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Google Announces 'Android Auto' CarPlay Competitor

bluespark said:
I agree, and it will prompt Android ecosystem purchases. Apple should take this challenge very seriously.
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I try not to overreact to keynotes, but Google has taken some major steps to make me think twice about returning to iOS full time. All bets are off but there's a 40% chance I think I stay with my nexus.

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hexor said:
Yeah, all we need is viruses infecting our automobiles.
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It probably can't be any worse than the other crap on the road.
 
pearvsapple said:
Luxury cars will roll with Apple due to its premium brand. Cheap cars like Scion will roll with Android due to their similarity and reputation of being a peasantry brand.
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Really? I just assumed Apple products and their naziesque iron fisted control of their ecosystem were popular in brands that came from the countries we beat in WWII. Notice that all the good 'merican brands are connected to Android or Linux (the kernel behind Android) in some way... Even the luxury ones like Tesla and Cadillac.

Funny how so many are quick to make class based comments as though they're somehow better just because they have iPhone's.

I choose Android, along with many of my friends, because the platform is open. There may be other reasons related to screen size, but the overriding one is openness.

Android has more market share, period. If a cash tight company had to choose where to spend their development dollars to get the most bang for their buck, they'll go for the bigger of the two pies. Plus, I have to guess that the licensing is probably both easier and cheaper for the manufacturer on the Android side.

*PS> If you can't sense the sarcasm in my first paragraph, take a chill pill. I need to stop posting to forums while watching "The World Wars" on History channel ;-)
 
Looking at these screen shots I don't see how it's better or worse than CarPlay. When CarPlay was announced we had all these complaints about how this is a distraction and people should be focusing on driving. Now Google announces something similar and all I hear is crickets.
 
AustinIllini said:
I try not to overreact to keynotes, but Google has taken some major steps to make me think twice about returning to iOS full time. All bets are off but there's a 40% chance I think I stay with my nexus.
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Yup, Apple definitely needs to pay attention to what Google is doing here. Google already has the better maps solution, and it looks like the car interface is a few steps further ahead on that front on top of their current lead when it comes to navigation. That's gonna be a problem.

Parise said:
If you didnt get anything out of their new UI design, I dunno what to tell you. Multiple layers and floating controls would be considered the word of God if Apple got to this first and not "just inventing the drop shadow".
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I dunno, it felt like Google was attempting to say that Apple wasn't about to out-minimalize them in the design front. It's not a bad look though.

dr4stic said:
Android has more market share, period. If a cash tight company had to choose where to spend their development dollars to get the most bang for their buck, they'll go for the bigger of the two pies. Plus, I have to guess that the licensing is probably both easier and cheaper for the manufacturer on the Android side.
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That also depends on my business model as well. The interesting thing is that more market share doesn't automatically mean a bigger pie if the spending habits are different between the groups that buy each platform.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/tech/mobile/ios-android-mobile-shopping/

That said, there's some good opportunities on the Android platform for sure, depending on what I want my business model to be built on. If I'm expecting to sell an app for a fixed price though, it seems like iOS is still the place to launch first, and use the income to fund the Android port later.
 
Just to clarify some things here that seen to be causing confusion.

1. Google has stated in the past that the cards based interface on attention critical interfaces (wear, glass, auto, etc) will be restricted to essential notifications. No ads. And I have to assume they'll take actions against apps that violate this.

2. I saw a lot of 4.3 as being the base Android version necessary for this functionality. This is likely because 4.3 was the first aosp version to support Bluetooth 4 LE natively, or really, anything better than BT1. It may be possible other manufacturers that built their own Bluetooth stacks (Samsung, HTC) may support Auto or Wear on earlier versions. Another requirement that I *think* applies is that 4.3 was the minimum version required for Google Now, which is undoubtedly driving all of this.

3. Development cycles are much longer than just a few months. Both of these companies have been working on this crap for years. Hitting a button and making an led light up is exciting and easy. Defining a standard, consistent public APIs, developing a developers testing and verification suite, and getting partners takes a very long time and quite a lot of work. The idea that any of this is a response to rumors of a competitors product just shows extreme ignorance to the process.

