Hasta La Gadget!

Just yesterday Apple announced CarPlay which is basically Apple’s way of integrating iOS into vehicles in a bigger way. It would basically provide vehicles with an interface that they can use to navigate the different features, as well as interact with their phones via Siri by pressing a button on their steering wheel.

The goal is to make driving safe as our smartphones these days do a lot more than just answer calls. Along with the announcement of CarPlay, Apple also announced some of their partners who would be integrating the feature into their vehicles later this year, and one of those partners is Volvo who has since uploaded a video online showing off some of the CarPlay features. (more…)

Volvo Demonstrates Apple’s CarPlay Features In Video original content from Ubergizmo.

While Apple showed off a few screengrabs of its CarPlay in-car iPhone and iPad integration system earlier, we finally have some actual video of it in action. Not surprisingly, it turns your car’s dashboard into a big ‘ol iPhone copilot.

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Apple will announce the first iOS in the Car vehicles with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Audi next week, insiders claim, as the company makes a push to spread the iPhone and … Continue reading

Volvo is a car company that has built its reputation around on safety for the most part. The company is talking a bit about its new in-car experience and that experience revolves around a big touchscreen. I happen to think this is a bad idea for safety.

While touchscreens look cool and modern, anyone who has driven in a vehicle where the physical buttons have been replaced with touch will tell you that touch is not as easy to use while driving as old-fashioned buttons and knobs. With a touch system, you have to take your eyes off the road and look at what you are pressing.

Stealing a page from Tesla, Volvo is using a big tablet-like touchscreen in the center console to replace the buttons and switches we are used to.  The screen is in portrait mode and each section has its own theme with navigation at the top. While the new UI certainly makes for a clean look, usability might suffer.

Perhaps Volvo has figured out how to make its system easy to use without constantly looking at it, we will have to wait and see.

Volvo, the Swedish car manufacturer who has long taken pride in rolling out what many deem to be one of the safest cars in the world, is always at the forefront of innovation and technology to boot. There has also been a fair amount of product placement by Volvo before, including appearing on the silver screen in the Twilight series. We have received word that Volvo’s most recent “human machine interface” will make its debut at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, but it might not be as complicated as what the other competitors would offer. The display itself will be divided into tiles, where one will be able to gain access to navigation, media and vehicle information right on top, while there will be secondary features that include phone and climate controls which are located further down.

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Volvo Human Machine Interface Set For Geneva Debut original content from Ubergizmo.