Video: Chrysler's iPhone-like dashboard makes your car look lame
By Darren Murph 
posted Apr 15th 2009 10:34AM
posted Apr 15th 2009 10:34AM
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I think it looks like the microsoft surface than anything else...
agreed. it's even got the frickin surface logo @3:17!
so now, what? every multitouch surface is a big iphone?!
o major fail. logo's at 0:05. my bad.
Everytime something loads, the logo appears...
Watch the video theyre referring to the iphone thats on the screen.
no, they're not.
Close though.
N41
This post by engagdet was border line gizmodo...
N41
uh, am i the only one that realizes this is a proof-of-concept style demo of the actual product being run ON a microsoft surface table rather than the actual technology being from microsoft. but with that kind of support, I wouldnt be spritzed if they do get support from microsoft for Sync and the dashboard.
ps. engadget calling this iPhone like was possibly the worst thing that could ever happen, it really didnt make me like the technology as much as i would have without that comment. the iphone was only shown as an example, i believe every smartphone will be usable with this car.
lol yes. thats what i thought too even before watching the video. it so damn big, how is it not the Surface? no its a damn big iphone!
but anyway, the interface still seems pretty laggy and not that responsive to touches. thats the problem with most large touch screen interfaces in museums and showrooms etc. i would think by now it would be smooth transitions and no waiting times.
Fuck you engadget, this is nothing like the iphone.
So the headline says it's lame but the body of the text says it's impressive. So it lame....impressive.....or impressively lame?
They think it's impressive. The headline is implying that it's so impressive that it makes YOUR car look lame.
It's so impressive that it makes *your* car look lame.
My car already looked lame.
I was confused by the title too. I was expecting a major PHAIL iPhone wannabe UI.
"It's so impressive that it makes *your* car look lame."
lol until it breaks down cause its a chrysler
i don't see a fruit anywhere.........
I mean seriously, Darren, Engagdet, fanboys or just readers: How is this like iPhone? And why isn't it Surface-like or plain Surface? Where is the Surface or Microsoft tag? I mean give little credit to the system, for crying out loud!
I know that I sound annoying from pointing out this stuff a lot, but you guys keep doing it wrong, a lot.
hey what's this fruit? it looks like a consumer electronics logo!! Ooh I smell Apple Inc vs God lawsuit!!
My problem is that the touch screen requires you to look at it. Button, knobs, and voice activation don't.
That's a very good point indeed!
Exactly what I was thinking!
This is an all-too-perfect example of design for the sake of design with no attention whatever paid to usage.
I cannot think of anything more stupid for car controls than something which purposely causes you to look at it to use it.
Well.. I suppose they could wow us with their ability to use the windshield as a giant monitor to show movies on...
- mike
Yes, I see terrible driving from people just on the cellhpone. This is disaster just waiting to happen.
Unless the car is a Minority Report auto wagon... you couldn't even pay any attention to the ESPN and CNN info that the profile manager is setting at the beginning!
It does not look anything like the iphone!
so, from now, every touch screen is iPhone-like?
i remember touch screens since long time before iPhone...
Hey Guys...
Have you seen the Movie at 2.14?! There's the iPhone!
Tom
i remember when tesla introduced it weeks ago!!! and yet here we are, commending Chrysler for implementing a fancy-looking screen... bullshit
I agree with Number_41. The UI doesn't look anything like the iPhone and it's much larger... and the use of disks to represent data and gestures looks FAR more like a Surface design.
You guys really have to get past the 'touchscreen == iPhone' thing. Apple didn't have it first, nor are they they only ones.
Eh? Oh I see, it makes MY car look lame. Wow, thoughtless writing at its best.
iPhone-like??????????????????????
What is it 2007?
No, its engadget.
With millions of bailout money from our taxpayer dollars, this is the best Chrysler could come up with? How about making a vehicle people actually want to buy and not wasting time on accident inducing technology that will never see the light of day.
I know, the nerve of them having MULTIPLE departments in R&D.
Also, they've made a car I want to drive... I'm getting my Challenger SRT-8 in a few days..
Sorry Matt,
If this is how Chrysler is using our taxpayer dollars, then I hope they go under real soon. Maybe YOU want the Challenger SRT-8, but apparently most of America doesn't agree or else Chrysler wouldn't be where it is today: last place even among Detroit's big three
The title is ambiguous, and sloppy writing. There is massive bias because the only thing like the iPhone is the fact it has a touch screen, and there have been touchscreens long before the iPhone.
This is... terrible, quite frankly.
where's that guy who was threatening to kill someone the next time a car was called a "whip" ?
This is going to kill so many people.
I've nearly killed myself numerous times with my iphone. If turning the raido up or adjusting the A/C means using a touchscreen, I give up driving.
I'm not worried about this though, because even if Chrysler survives long enough to put this to market, anyone stupid enough to buy a chrysler product deserves to wrap it around a tree.
The iPhone-like thing is getting ridiculous. That video is showing a Surface machine, for crying out loud. But hey, let's tag the post with 'iphone' instead of 'surface'.
Also, see the other touch-screen dashboard discussion for a plethora of examples why using touch technology to operate your car is a disastrous idea.
Couldn't agree more. Oh, except this was developed entirely by Apple's touch tech partners and includes Coverflow-esque scrolling among other things. So, you know, "iPhone-like."
iPods are Zune-like.
It's okay to use the phrase "multi-touch display" without mentioning the iPhone, Darren, seeing as how there were around for decades before Apple invented it.
And I didn't see a whole lot in that dashboard UI that reminded me of an iPhone, outside of having a touchscreen.
Oh yeah, low rank Darren!