4. Google has been working on cards and Google Now for a while. Context aware PDA's, where the context is your lifestyle and behavior, are what's next and it works remarkably well. They announced this work many years ago. The Moto X was the first device to show it all of, it's over 1.5 years old and the features were rumored for years before it. Cards is Google's thing and it works. It's what's different.

5. Google has been getting good at notifications for a long time. I have to assume this is what led to cards. The watch, as a notification center and health tracking apparatus is a natural next step in a world with increasingly larger phones, not the least of which will be a 5.5" iPhone. Some will like watches, some won't. However a $200-250 price tag is gonna be much easier to swallow than what will undoubtedly be a $500 minimum tag on an iWatch.
 
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Krevnik said:
That also depends on my business model as well. The interesting thing is that more market share doesn't automatically mean a bigger pie if the spending habits are different between the groups that buy each platform.
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I stand by my statement for automakers. They aren't trying to monetize the compatibility. From their point of view, mirroring a phone display is a godsend. Can you imagine the money spent on licensing, developing, customizing really bad interfaces for the car? Have you heard the latest BMW attempt for voice recognition or talk back? And it will be roughly the same for the life of the purchase. In this day and age, that can't make for a happy customer base.

Auto companies have known for some time that phones do everything better. Period. Pioneer knew this, they have been doing mirroring on Android, with touch, for a few years now on their AppRadio head units. Allowing smart devices to control the car's screen is the best long term solution.

Back to my original point, if you want to hit the biggest number of smartphones for compatibility with your products, and monetization isn't an incentive, you're gonna choose Android. Don't forget, the car, in this scenario, is an accessory ;-)
 
AustinIllini said:
I try not to overreact to keynotes, but Google has taken some major steps to make me think twice about returning to iOS full time. All bets are off but there's a 40% chance I think I stay with my nexus.

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It probably can't be any worse than the other crap on the road.
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It is clear in your post that your choices are very important to you.

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lk400 said:
And then fills your inbox with advertisements for a new car.
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While selling your every driving habit to a host of marketing agents.
 
Who cares, Faildroid blows.

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i.mac said:
It is clear in your post that your choices are very important to you.

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While selling your every driving habit to a host of marketing agents.
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and to his insurance company, using his name, DOB, and location to raise his rates because he sped three times in a quarter.

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sunapple said:
Google: "Google Maps seems to know where everything is."

Suck on that, Apple.
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Meanwhile android has a surge in malware attacks that lead to thousands of deaths...
 
I hate Apple fanboys more than I hate Google fanboys.

And I prefer Apple to Google.
 
ksuyen said:
When Android and Samsung copied Apple,
you and the rest of the world praise "Competition is always good!"

When Apple copied Android,
you and the rest of the world jeer "Apple is playing catch up."

I totally believe we live in a simple world.
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Point me where I have said that!
 
dba415 said:
I hate Apple fanboys more than I hate Google fanboys.

And I prefer Apple to Google.
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Totally agree. The Apple Fanboys take on a religious fervor that reminds me of a mohallah spewing venom. Now it is Apple vs Google. Prior to this it was Apple vs. Microsoft. And before that it was Apple vs IBM.

Maybe Apple and its fanboys need a perceived evil-doer to feel whole.
 
This is good. Competition is great and honestly Google is more open so their implementation will not be bad at all
 
I don't like it when something says "completely voice enabled"

so no buttons, but Google Now isn't perfect either.

Both Siri and Google Now and strong and weak points....These will never be perfect is the short term, and until these are sorted out, regardless of how long it may take.... then to me, its not a complete product.. :p

:)

Estimates pointed out that 5EB of storage would be required for the entire *English* language.

That's allot of data, and that's only English. We ain't got round to the others yet.

Then again, no-one said it HAD to be perfect either...
 
iCar

I think that, if Apple could actually break into the car space enough to make a true iCar, it could be extremely cool.

But, small ventures into it, and partial inroads don't seem as interesting...I guess I'd like to see the entire car operation system be a completely Apple experience.
 
I welcome it. Competition will push both companies to innovate, and the consumer benefits. It's only when one company has a monopoly or they corporate in a duopoly that the consumer loses.

And if you've kept up with your reading, you would know that carplay is essentially screen mirroring: the thinking is done on your phone. I imagine this android option is similar, so car companies should be able to include both since their hardware is basically a dumb touch screen.
 
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