"Kookanoodles" (Kookanoodles)
03/04/2014 at 21:33 • Filed to: Renault Twingo, Geneva motor show, Infotainment systems
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"Kookanoodles" (Kookanoodles)
03/04/2014 at 21:33 • Filed to: Renault Twingo, Geneva motor show, Infotainment systems | 4
| 12 |
Yes, the new Renault Twingo !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and that's fantastic news. But let's not allow this novelty to distract us from what is, in my mind, the third-generation Twingo's best innovation : its central touchscreen, or rather lack thereof.
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Allow me to explain : you may have missed it, but in the various press photos that Renault released of their new city car, some models have a central infotainment touchscreen equipped with Renault's own R-Link interface, and some... don't. I assume these are the cheapest ones. But here's the real twist : instead, those models have a conventional radio, and a smartphone clippy thing.
What's the big deal with that, you ask ? Well, included in the price of your new Twingo will come a free app, compatible with every smartphone out there (unless you still have a Symbian device, in which case I have bad news for you) that connects with your car and basically replicates the most important functions you'd get in a conventional infotainment system.
This is nothing short of fantastic. I won't shock you if I tell you that most of these proprietary systems installed by car makers the world over are cumbersome, complicated, laughably slow and unresponsive when compared to the latest smartphones and tablets, and just generaly poorly executed.
For all those who won't be able to afford an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Renault's solution seems to me like the right way to go : instead of a touchscreen with bad software, and hardware you won't ever be able to update, you'll just have everything you need in your smartphone, and everyone has a smartphone these days (Symbian doesn't count). The touchscreen will be responsive, and easy to use because you'll be familiar with it. And you'll be able to update it. Need a bigger screen, more memory, or fancy a change of brand ? Why, you can't do that with most infotainment systems, but you sure can here : just get a different smartphone.
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This recent race to fit each and every car under the sun with the obligatory 7-inch touchscreen has resulted in a big mess of proprietary systems with user interfaces that'd make any tech company designer blush with embarrassment. Renault have found the best way to fix this : get rid of it all. We've all had everything we need in our pockets for years.
Pictures : Renault via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
Bandit
> Kookanoodles
03/04/2014 at 21:40 |
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iPhone 3? Why?
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Kookanoodles
> Bandit
03/04/2014 at 21:41 |
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Budget cuts ?
The Transporter
> Kookanoodles
03/04/2014 at 21:44 |
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You magnificent bastards!
RotaryLover
> Kookanoodles
03/04/2014 at 22:35 |
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And we won't get this car in Canada...I'm gonna go to bed and cry...
TownaceNoah
> Bandit
03/04/2014 at 22:36 |
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Maybe to deliberately show that the car is backwards-complatible? You won't be forced to change/update your phone because you're leasing a different car?
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TownaceNoah
> RotaryLover
03/04/2014 at 22:38 |
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But we get the Micra!
(goes to bed and cries)
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RotaryLover
> TownaceNoah
03/04/2014 at 22:46 |
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DrJohannVegas
> The Transporter
03/04/2014 at 23:48 |
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I READ YOUR TEXTS!
farginicehole69
> Kookanoodles
03/05/2014 at 22:18 |
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This was done almost 5 years ago by Smart, the app looks almost identical.
http://www.smartusa.com/Downloads/ipho…
The Smart cradle was something like $600, but you didn't need it to use the app. I still use the app today in my S2000.
Mr-Clutch
> Kookanoodles
03/05/2014 at 22:48 |
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I am not putting that thing nowhere near my ear hole. Or is that the mic, wait I so am confused how do you make phone calls with this.
Malforus
> TownaceNoah
03/06/2014 at 08:57 |
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That was my thought.
Its brilliant that a company would accommodate many more formats rather than saying "YOU NEED TO HAVE A PHONE YOUNGER THAN THE CURRENT MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY."
Mike_Smith
> Kookanoodles
03/06/2014 at 13:26 |
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How does the control/audio interface from the phone to the head unit work? Will it support both Apple MDI and also USB (or Samsung's MHL), etc.? Or Bluetooth? Or something else e.g. 4-contact 3.5 mm plug, etc.?