Prius iPhone app is....

Yes, I know the PC'ers seem to get confused when something is not targeted to them. That's why I was asking who the intended audience is supposed to be. I think it's hard to give constructive criticism without knowing that little detail.

 

OK, but does the iPhone do anything sane while driving a car?

According to what I have read, the iPhone is an integrated cellular telephone and media player developed and marketed by Apple. The device combines the main functions of several popular electronic gadgets in a single device, with a shared interface and integration between them. In addition to its primary function as a cellular telephone, the iPhone includes a music and video player, digital camera, PDA, and an internet communications suite.

Iphone, and other cell phone "improvements" - if used while driving - just puts the caller, and everyone else on the road near them, at risk of a fatal collision.

If used while NOT driving, why waste your time? Your PC will do a much better job.

 

Well it all seems a bit of a storm in a teacup if you ask me. Doug from Toyota apparently told us all that this would be an app for owners and it wasn't. Some are sorely disappointed and say the "ad app" sucks but that's no big deal and certainly not to be taken to heart by Doug and Toyota. On the contrary, it shows the strength of feeling and passion people have for their Prius cars.

For Prius owners, maybe it does suck. (incidentally we don't have that expression in the UK and not sure where it derives from but I have my ideas ..) but then, as pretty much everybody has noted, Prius owners were clearly not the intended audience so that's why some feel "let down" particularly after the whole app release was built up.

I think it is great that somebody from Toyota should be participating in the forum and we should thank Doug for making the effort. I just guess he will be extra careful next time he dares to raise our hopes !

I too had crazy ideas that the iPhone might be able to interact directly with some of the controls (audio, GPS etc). A nearest Prius dealer tool with the GPS on the iPhone would be cool, a way to note your mileage and fuel consumption would be good,

Sounds like building a nice Prius app would be a good project for someone and yes, I think if the app worked well and did a few nifty things, people would be prepared to spend $20. I would.

 

GPS. Satellite radio. Music. All things we can get from the iPhone while it's moving. Not that any of this or any of your post is remotely related to the topic at hand (derailer!!!) kidding

 

I vote for an ipod app that is a consumer friendly version of Toyota TechStream, allowing you to sync new TPMS sensors, reset oil lights, check error codes, and any other basic computer maintenance/settings that a car owner should be able to do without shelling out money to the dealer.

And while I'm at it... make replacement keys cheaper please. Like $50 or something.

 

Let me take this chance to embrace civility by saying if I offended then I apologize. Trust me, I do not wish to champion non-civility. In regards to my comments, I’d say that threads can take on a life of their own. At the time I posted my response my feeling was that what many of the responses were demonstrating was disappointment and frustration. Sometimes very plainly and bluntly but for the most part I did not perceive open hostility. It was mostly immediate reaction.
Given recent political, athletic and media events the "Buzz Word" question of the day is "Where has Our Civility Gone?". People are looking at outbursts in joint sessions, tantrums on tennis courts, and rudeness on award shows and asking outloud what has happened to our civility? I go back a decade to the Columbine Shootings. A pure, horrific tragedy by any measure. In the wake of that tragedy the media came alive with experts, pundits, and opinion and the question of the moment was "What has happened to our Children? Why are they so violent?". You had every 20/20, 60 minutes segment offering opinions and views as to what had happened to make our youth psychotic lovers of violence. I remember watching a round table discussion with members of the media. One of them was Quentin Tarentino, fresh from his success from Pulp Fiction. As they went around the table everyone said the popular things. Parents, Video Games, Television, Media, Movies, Music,....a thousand demons all aiding the violent poisoning of our youth. What I remember was Tarentinos comments. When the discussion reached him he said he liked violence. I remember most of the table looking shocked. It wasn’t the popular thing to say, or admit at the time. But his point was that humanity is violent, that our evolutionary success and survival to an extent has depended on us being creatures of violence.
I don’t bring this up to re-awaken wounds or spur new debate, only to point out that I feel the same way when people ask where has our civility gone? In my opinion humanities civility is a very thin veneer. I think it wise and civilized of us, if we realize this truth.
Again I do not wish to champion non -civility. I think the wonderful thing about humanity is that we can strive to reach beyond reaction and instinct to attempt to be civilized.
Now that I’ve droned on and on, and probably offended more people, I’d like to say that specificly in regards to this thread and my response, if we are all friends here at Prius Chat, then who else but to our friends can we say "that sucks" and really mean it, and have it not be hostile but only honest? It’s your best friends that will tell you when you really blew it, it’s your best friends that will feel open enough to say it sucks. While blunt, perhaps uncouth, I stand by my statement that it is not "necessarily" mean.
Agree or disagree with me, that’s fine. But if it comes down to Doug Coleman and The Prius Team becoming less involved with Prius Chat then I would plead to Mr. Coleman and The Prius Team to simply ignore me. I sense for a lot of Prius Chat faithful, The Prius Team is almost a defining mythical voice. I would hate to think anything I posted offended to the point where Prius Chat lost such a valuable resource of support and information.
So come on! Tell me I’m long winded and I suck. I won’t think any less of you, just stick around as a friend. If occasionally lines of civility get crossed and broken? I think we can emerge stronger.

