Hinrichs thoughts on the future of MyFordTouch

[mackinaw]

From today's Detroit News:

 

New York — Ford Motor Co.’s Americas chief Joe Hinrichs said Tuesday that the automaker is working to improve its MyFord Touch infotainment system — the focus of many consumer complaints — and suggested Ford could unveil a system to eventually replace it. “There are software limitations with the the current system that we want to break through so that in the future we can offer more capability,” Hinrichs told reporters at a forum here ahead of the New York International Auto Show. “Like anything with technology, there’s a lot of evolution in capability, speed, memory.” At the forum, Hinrichs suggested the company may take a dramatic step. “We said we’re going to lead in this space,” Hinrichs said. “We’re not standing still. We’ll eventually have something to say on this.”

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140415/AUTO0102/304150096#ixzz2yzC1DyUP

Edited April 15, 2014 by mackinaw

[jinx8402]

Hmm could that software limitation be due to using an antiquated MS embedded system? Me thinks so .

[Moosetang]

Just so long as they don't neglect the hardware. Ford's touch screens and processors have not impressed and have not improved at the pace I had hoped. The mobile device market is fueling an explosion of good quality hardware, there's no reason for Ford products to use hardware that feels like a middling ATM.

[Tboneguy]

Whenever problems with MyFordTouch/Sync are discussed there's a lot of Microsoft bashing. Much/most of the issues are with implementation and 3rd party code. Want proof? How about the Fiat/ChryslerDodge Uconnect system which is highly praised? Or maybe the Nissan Leaf interactive information hub, or even Kia's UVO system?

 

Here's reference info.

 

www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/auto.aspx

[RichardJensen]

I wonder if Borg knows that UConnect is MSFT based.

[akirby]

The 2 things that are most wrong with MFT are named BSquare and Flash. There might be some limitations in the OS and hardware but I don't think those were the biggest problems.

 

Fortunately it appears they're going to fix all 4 of those issues with the next version.

[NickF1011]

Just so long as they don't neglect the hardware. Ford's touch screens and processors have not impressed and have not improved at the pace I had hoped. The mobile device market is fueling an explosion of good quality hardware, there's no reason for Ford products to use hardware that feels like a middling ATM.

 

I don't think we should ever expect in-car systems to be upgraded as quickly or as often as the mobile device market. There's just too much to them and too little incentive for such a rapid changeover. They will take larger leaps between upgrades, but I don't think we should expect the same kinds of gradual improvements that we see annually in the mobile market.

[akirby]

The hardware in a cell phone or tablet only lasts a few years. In a car it has to last twenty years or longer. In extreme temperatures.

[jinx8402]

Not only that, when thinking resistive vs capacitive technology for the screen, resistive is seen as the lesser. And initially, I was a little upset over this fact when first researching my Fusion and buying it. However, after winter was over I was glad they went this way. Driving with gloves it would be impossible to use a capacitive screen without going and purchasing gloves specifically for that.

 

And I wasn't intentionally bashing MS in my above post. While it does come to the software written on top of the OS, having an old antiquated system will limit you to what you can do.