HondaLink/Telematics Are Free For A Reason-Should We Be Okay With That??
- Thread starter AnthonyW
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MajorAward
Active Member
That is good information, and much appreciation for taking the time . Just my paranoia, I know, but my concern is more what will happen when software company A is acquired by software company B and then a must-have upgrade is pushed to customers. Somewhere tucked away in paragraph 27 of the new terms of service is a less strict privacy policy. Of course many customers only read to paragraph 16 before pressing the accept button (not you or me
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That is good information, and much appreciation for taking the time . Just my paranoia, I know, but my concern is more what will happen when software company A is acquired by software company B and then a must-have upgrade is pushed to customers. Somewhere tucked away in paragraph 27 of the new terms of service is a less strict privacy policy. Of course many customers only read to paragraph 16 before pressing the accept button (not you or me
It's a fair concern, and as the telematics systems get more complex more and more fingers will get into the pie - but Honda seems pretty unlikely to go bankrupt, and they are the contracting party in this case, AFAICT. On the flip side, it's so easy to do license plate tracking with camera networks that we should assume everyone will know everywhere we go, pretty soon.
MNSteve
Well-Known Member
One of the things we all signed up for when we bought the car was the beta-test program. There are many reasons that Honda introduced the Clarity, but one of them is a tool for learning about the technology of electric cars. We are helping them down that road.
I use Facebook. I waffle back and forth on the pros and cons of using the system. If I were not a Facebook user I would be out of touch with quite a few people who I have at least a tenuous relationship with. But I am giving away a wealth of information that I would prefer not to make public.
The analogy between Facebook and Honda is far from perfect, but in both cases I am trading quasi-personal information for benefits.
I use Facebook. I waffle back and forth on the pros and cons of using the system. If I were not a Facebook user I would be out of touch with quite a few people who I have at least a tenuous relationship with. But I am giving away a wealth of information that I would prefer not to make public.
The analogy between Facebook and Honda is far from perfect, but in both cases I am trading quasi-personal information for benefits.
Arctiic
Member
Here's a reason to not be happy about it: resources being consumed. Whether it's processing power or bandwidth, normally it'd arguably be negligible in terms of impact to the subject device's performance. However, in this case, the head unit's performance is so pitifully abysmal (especially considering the $1,500 price tag) that I'm loathed to allocate any iota of it to them. If it weren't for the fact that certain vital processes (to the operation of the vehicle) are handled through it, I would rather rip it out and replace it with an old phone rather than continuing to use it. Even my old Note 4 (also Kitkat) runs faster, and it even comes with an IR blaster stock.
ClarityDoc
Active Member
Android Auto is great, works well for me via the head unit.
ClarityDoc
Active Member
Head unit screen is bigger
The reason they cost that much is because they are automotive grade parts, not because of the performance. You can get cheaper parts and displays, but they won't regularly last over 10 years without issues.
See what Tesla tried with their early products, not sure what the current models use.
https://www.thedrive.com/tech/27989/teslas-screen-saga-shows-why-automotive-grade-matters
Arctiic
Member
Which would be useful if a) it can screen mirror (wired), or b) it can play anything at more 15 some-odd FPS. Neither of which it can do (though I have not tried an MHL cable...do they even come as Type-C to Type-A?).
Arctiic
Member
Thanks! This explains a lot. I work at a frozen foods manufacturer, and had a lot of trouble replacing a touch panel for one of our processing machines. Old, dingy-looking LCD NEMA graded, with a VGA port that used a custom pinout, and a VB6-esque system UI. Now I know why it cost around $2,000! Honestly though, it didn't last anywhere near a decade, and in the case of the car, I don't expect to still be driving it in 10 years.
2002
Well-Known Member
Apps that run in Android Auto are customized by the app company for the Android Auto interface, so they don't work exactly like the regular Android phone versions but in the case of Google Maps pretty close. I would guess it's similar using Apple CarPlay. And it's definitely nice having it on the larger screen, I normally keep it in satellite view which is more interesting to look at.
The Android Auto Google Maps interface is more limited than the standard version especially for searching, some of it gets disabled while the car is moving but that is how it should be, as it basically forces you to use voice prompts. But it will show you alternate routes and the time savings and let you select a different route, I use that quite often. What I normally do anyway is before I start out I search the destination using the phone, then when I later plug the phone in to the car and launch Google Maps in Android Auto the destination is already at or near the top of the list ready to be selected. Or while still on the phone I press Start to begin navigation, then when I plug in the phone Android Auto automatically starts navigation to that destination.
I also listen to audio books, I downloaded a popular app call Podcast Addict which has an Android Auto version, I'm not that much into podcasts but it also works for mp3 files that are stored on your phone. Podcast Addict has a hard to find feature where it lets you back up 10 seconds for each button push, which I like while driving because sometimes you have to concentrate on, well driving and if I miss something it is easy to backup. Most mp3 apps you have to hold down the back button to back up, and if you accidentally release too soon it thinks you want to go to the the beginning of the track so now you have lost your place and it takes forever to get back to where you where. With Podcast Addict that won't happen because you have to bring up a separate screen to change tracks while it is currently playing.
I'm not a Waze fan but I tried it in Android Auto and it seems to work okay. If someone is a baseball fan, one app I use all the time is the MLB app which has an Android Auto version, it will display all of the baseball games currently playing and you can listen in to the games, even selecting if you want to listen to the home team or visiting team's radio broadcast.
Arctiic
Member
Huh, I have the app downloaded but never noticed about it being able to play all local .mp3 files, thanks for the tip. It'll replace VLC / MX Player for me.
