Infotainment center / apps

[NigelM]

The only times I've used my Roadster manual I was sitting in the car with the manual in one hand and pressing buttons on the screen with the other. Making it an in-car app or pdf would make actually using it pretty difficult.

 

[ryanjm]

I asked. Yes, it will.

Thanks Nigel. I figured Homelink would be in there, but getting confirmation is a relief.

 

[NigelM]

Here's the touchscreen header bar:

And the lower section:

And the dash:

 

[tnawara]

This may have been mentioned in another thread, but it was good to see the visual confirmation of heated front seat controls in the control bar. Here in the Chicago area heated seats are close to a necessity.

 

[tnawara]

@NigelM I just saw in your shots of the control panels (thanks, BTW) that there are some fingerprint smudges on the screen. It's very minor in the photos, but I could see it becoming a significant annoyance after a while if the smudges started to add up. Did anyone who attended the event notice if this was a problem on the betas' screens? I wonder if Tesla will be using an oleophobic coating on the screen like iPhones do.

 

[Mycroft]

No problem. Just keep a microfiber cloth in the glove box to wipe it down occasionally.

 

[tnawara]

No problem. Just keep a microfiber cloth in the glove box to wipe it down occasionally.

Agreed on the microfiber cloth. For comparison, the (relatively) small screen on our family truckster (Ford Flex) gathers smudges pretty easily, but hides it well. I just wipe it down occasionally. For the Model S's 17" screen, particularly with it being the primary input device, I think the wipe down will have to happen more than occasionally.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Agreed on the microfiber cloth. For comparison, the (relatively) small screen on our family truckster (Ford Flex) gathers smudges pretty easily, but hides it well. I just wipe it down occasionally. For the Model S's 17" screen, particularly with it being the primary input device, I think the wipe down will have to happen more than occasionally.

I wonder if it makes sense for Tesla to provide a pull-down screen cover of some sort to protect the screen from dust or whatever else when not in use? Almost like the iPad 2 smart cover. Also, for those getting the pano roof, the sun could hit the screen long enough and hard enough to get the glass screen cooking soon - I've seen my iPad complain very quickly in direct sun that "it has gotten too hot for iPad to operate" or some such thing referring to itself in the third person

 

[mnx]

This may have been mentioned in another thread, but it was good to see the visual confirmation of heated front seat controls in the control bar. Here in the Chicago area heated seats are close to a necessity.

I'm hoping for a heated steerling wheel (at least as an option). It makes driving in cold weather enjoyable!

 

[cinergi]

Sort of related ... I heard from an employee at Santana Row about the intent to make the car smart and learn your habits. E.g. it studies what time you normally get in the car (say, for your commute) and make sure the cabin and the rest of the car is as ready to go as possible when that time arrives. There's a lot of energy going into innovating in this area -- imagine the possibilities!

 

[WhiteKnight]

http://youtu.be/DZaaDSKkagA

(I tried embedding the video but could not figure it out)

Autoblog has a very revealing video on the Infotainment Center + Apps.

Turns out the screen IS multi-touch after all.

 

[W.Petefish]

I'd bet that the storage on the Model S uses a SSD. I ran into a video saying that the center was a nvidia tigra. Maybe they have something like a 256gb SSD back there.

 

[NigelM]

http://youtu.be/DZaaDSKkagA

(I tried embedding the video but could not figure it out)

 

[tdelta1000]

Didnt see an apropriate thread, so i figured id start one.

I chatted with one of the tesla app developers after my test ride, and he had some interesting comments.

On 3g/4g. Right now its 3g. Elon wants 4g but they arent sure they can do it for launch. He also said that if they did launch with 3g, it would be unlikely they could upgrade to 4g through a software update. Apparently its more the hardware involved would be the issue. They are aware that this is a pretty significant potential issue (can being obselete in connection speed quickly) but didnt have a good answer. One option would be to use your cell phone as the source and tether the car to it, but he didnt like that option particularly....called it clunky.

Screen resolution. 1900 x 1200

He also showd a few of is the iphone app they are working on. Seemed pretty slick. Basically anything you can do from the console, you could potentially do on a phone app.

3g. Basic connectivity for diagnostic purchases would be included, but low bandwidth. There would be an option (likely for a yearly cost) for better connectivity.

Nav. Turn by turn nav would be another of those options. Btw, he said its not using google nav for that. The google maps we saw were more of an overview of where the car was, but they would be using something else for turn by turn.

console. I didnt notice any perceptible tilt from the passenger seat. Sceen was easily readable/reachable.

Thats it offhand. Im sure ill remember more later.

The 3G will most likely migrate into 4G or 4G LTE given that the Model S is in the Beta phase. As for the App, is only a matter of time because both the Volt and Leaf were getting the same.

 

[W.Petefish]

4G requires a different radio and software. The 4G radio is also not supported in as many locals as 3G. Look on Clear's coverage map for all of the 4G access locations or at least theirs and sprint's.

 

[Tempus]

The 3G will most likely migrate into 4G or 4G LTE given that the Model S is in the Beta phase. As for the App, is only a matter of time because both the Volt and Leaf were getting the same.

my original point about the 3g was that it CURRENTLY has 3G, and the UI guy i talked to said Elon wants 4G, but he personally wasn't sure they'd get it done in time for release. And then updating afterwards is problematical.

 

[Lloyd]

4G requires a different radio and software. The 4G radio is also not supported in as many locals as 3G. Look on Clear's coverage map for all of the 4G access locations or at least theirs and sprint's.

Yes, but the 4G reverts to 3G when the 4 is not available correct?

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Yes, but the 4G reverts to 3G when the 4 is not available correct?

Only if you have both radio h/w bits in there. Completely different technologies.

 

[W.Petefish]

It still needs that separate radio, unless they come up with a dual band cell transceiver in that short of a time frame.

My phone is an HTC Evo 4G. It has two radios for the cell connection, 3G and 4G.

 

[NigelM]

On a more mundane level, did anyone see/hear where the phone/iPod socket is? I believe I heard no dvd/cd drive also?