless by example like the iPad). If they make improvements to some components e.g batteries, then they can but it's not the end-to-end model they normally go with.