Toyota and Android Auto

As a programmer who modified software as a career, the lack of source code to Entune will hinder modification, replacement will be much more practical. Some time back $700 was quoted for replacement AutoPlay head units. You could plan on a similar cost.

I use a Nexus 7 with Torque and Triplog personally.

Torque — OBD2 Performance and Diagnostics for your Vehicle

TripLog - Android Mileage Tracking App

 

I can only speculate that a Japanese company would want to develop the product they already spent a lot of time and resources to create in the first place, with their partners DENSO and HARMAN. I think it would be a drastic change to jump ship at this point.

SCH-R530M ?

 

Its always about money first. In this case I'm sure its many millions involved. Toyota runs a lead time on this sort of thing spanning several years - meaning that the technology is years old before it hits the street. I think a company is wise not to leap before seeing how things shake out.

In this case, some companies are letting their marketing departments drive. Toyota lets the engineers drive. Expect to see some of those other cars being released with FUBAR systems just because they want to say they have Android.

 

I'd expect that most people would see an advantage to having bleeding edge technology in a car. I just don't see it happening anytime soon in a Toyota. Nor would I embrace that as having more value than having a car that simply gets me from A to B 100% of the time. My point being that there's a ton of technology in a Prius, and the head unit UI is the least of it.

 

In that a great GPS unit can be had for less than $150, why the $1500 value? (Yes I hate the Entune too.)

 

As someone who had Android and went to iPhone I can tell you this. I would rather have an iOS in my car than Android. iOS has rarely ever crashed on me. Android did it all the time. My partner uses android phones and he's got issues with his phone crashing and needing to be rebooted on a regular basis. He's even had to re-install the AndoridOS a couple times because something "glitched".

I think I would much prefer not to have to worry about driving down the road and my car's in dash system crashing all the time and causing distractions.

 

Personally, I don't seem to have much trouble knowing where I am or where I'm going. So the NAV system has very little value.

 

I use it on my commute. It usually gives me an alternate route when there is an accident. Of course, the damn thing likes to take me through the sketchy areas sometimes. I swear it's going to get me shot one of these days.

 

Perhaps with the severe fragmentation of the Android OS, this is an issue with acceptance. IOS users generally have 90% on the most recent OS version within weeks or months. With Android, it's virtually impossible to get that high an update percentage, due to either device capability or more likely, the carrier limitations imposed. For developers, the fragmentation is a nightmare to work with.

 

Admittedly I don't fully understand Android Auto (tried and abandoned the OS after 3 years on a phone).

But using my limited knowledge, I suggest a penalty (as described by Koji) for supporting Android Auto. I even view Entune to be a negative. Why? Because I don't I want an automaker spending millions to support the next greatest automation thing, be it Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry (now fading), etc. That tech is changing to fast given the timeline I use for car ownership. I recently sold a 1975 vehicle. Should I keep my Prius just as long, I wonder if Android will be around in 2050. I prefer car makers fund automotive technology research. What I would pay bonus bucks for would be an ISO standard interface through an OBDIII type connection. Then let the Alpine/Pioneer/etc crowd deliver solutions that could be a simple pull & replace for tech in the dash.

I suggest anyone wanting tech in their car today to install and maintain it themselves. And it isn't all that hard to do - cruise by the mp3car.com website and see what people are running in their cars. I have a dual core Intel processor driving a 7" touch screen in a 2002 Toyota that can handle GPS w/NavTeq maps, weather displays, music, video, gauges and controls, has WiFi, 4G cell dongle, etc.

 

How good is your Japanese? The engineers working on this will be in Japan. Toyota's only presence on PriusChat is occasional promotional events by a US marketing arm.

 

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start jumping on Toyota japan forum and emailing Toyota japan will be a start. Do it on their Jap facebook page if they have social media. Good luck!

if they do get back to U. Please update and translate!