NickF1011 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) Too bad, considering the Z10 I have and the Z30 I've used are excellent products. I also think the market is flooded with product so it's easier to squeeze some distributors. Eh, my limited exposure to the Z10 was decent. But aside from the BES apps, I find any recent Android or iPhone to be nicer and more intuitive to use. Their new products are just a day late and a dollar short. And then how long will it be until those ones are replaced? The Galaxy 5 was just unveiled and the iPhone 6 is just around the corner. Edited February 26, 2014 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 To the poster that commented the execs all use blackberrys and this decision may be related, I would comment--the leadership team will no longer be using blackberry in the next month. Ford IT top brass announced the company will no longer support the blackberry enterprise server for corporate email. This seems incompatible with the mytouch decision and their current / future partnership with RIM. iOS and android are clearly inferior went it comes to email so this decision baffled me. Once again - the underlying O/S has NOTHING to do with retail phone or other products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan1 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 "Ford could make the switch from Microsoft to BlackBerry and its QNX operating system this year or next. QNX, acquired by BlackBerry in 2010, has quickly begun replacing the Windows operating system as a popular choice for in-car automobile software." -- Which vehicle will get it first and when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwolson Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Two comments; Re "likely something that will be snatched up in the liquidation by a competitor when they finally fold". I expect the Blackberry people maybe set the company up for a sale by selling off the attractive pieces. Who will buy the QNX piece? Good question, but maybe an infotainment company wishing for a piece of the huge car market. Re: who cares about the OS. Magazine writers and people who don't understand it's the user interface which counts and compatible apps. End users care about the user interface and apps. They don't care about HTML 5. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Alright, alright. Enough chatter about someone who isn't even here...errr...posting here at least. As for the software, whatever works. Automakers switch up suppliers all the time. That is a pretty broad brush statement ! First, most infotainment devices, prior to Sync and MFT, were purchased as "black boxes". In some case, there was "joint development" on chassis electronics between Ford and suppliers (especially in antilock brake/traction/sway control) were Ford has dealt with multiple suppliers simultaneously ! US Powertrain software and software development tools were 100% insourced until after 2001. EU outsource insource and outsource powertain software over the years and is now out of gasoline software development. US Powertrain software is currently a combination of primarily insourced and some outsourced code. Switching suppliers has been painful, at least at the engineering level, something that seems to have been lost on middle/upper level management. In one recent case, insourcing the majority of one Powertrain software application has resulted in saving Ford millions of dollars. Edited February 27, 2014 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 US Powertrain software And what does powertrain software have to do with Sync/MFT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) And what does powertrain software have to do with Sync/MFT? Not sure. I was speaking mainly about suppliers of infotainment and audio packages. Most large automakers already have several across their lineups. I'm just projecting that down the road these more complex infotainment packages like MFT, CUE, etc will probably become more simple to implement into different vehicles than the current batch. Just like automakers now often use multiple audio suppliers (even within the same vehicle lines), I could see the same happening with infotainment systems in the future. Edited February 27, 2014 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) http://www.neowin.net/news/ford-microsoft-and-windows-might-still-be-used-for-next-gen-sync Conspiracy theory 1: The 'anonymous sources briefed on the matter' were RIM execs who distorted Ford's RFP in order to enhance their company's profile/stock price. Conspiracy theory 2: Ford execs are extremely irritated with what RIM did, and this may affect Ford's decision process. Edited February 27, 2014 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 And, to those who suggest that you can't take Ford execs' words at face value-----------------the same criticism applies with even greater force to anonymous sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) Theory number 3: Ford has chosen QNX but they haven't told Microsoft yet. Been there. Done that. About 6 months ago as a matter of fact. (not with any of these companies) Edited February 28, 2014 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Theory number 3: Ford has chosen QNX but they haven't told Microsoft yet. Been there. Done that. About 6 months ago as a matter of fact. (not with any of these companies) I doubt that. If Ford had closed the info gathering process, why wouldn't they say as much? I mean, if you're going to lie to the press, why would you lie about something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I doubt that. If Ford had closed the info gathering process, why wouldn't they say as much? I mean, if you're going to lie to the press, why would you lie about something like that? Because you're trying to protect an existing business relationship with