 

The built-in Maps app will find the nearest Toyota dealer for you (just type "toyota" and search) and there are several full-featured apps for tracking mileage and fuel consumption (Gas Cubby, Road Trip for example).

 

That's one long-winded post and you suck!

Don't worry, they'll find out either way from the scathing reviews of their app on iTunes very soon.

It just strikes me as funny that Doug wouldn't know that this app wasn't intended for Prius owners based on the app descriptions alone on iTunes. Guess he didn't read it or otherwise he'd know it's nothing more than advertisement. Kind of like a boss producing a subordinate's report without reading it first and coming under fire for what the report contains.

 

That's possibly one point of an error in assumptions. We group here together as having a common interest, not necessarily friends. Given the various religious, ethic, and political backgrounds represented here there's a good chance many of us here couldn't stand each other if we worked in the same office building. I've had some petty personal attacks and comments made towards me while here on PC. They were not made by "friends" at all. Just yesterday I deleted a comment I had shot back at someone that was less than friendly. I initially felt the need to defend myself, but as I saw no need to pursue that thread when it obviously was a personal comment I simply walked away. I totally quit GreenHybrid due to one guy that was downright nasty.

I guess the point is we can at least be friendly to each other.

 

In the spirit of being constructive...

I understand the app is not for Prius owners and many of us would love to have an App that did all of the many recommendations here. I think with Safety Connect now out an iPhone App that mapped where your car was sitting at any given moment would be fun (although Toyota would not be the first). Maybe Toyota will want to do develop Apps like that, maybe they won't. Maybe the marketplace will develop something along such lines???

What I do think is constructive here, among a group of general Prius enthusiasts, is that criticism on PC is better than what will happen on iTunes. As an enthusiast, I don’t want the Prius, and things closely associated with it, getting poor public reviews for the wrong reasons. I would imagine Toyota wanted to develop an App for iPhone owners because they want to attract that audience to the car. In my opinion this App will have the opposite effect as it will likely get very poor reviews on iTunes (too late) with no moderator to remind people about the value of being constructive. What you don’t want to read in a review on iTunes is: “If the 2010 Prius is no more an advanced Auto than this is an advanced App, who would buy it?†This App is not a release from some individual developer like me working on some silly project of interest only to a few. This is Toyota, this is Prius. The App represents them. In my opinion, it does not do so well and no App (in my opinion), is better than a poorly reviewed one.

Just like Prius owners, iPhone owners expect a level of functionality in Apps -- even free ones. Heck the many flashlight Apps do something useful. Maybe others on PC can point me to another App in the story from the manufacturer that is effectively ONLY an ad for a product without some ability to order it, find where to get it, see a menu/selection of offerings. Some functionality. If I’m wrong on that, then show me said App has been well reviewed. I won’t be wrong on that (I stand ready to eat crow if I’m proved wrong).

Doug (and others from Prius Marketing). Thank you for participating here, I hope you find it useful to hear what enthusiast are talking about as we find it useful to have your insights here. I hope that what you have heard, if not what you have felt, is a concern that the App has missed the mark given the standards iPhone users have come to expect, and not just for current owners. I think you should consider that useful to hear here before its heard among potential buyers.