Now they should make a good car
It's Microsoft Surface you Apple fan boys at Engadget. Sometimes it amazes me how narrow minded people Engadget has. Everything has to be iPhone like and everything is copying Apple - when they are not.
Wow so not only did iPhone revolutionize cells, pmps, digital cameras, portable gaming systems, multitouch trackpads , etc but now on board car pcs. Now I know jobs is a decent humane individual . Any other CEO would be out trying to sue like a mutha. Apple is definitely having no problem allowing other industries to clone their ideas. iPhone now it's all coming together they definitely belief in spreading the love n innovation. New found respect for iPhone, we know had wm, bb, nokia etc patented that tech it would be lawsuits up the gazoo,agree?
You do realise that Apple didn't invent touch-screens, right?
I know someone who had a microsoft powered touch media console in his car several years ago.
You know what? It was a bad idea then too.
If by 'lame' you mean useable, then yes, my car looks lame.
"but it's hard to not appreciate a button-free whip."
No, it's really easy not to appreciate something that requires you to look where you're pressing, when there's been tactile controls for decades that lets you, oh I don't know, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!
"My fat greasy fingers prevented me from seeing the check engine warning and I drove with out oil to get more Popeye's, Mr. Factory Warranty Denyer Guy"
There might have been touch screens before the iphone, and there has surely been touch screens post-iphone. But you know what, all pre-iphone toch screens sucked, and almost all post-iphone touch screens also suck. Engadget readers know this.
You idiots should realize that these "touchscreen" devices starts popping up after the advent of the introduction of the iPhone by Steve Jobs 2 years ago.
Ignorant Microsoft fools.
Wow. Do you really believe that to be true?
Apple marketing ftw.
TOUCH SCREENS ARE OVERRATED: I like the tactile feel of mechanical switches & buttons. And, I'd be worried about when the display dies and takes every control in the car with it.
It's a Chrysler project. The screen will far outlast the car.
/Charger driver
I think people are forgetting that this is a concept car. It's the arena in which companies play with ideas that will only see an auto show floor. But it is a lot of R&D to be investing for a concept car, methinks.
So you're a knob man then?
Darren, you silly fanboy.
well ik4rt is partly right. because ipods and iphones have become more than just a music player. A fad, a hype, a fashion accessory, a must-have bandwagon consumer item making apple like a celebrity company and having major influences to everything due to its marketing, of course other companies will take notice and try to milk money out of it for themselves. They certainly did not invent or the first to make the touchscreen, its just because everyone is talking about these days.
iPhone references aside (no it doesn't look anything like the iPhone interface), an all touchscreen control interface for your car is a TERRIBAD idea. As other people have said, you need to keep your eyes on the road when you're driving. So you need controls that are tactile and stationary, preferably in places that don't require you to take your eyes off the road, like the steering wheel.
I don't know how Chrysler failed to grasp this fairly simple concept. The whole "drag something to somewhere else" targeting aspect of it is so incredibly stupid in terms of a control interface for a CAR that I can only assume they're on some pretty powerful drugs. I hope it comes with Onstar, because you're going to need it when you drive off a cliff as you're trying to drag a photo album from one side of your dashboard to another while going 80.
Darren, even Zak here doesn't think it's iPhone-like!
Darren...
Did you just read Tim's post and say "Oh, Nartron partners in Apple's button-hate"? If so, I think you need to realize that Tim's comment was saying both Apple and Nartron hate buttons, not that their actual corporate partners. Just got back from Nartron's website and the New York Times--Apple licenses Nartron's patents, as do SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES. Christ, this isn't iPhone=like. This is "Nartron owns multitouch patents and companies develop interfaces using it"-like.
Also, as so many have pointed out, the display in the video is clearly a Surface. Actually, even the dash in Tim's post looks more Surface than iPhone. But whatever, guys, whatever.
I'd rather drive my car than fondle the dash...
Seriously, an intuitive touch-screen is cool enough without needing to put 'iPhone' in front of it. Next we'll be replacing the word 'Sci-Fi' with 'Star Wars meets...'
indeed.
I think you all are forgetting the BIG picture. This is a concept. It's simply demonstrating the interactivity between a computer (possible a surface computer in your home or not), your own iphone or other smartphone, and your car. Isn't this what we want to see. Interactivity between your car, your home, and your computer. The fluid transfer of your personal data between the three. Get past the iPhone or the fact that it's a Surface computer.
Also, most auto manufactures have some sort of "lock out" to ensure you're not driving and playing with modern day display like iDrive type settings in their vehicles. Liability rules.
Buttons = ergonomics.. durr. What idiot would want this in their car?
Yo dawg, I heard you like iPhone-like dashboards, so I put an iPhone in your iPhone-like dashboard so you can plan your trip while driving your whip
Engadget, every thing that's a touch screen isn't a damn iPhone interface. Get off the iPhone please.
Will the screen respond when it's -20c outside? Can I use it wearing gloves? Will it fog up? Hey, I live in Canada, I need to know!
Not to bash Microsoft or anything, I love the Surface concept, but it bugs me that the table is not too sensitive; it fails from time to time.
Eurocopter has something similar to this. They used it at their HAI exhibit. I got the opportunity to actually play around with it and it actually worked quite well. It was working with Vista... Next time I see it, I will take a pic.
Next thing will be calling the Kindle II an iPhone rip-off.
Why bash on Chrysler? Because you're a trendy eco-friendly moron who supports foreign goods? Overall leading to the destruction of our economy.
I bet you shop at Wal-Mart too...
Good job.
We've seen some half-sloppy work from you before, Darren, but this article blows the current WTF scale and lands on a completely new level of bafflingly stupid Apple plugging.
Please go see Chris and ask him how to use the comment system, so that you can come here and defend your ridicolous articlethe only way possible to appeace your readers. We will remember this one.