Microsoft. There could also be financial implications with that contract. Or maybe you're renegotiating your desktop/laptop/office software licensing arrangement. Or maybe Microsoft asked them not to announce it yet so as not to affect investor's confidence. Then again - maybe it was just a premature assumption/conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Because you're trying to protect an existing business relationship with Microsoft. There could also be financial implications with that contract. Or maybe you're renegotiating your desktop/laptop/office software licensing arrangement. Or maybe Microsoft asked them not to announce it yet so as not to affect investor's confidence. Then again - maybe it was just a premature assumption/conclusion. Announcing that you have solicited proposals from multiple companies seems to be effectively equivalent to saying that you are evaluating received proposals from multiple companies as regards the considerations you mention. In both instances you are effectively announcing that the next vendor may not be Microsoft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Announcing that you have solicited proposals from multiple companies seems to be effectively equivalent to saying that you are evaluating received proposals from multiple companies as regards the considerations you mention. In both instances you are effectively announcing that the next vendor may not be Microsoft. And I can almost guarantee that's already happened and all the vendors are aware. That doesn't mean they've announced the winner to all of the vendors. I'm just saying that we do this all the time (Fortune 50 company). We have an internal evaluation process, pick a vendor but we don't tell the other vendors that the contest is over right away due to strategic and/or financial reasons. Sometimes we don't even tell the winning vendor to give us more leverage in negotiating discounts, etc. I'm not saying this is definitely what happened, but it's certainly a likely scenario. I haven't seen any insiders deny the QNX selection which leads me to believe it's a done deal just not ready to be publicly announced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 http://www.neowin.net/news/ford-microsoft-and-windows-might-still-be-used-for-next-gen-sync Said Pim van der Jagt Managing Director of the Ford Research Center for Aachen Germany, Ford Motor Co. Half way around the world from Dearborn !! And SYNC/MFT are far from being "Research: projecys !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Theory: The New Microsoft CEO is going to announce that they are restructuring the whole company, the closing of the Auto unit was going to be included in that announcement. With SEC rules they can't comment about that even though Microsoft has told Ford they are no longer to support auto as that could be considered inside information. I wonder if there will be a new of Sync that is all QNX based even for existing vehicles. Ford has said that there will be a major update coming this fall to add functionality to the system, wonder if that is when it all goes QNX based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I haven't seen any insiders deny the QNX selection One insider has denied it on the record. That should suffice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 One insider has denied it on the record. That should suffice. Once again you're confusing what's happening internally with what's being officially announced. In the other thread it was pointed out that Microsoft may have already told Ford that they're getting out of the auto O/S business under NDA and they don't want that to be publicly announced yet for regulatory and/or strategic/financial reasons. In that case Ford has no choice but to publicly announce that they're still doing evaluations and have not made a selection yet. This happens with vendor contracts and partnerships all the time, you just don't usually hear about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) If you're going to dismiss an on-the-record denial with the "of course, that's what they have to say" line of reasoning, then what rational basis do you have for believing the original report? Edited February 28, 2014 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I have an independent confirmation of QNX that did not come from the media or an "unnamed source". That's not 100% guaranteed but it's a credible source. Either they chose QNX and just haven't announced it publicly yet (and aren't ready to do so) OR They've chosen QNX internally at this point but they're leaving the door open to Microsoft to make a new bid Both are plausible. What is not plausible is internal reports from multiple sources that they're using QNX when they aren't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) I have an independent confirmation of QNX How interesting......... Care to elaborate? Edited February 28, 2014 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) I just hope its as well designed as their phones with MILLIONS of the smallest possible buttons that can only be read by Steve Austin and pressed with fingers no larger than Tinkerbells...... Edited February 28, 2014 by Deanh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I have an independent confirmation of QNX that did not come from the media or an "unnamed source". That's not 100% guaranteed but it's a credible source. If that's the source I think it is, I can corroborate what was said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I have an independent confirmation of QNX that did not come from the media or an "unnamed source". That's not 100% guaranteed but it's a credible source. Hmmm, he/she is still unnamed to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Wescoent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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