Underwhelmed by the technology

[kinddog]

I am fully aware that the Model S is far ahead of its competitors in advanced technology and innovation.

HOWEVER,

When I got my car, I was shocked at how little the touchscreen could do.

For instance, the Energy tab. It's just a rather static and elementary app. 5, 15, 30 mile intervals with Instant or Average. Really? That's it? Why isn't there full-motion video graphics? Why isn't there an animated graphical depiction of what's going on with the car?


I hate to say it, but my Prius provides more information about what's going on with its energy systems than the Tesla does....

Another example... Media & Audio - why isn't there an animated, real-time equalizer? that would be cool to see. something like this:

Does anyone agree? Seems that there's a powerful computer on board with a very capable screen and graphics processor, and it's running the equivalent of "Pong". Did they purposely make it very basic and simple so that future software updates will blow our minds?

 

[bonnie]

Patience, grasshopper. Remember those down-the-wire software upgrades you've gotten? Let's give them time to get the big things done first.

 

[ElSupreme]

I hate to say it, but my Prius provides more information about what's going on with its energy systems than the Tesla does....

Well the Tesla sort of has that on the dash. The orange/green energy consumption/regeneration bar provides all the information that the Prius does. Except that the Tesla is way simpler.

I do agree that the 'Energy' screen is quite simple, and as an Engineer I want ALL the data. But honestly I never look at the energy graph anyway.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

If you change to metric then you'll get some other energy info than just the 5, 15 and 30 mi. :tongue:
and you can convert from the 10, 25 and 50 back to the lame US units.

 

[jeff_adams]

Is more eye candy a good thing to have when you are driving? The basics at a glance are probably the safest way to go.

Police cruiser units usually have large tablet screens in them. Are they distracting to officers when they drive? Do they a lot of information or just the basics?

 

[Krugerrand]

It's a car, not World of Warcraft. :wink:

 

[kgb]

The Model S has a display that tells the same info as the prius.

With the prius, when you step on the gas, you see an arrow from the engine to the battery and wheels. When you slow down, you see an arrow go from the wheels to the battery.

On the Model S when you step on the Go pedal, the indicator to the right of the speedometer goes up and turns orange, when you slow down, the indicator goes down and turns green. All done in real time, just like the prius.

 

[AnOutsider]

Is more eye candy a good thing to have when you are driving? The basics at a glance are probably the safest way to go.

Police cruiser units usually have large tablet screens in them. Are they distracting to officers when they drive? Do they a lot of information or just the basics?

This is what I was thinking. Why do I need an equalizer on my 17" touchscreen while driving? Why do I need any animations distracting me? I need glance-and-go information. I feel like I get just about all the info I need from my S, but I will agree that I wish the energy app showed more (perhaps like the original prototype), but give me easy-to-read info, not pointless eye-candy.

 

[J in MN]

I for one DO NOT want animated graphics. The human brain is very sensitive to movements, so animation would just create unwanted distraction.

 

[gsxrex]

I for one DO NOT want animated graphics. The human brain is very sensitive to movements, so animation would just create unwanted distraction.

Just drive with the backup camera on all the time in the upper portion of the display. That'll desensitize you. :biggrin:

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Just drive with the backup camera on all the time in the upper portion of the display. That'll desensitize you. :biggrin:

+ drive backwards and then you can see where you are going in wide angle!
as my wife pukes everywhere :scared:

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

@kinddog, this one was in the Betas before and is surely coming in a future update:

 

[dsm363]

The animations on the Prius aren't really that useful so like the way Tesla has done it. I agree, give them more time to get everything smoothed out with the basics first anyway.

 

[spatterso911]

Police cruiser units usually have large tablet screens in them. Are they distracting to officers when they drive? Do they a lot of information or just the basics?

No tablets, they are mid-sized laptops, mounted on center column. Simple screen, easy to enter info quickly (license plate no, driver license info, names) to access data.

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[Stoneymonster]

@kinddog, this one was in the Betas before and is surely coming in a future update:

View attachment 19989

All of that info is right on the speedometer, minus the HVAC power. I don't want a big fancy thing like that distracting me on the console. What additional information (again, minus HVAC, which I would like to see somewhere) does that provide?

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

All of that info is right on the speedometer, minus the HVAC power. I don't want a big fancy thing like that distracting me on the console.

I agree. But, the Kind Dog wants it to keep up with the Prius

 

[rcc]

+1 on not wanting big distracting graphics. Prius graphics are total overkill.

My first reaction on driving a Prius: "This is a car, not the Starship Enterprise."

HVAC, defrost, etc. power consumption could be a nice thing to see but I only need to see if it I'm right on the edge wrt range.

 

[vfx]

Yeah, lets make the car's information readout look like a 1960's schoolastic film. Or a 70's disco.

Backward thinking dog.

 

[DavidM]

Tesla got it right. What the Prius is lacking is history. If you are trying to determine your rate of usage after having driven 30 minutes on the highway in the rain, what rate of usage are you likely to experience for the next 2 hours? The Prius screen can only show you what is happening in this instant. Not very useful information. I like the less distracting Tesla interface. This is just one of many screens that are easy to navigate, yet, full of information.

 

[artsci]

@kinddog, this one was in the Betas before and is surely coming in a future update:

View attachment 19989

The Chevy Volt has those kind of graphics -- they show when the battery is being charged or discharged and the wheels turn when the car is moving. These are nice graphic gimmicks but frankly I find them totally useless. They get to be a colossal bore after a while.