What's with this fixation about 10 year old tablets?
The tablet thing was simply an analagy, I had already said about my thread regarding using my smartphone as a digital dash (post
#20 ) (which was
https://www.fiatforum.com/leisure-lounge/316165-better-dashboard.html) and
"I imagine there would be some collaberation between the tablet (BTW, I say 'tablet' but
imagine what will be used will be the auto industry equivalent)..."
Yeah, what a great idea, let's all dust off our old spectrum to run the car!
The car would come fitted with the 'dash' (OK, not calling it a tablet anymore)
The 'dash' is preconfigured to your car & only your car - in much the same way as a keyfob & key etc are programmed to your car.
So, when you sell the car, the 'dash' is sold with it.
When you buy a new car, it comes with a new 'dash'.
If it breaks during the meanwhile, a new 'dash' would simply be configured to your car via the barcodes in your handbook (Or similar - much like the keys & fobs at the moment)
The new 'dash' will be able to
display all the crap as shown in the image http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...rd-lights.html
But will be configurable - to a degree.
It might have some internet capabilities - perhaps to stream music from your cloud box thingy or internet radio - BUT NOT to watch driving porn or play angry call of bird duty.
It will probably have built in satnav app (maybe via a one-off fee to your fave satnav company or free android (Or similar) satnav app.
It might have auto emergency call in case of accident/breakdown (iirc, one of my old dashcams had this function - bluetooth to phone & auto call from G sensor info - had to shut that one off as it flashed up over every pothole:bang:.
Also, you talk about the price of a new tablet just to get your car going, how many people lose or break their keys & end up paying hundreds for replacement?
If most/all manufacturers went this route, the tab- sorry, 'dash' would be cheap as chips - you can pick up an android tablet for around £50 with the latest operating system, faster processors are a touch dearer.
It might be that a breakdown company could 'loan' a new 'dash', which would get you home. You could prove car ownership by paying for the rental with your credit card/pin number & this rental 'dash' would only allow you to see basic info - speed, fuel, indicators, fault codes.
And as for "carrying a great big tablet around..." Would manufacturers not utilise all that space they have just gained - by taking out all the old clocks, the radio etc -
to create a secure 'cubby' wherein the 'dash' can be stored on a pivoting mount? As you walk away from the car, the fob goes out of range, the cubby closes & locks & the alarms set (or something like that).