Note: My analysis and words above regarding this App are my own opinions based on my assessment of App reviews in the store of which I am frequently tracking, but still my opinion. I also think Toyota is ill served by its current advertising campaign for the Prius in the US so disagreeing with me seems to be the broad consensus at Toyota.

 

I think civility is the art of saying or discussing something unpleasant or controversial in a pleasant manner and without personal attacks. In another recent thread, a poster posted what he thought was correct information on a subject, and then 2 other posters chimed in to correct him. Except they didn't just say "Gee, I think you're wrong because of this other information...". Instead, they felt the need to add personal attacks, essentially telling the poster he was an idiot and should have done a better search and/or read some of the prior posts more carefully. Why would that person ever post again or come back to be insulted again? Why couldn't the same point be made in a more gentle manner? Noone wants to be bombarded by that kind of unpleasantness. That's why politics is banished to a dark hidden corner of this board.

The fact that Danny, efusco and the other moderators have worked hard to maintain civility on this board is what gives it its sense of community, makes it far more desirable than most other online communities, and encourages people like Doug Coleman to participate and provide important information.

I don't mind spirited debate and a bit of bombast. When conversing with that type of personality, you just push back a little and it all evens out. However, everyone should remember that it is difficult to convey nuance in this setting, which is why using the smilies is sometimes useful. As someone in another thread said, you need to stop and think about how you would say something if that person were sitting right in front of you. Humor and loving kindness are wonderful tools in this context! Note that there's no lack of spirited debate on this board, despite the general tone of civility (at least compared to most online communities).

To Doug I would just say get a good nights sleep and hug someone you love, then come back another day. I didn't really see any personal attacks in this thread, although there was a fair bit of unnecessary bombast and unrealistic expectations. I really appreciate PriusTeam's participation. You can tell they really love their work and love working for Toyota. That says something good about Toyota and its civility and work culture. Thanks to efusco for steering things in a positive direction. It made the thread much more useful, entertaining and educational.

 

" I'll counter you support of lack of civility with the comment that context matters. "

Just to clarify, I did say more than once that I do not wish to champion non-civility. I am not in support of a lack of civility. I agree with you that context matters and also timing. Not to harp, on what I really feel is not that big of an issue one way or another, but again when I first posted, what I felt I was reading in the majority of the threads were first reactions and responses. Some quite blunt but the majority I felt not really meant to be taken personally.

Would it be "nicer" if some of the first reactions were as the headline on the first page now reads "I am underwhelmed by the new App"...certainly it would sound nicer and be more civil sounding than saying...I think the app sucks and is a waste of time...but ultimately the disappointment the message is conveying is the same.

My point being, I can't speak for every single post, or the attitude of every single poster, but overall I felt I was reading honest reaction, some of it very blunt but honest reaction to the App, and most I think was not meant to be taken personally by anyone.

If it becomes a tidal wave of whining, or people start to beat a dead horse is it a good choice to remind people to try and be constructive? Certainly.

We may not all be friends here. But as has been pointed out this is generally a very civil and intelligent forum which is paramount to it's success.

The reaction by yourself, Doug Coleman and others is in of itself indicative of what is right about this forum. How many other forums would people even care to discuss whether lines of civility are being crossed?

So carry on. Again if I offended, I apologize. I do not think you are a Prius Team suck up, if you will give me the benefit of the doubt that I am not in support of a "grunt and slobber" forum.

Now if you will forgive me, I'm going in search of my angel of my better nature to give it a dope slap.

 

This thread sucks.

 

I'm so over this thread- I'm going back to Doodle Jump.

 

My understanding is that the iPhone is not very popular in Japan - they don't generally care for phones that require syncing to PCs. I doubt the Prius has many (or any) hooks for external devices like phones built into it's "OS" so to speak. Diagnostic gear yes, but phones? Seems unlikely. Plus considering development times etc I wonder if the iPhone was even around by the time computer systems and features were locked for manufacture.

If I am wrong it seems either Toyota or third parties will be able to provide a more pragmatic app for us iPhoners sometime soon.

 

The technology is all there. iPhone programs exist that can communicate with OBDII, etc. The problem with the Prius app was a complete lack of imagination. They took existing content and just dumped it onto the iPhone. This is the same reason why after 2 years other phone manufacturers still can't make a phone that compares to the iPhone. They can try and try to copy it but they fail at imagining something new and innovative.