On the Application of Automotive Multimedia

In terms of music playback, the multimedia system uses u disk, SD card and other digital products to replace the cassette, CD, and some can even be downloaded directly from the mobile phone online, and then stored in the mobile phone's own hard disk. Huge storage space and the convenient use of digital products, let them deeply loved by car owners.

In fact, when developing multimedia systems, car manufacturers forget one thing, that is no "scene oriented". What is "scene-based"? For example, in the video function, how many people will watch the video in the car? Watching videos should be at home, in front of the computer and TV, not in the car. Similarly, functions such as browsing pictures and watching news online are imposed by the manufacturer for the "functional richness" of their own car multimedia, without considering whether users really need it.

Smartphones to replace cars.

With the rapid development of smart phones, more and more car owners choose to use mobile phones to replace the common functions of car phones. You can simply connect your phone to your car phone via Bluetooth to play music on your phone. In addition, navigation abandoned the navigation that was difficult to use in the factory in favor of the navigation software in the phone.

Another point: the navigation software in the phone is easy to update and has more functions than the original navigation.

mobile map

However, mobile phones also have its limitations. The screen is small and affects navigation when answering and making calls. If you use your phone for a long time, you may lose power. Some auto makers also saw potential demand from users and started developing mapping features for mobile phones. This feature is simply connected to the vehicle's USB port through the phone's data cable, and then maps the phone's screen to the vehicle's touch screen.

Depending on the mobile phone operating system, the mapping effect is also different. The general mobile phone of Android system can realize the two-way operation of mobile phone and car machine, and both the mobile phone and car phone can control the mobile phone; the mobile phone of iOS system can only realize the projection and one-way operation of the mobile phone on the car machine, and the car machine cannot operate。

Although these mobile phone mapping functions, to a certain extent, solve the disadvantages of mobile phone navigation, which can be viewed and guided through the large screen of the mobile phone, but many mobile phones will be stuck after connection and difficult to use, and manufacturers can not solve the problem temporarily.

This simple mapping function is simply to try to copy the phone to the user to the user, but does not take into account the user's habits and scenarios, so there will be various problems in the use process.

Android cars and the CarPlay

When it comes to mobile mapping, it's hard not to mention Android Auto and CarPlay, two mobile system giants: Google and Apple. Strictly speaking, they are not true phone mapping functions, but can be regarded as phone / phone interactive systems.

The Android Auto is not a version of the Android operating system in cars. It's just an interface technology standard that allows Android apps on mobile devices to display on a car's central display, equivalent to adding a channel to Android apps.

Android has its own operation interface, which mainly focuses on the functions related to driving, and weakens the information notification function of the mobile phone. The operation mode is completely through voice operation, so that the driver will not be distracted too much when driving. In addition, it uses powerful Google Maps as navigation, directly displayed on the car's display, without the stagnation of regular phone mapping. But for some reason, the Android Auto cannot currently be launched in China, and foreign models with the system will be removed after the introduction.

Start with the "magic" CarPlay, similar to the Android Auto. It is not a car or car app running iOS. It is a software + hardware solution that takes full advantage of the phone's computing power and the network connectivity.

In fact, CarPlay only retains some of the main functions of mobile phones, such as music, navigation, phone, Siri, etc., and cannot apply all the applications in the mobile phone to the car. CarPlay operation can also be completed by voice, including reading text messages. The design is also designed to prevent mobile phones from affecting drivers' safe driving. But in China, the CarPlay navigation uses the iPhone's own Amap, with only simple navigation functions, which is also the result of Apple's compromise to survive in the Chinese market.

To be honest, both Android Auto and CarPlay are just a transitional product, but it's different from simple phone mapping. They consider the user's use environment, eliminate the redundant functions, and only retain the useful functions that can be operated by voice when driving, initially achieving the "environment-oriented". Currently, only they are the products closest to the user's habits. However, they are not entirely in-car multimedia systems, because they are still dominated by mobile phones.