In-car Hard Drive

[Todd Burch]

I recently watched the Adobe presentation on developing the UI for the Model S touchscreen. In the prototype interfaces that were in the presentation, I didn't see any UI elements for in-car storage (such as an onboard hard drive) that would be available to the driver. (Maybe I just missed it?)

I expect that the car would have something like a 320 GB hard drive (solid-state) for onboard storage of music and movies...but didn't see a button/tab for it in the UI. (Maybe I just missed it?).

Do you think the car will have onboard storage for this kind of media, or will it only play from something like an iPhone or other portable device? I'm basically expecting an iTunes integrated into the system.

(I'm already working on organizing my MP3s and playlists for the car...gotta do something to kill the time!).

I've got an iPhone, but 16GB isn't enough for my music, much less music + movies. I assume this will be part of the "infotainment" system, but when I didn't notice UI elements for it in the prototype it got me wondering...

 

[tdelta1000]

That may be something that we will not see because every ounce this critical in meeting the stated range goals. On the other hand....maybe a SSD (Solid State Drive) 60Gb drive may fit the bill.

 

[Cobos]

I would say they need a functioning way to store music and video in the system so they have to solve this problem somehow. This is after all a luxury car. How on the other hand is a bit open. Weight wise a 16GB SD memory card should do the trick.

Cobos

 

[dpeilow]

Go for a 32GB micro SD to squeeze out more range :wink:

 

[PopSmith]

Go for a 32GB micro SD to squeeze out more range :wink:

A 32GB MicroSDHC would be nice. With the extremely light weight compared to a SSD, in addition the energy usage is probably lower, that would probably be a better choice.

 

[Lightning Jeff]

I've got an iPhone, but 16GB isn't enough for my music, much less music + movies. I assume this will be part of the "infotainment" system, but when I didn't notice UI elements for it in the prototype it got me wondering...

That's where the 160GB "classic" iPod comes in. It holds all of my 16k+ high bit-rate music tracks with room to spare. I'm not sure having a proprietary system for music storage is the way to go - just let me dock my 'pod and I'll be happy.

 

[Todd Burch]

Reviving my old thread here: Has anyone asked/confirmed whether we can plug a USB hard drive into the Model S for supplying music to the sound system?

Pretty sure you can...just wanted to get verification.

 

[smoothoperator]

Reviving my old thread here: Has anyone asked/confirmed whether we can plug a USB hard drive into the Model S for supplying music to the sound system?

Pretty sure you can...just wanted to get verification.

you may need external power, not sure if the on-board USB ports will have enough juice to power a platter hard disk

 

[shokunin]

you may need external power, not sure if the on-board USB ports will have enough juice to power a platter hard disk

If it can power 1A at 5V for an iphone, it should be able to power a notebook (2.5") hard drive. No way will it power a traditional 3.5" hard drive as it needs 12v for the spindle motor.

 

[kevincwelch]

On the center console, just inferior to the cup holders, there is a cigarette lighter plug thingie. The rep informed me that there will be USB ports located adjacent to this. At the worst, you can have an external HD plugged into the USB and into the cigarette lighter plug. But, this USB bad boy, would probably be sufficient to hold 95% of people's music collections.

 

[AnOutsider]

Would a flash drive or SSD work well? Shouldn't need the power a laptop or desktop drive would.

 

[Jason S]

On the center console, just inferior to the cup holders...

Freudian slip re: center console?

I'm hoping we get the actual GB size of the internal storage before the first car rolls off the line. If it is unreasonably small, I have a couple USB keys that could be perma-posted in the car for music. The X number of songs metric is hopelessly vague imho.

 

[doug]

On the center console, just inferior to the cup holders...

Freudian slip re: center console?

By implication the the cup holders are superior to the "cigarette lighter plug thingie."

In this case, inferior means "situated below," particularly to students of anatomy.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

In this case, inferior means "situated below," particularly to students of anatomy.

Spot on.

Dr. Kevin C. Welch, MD, Maywood, IL - Otolaryngology

Sorry, Dr. Welch for googling you!

 

[spatterso911]

Geez, you guys don't miss a beat!

 

[VolkerP]

oh wait until he starts with posterior, anterior, caudal, cranial, sagittal

 

[kevincwelch]

Spot on.

Dr. Kevin C. Welch, MD, Maywood, IL - Otolaryngology

Sorry, Dr. Welch for googling you!

I knew I should have picked a name like "teslaman101"!

 

[Todd Burch]

This thread is amusing and creepy all at once :biggrin:

Actually my question was focused not so much on the hardware side (flash drive vs. larger external drive) but on whether the touchscreen system, when a drive is plugged in, will notice the music and add it to the list (or as another tab) in the media player.

Again, I assume this is supported...but I don't think anyone's explicitly heard from TM and I don't like assumptions. It seems to me that a lot of detail still isn't out there yet.

I'd also like to hear from the horse's mouth whether we'll be able to play video on the screen...at least when the car is parked.

 

[Zas]

Reviving this thread..

i know we can plug in a standard USB stick which would act like a hard drive, but why not actually have a built in hard drive to transfer music into ?.. it seems only logical that such a car would have this feature as some less techy Audi's already have this .

 

[Todd Burch]

Reviving this thread..

i know we can plug in a standard USB stick which would act like a hard drive, but why not actually have a built in hard drive to transfer music into ?.. it seems only logical that such a car would have this feature as some less techy Audi's already have this .

Model S has one. Access to it has not been written into the software yet. Early adopters! (Although IMHO its capacity is too small).

Merry Christmas all!