real solution for command console

[will]

I've been thinking about the ideal solution for the command center and right now I think the best idea is to get rid of it completely.

If you give me a screen, I expect to search the web, navigate google maps, etc. The mobile devices we carry have already undergone several generations of improvement and become so sophisticated that creating comparable software is a fools errand - especially when it isn't the core DNA of the company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdGIqTQxsks&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdwaLeVoW8I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1P5tEwmh78&feature=related

Instead of fighting the changing times, the next Fisker needs a sexy app that lets me control my personal settings, balance my settings for race / sport or eco, change the lighting, customize my gauges, let me remote ready my car ( or turn on the music ) from my iPhone...

There are also different types of things I do in the car. Some require me to perform them while also dodging LA traffic at 70+mph. If I want to raise / lower the volume or change the AC settings, dials would be best.

Will

[Fabulist]

These are all pretty cool mods but I don't want large pieces of metal and glass to go flying around a car if I get hit or have to maneuver aggressively in traffic. The Karma's dash has two large round LCD displays and a smaller rectangular one that can display pretty much any information. So rather then grafting an IPAD or other device, the system could just use the existing displays to communicate information.

One example of great display usage is the Porsche instrument cluster incorporating a navigation display on the right of the tach.



I don't really need to see the accelerate/generate gauge all the time, it would be nice to swap in the turn-by-turn nav display in there at the drivers' option.

[siliconkiwi]

I wouldn't want critical functionality in my car reliant on a 3rd party product where Fisker has zero control of the total software stack, and no control of obsolescence of the device. I plan to hold onto my Karma for many years, tablets are obsoleted within 1-3 years (go and try to buy or find support for an Apple product more than 3 years old, or find parts for an Apple PowerPC Mac). No thanks, IMHO.

Having a BT interface where 3rd parties can tap into diagnostic, remote start and power consumption information would enable some 3rd party to write apps to provide novel functionality, but I really want my critical automotive functionality running in a controlled software environment, not on iOS (case in point, my iPad and iPhone reset randomly, I don't recall anyone here having their *entire command center* reset randomly, despite all the SW issues - and yes, Android is just as shaky...).

[will]

Originally Posted by siliconkiwi

I wouldn't want critical functionality in my car reliant on a 3rd party product where Fisker has zero control of the total software stack, and no control of obsolescence of the device... but I really want my critical automotive functionality running in a controlled software environment, not on iOS (case in point, my iPad and iPhone reset randomly, I don't recall anyone here having their *entire command center* reset randomly, despite all the SW issues - and yes, Android is just as shaky...).

I'm not suggesting any change to the hard/software needed to operate the car / batteries/ technology. This is their core tech.

There is a separate layer of software that is provided by the command console. It allows us music, navi, A/C, user settings, etc. We aren't complaining about our cars not driving as much as we are that the console is hard to use, unresponsive, missing features etc.

For this functionality I'm suggesting a "Fisker App" would be a much better approach ( in addition to real volume & A/C dials ). I have an iPhone/iPad and they kick the **** out of anything Fisker could produce as we are trained to compare "apps" & "platforms" on the same level. We expect our command center to browse the net and have multi-touch, etc. etc. It's a silly, uphill, and already lost battle.

An app within an iPhone that allows me to customize my Fisker would be _even cooler_. As far as mounting an iPad to the dash, it seems cheesy to me but could be an option.

[FredFriendly]

What "will" said....