Was thinking about the integration of the phone into the TL.. would have been nice if they could take advantage of the wireless data such as that on the Treo 600 of mine, and then create apps you could store such as "movie times" or "weather" that it could query from the phone's data connection.. or even have a browser that would load any website.

Ahh.. the possibilities.. wonder if it can be hacked

 

Wow... you talk too far away . BT HFL is just a start, I bet Honda/Acura will figure out something better sooner or later.

 

i agree....it's not far off

 

kevin922, here's my thoughts:

It's pretty far off - hopefully never. If a manufacturer is crazy enough to implement this, there had better be tons of interlocks to ensure that this functionality isn't usable while the car is in the "Run" mode.

This would be far more dangerous than putting a DVD movie display in view of the driver, which is insane enough.

I'm not trying to be a party-pooper. It would be a cool thing for someone to implement. I just don't want to be driving on the same road with somebody who has this in their car.

 

Well I think the logic applies to the NAV system.. they will probably put a disclaimer, but who are they to be the one to "enforce" state laws, etc.. that is what our tax dollars are for. A similar snafu of this was when Adobe implemented logic in their photoshop software to detect when you were scanning money, and it disallowed it.

They seem to forget that there are other legitimate reasons to scan money than counterfiting.

They are already implementing "real time data" for the nav with the real time traffic data, why not implement real time data other ways? You could still easily control this with your voice -- say "movies" then say your zip code..

 

How do you set up your bluetooth phone to your 2004 TL?

 

I don't because the treo600 doesn't support bluetooth.. what crap.

 

1. Go to this url: HandsFree Link Setup

2. Click on the phone where it says Handsfree Link Click Here

3. When the window pops up, click on Phone Compatibilty

4. Scroll to your phone and click Pairing Instructions

 

I disagree. What you suggest requires constant interaction with the driver, while the Navi arguably does not. A decent portion of the Navi inteface can be run by voice control ("Find nearest Chinese restaurant"), while your suggestion would require the driver to constantly take their attention from the road to look at the display either to see the results or enter data (such as an URL).

Many other manufacturers of Navi systems totally disable the driver input while the car is in motion. We're actually lucky that the Acura Navi isn't disabled while driving.

If there was a very limited implementation of what you suggested with aural feedback of results, then fine. But once you suggested that you could load any website, it was all bets off - I would find this to be too hazardous.

Who are "they" (assuming you mean Acura) to enforce state laws? Well, all it takes is one state to make something illegal, and no manufacturer will implement it. It would be sheer stupidity for the manufacturers to implement it, because then they couldn't sell the vehicle in that state. A good example of a benign law like this would be window tinting. Gee - Acura could put 50% tint on all their side windows. But then dealerships in the states that don't allow 50% side window tinting would have to remove the stock windows and replace them with something else that meets the state regulations.

This is one of the reasons (if not the reason) that DVD video playback isn't allowed on the TL's Navi display. Arizona's laws effectively state that a televison / video entertainment system can not be directly visible to the driver of the vehicle. I'm pretty sure that we aren't the only state with a law like this.

 

Actually, isn't the use of a Navigation system (input wise) while the car moving technically illegal in some states? All that aside, I don't believe there is currently a law that says what i'm talking about is illegal - so that is a mute point, at this point.

And I don't see how "show me the movies for tonight" is any different than "find me the closest italian restaurant."

Don't forget, there can be a passenger in the vehicle using the "any website" functionality. It would be easy to use the weight sensor in the passenger seat to enable/disable that. Of course people would just put a sack of rocks in their passenger seat so that they could use it when no one was there

Kevin

 

True, but I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes illegal some point afterwards.
Agreed. It is the "any website" that you mentioned in your first message that I have a problem with. I just think that will be too distracting while driving. If it's totally a voice entry and response deal like on Star Trek, that's cool (verrry cool!).

I was at a stoplight next to a minivan about a month or so ago where the owner had installed a video screen up front aimed towards the driver (or at least that's where it was aimed at that time ... I don't know if could be aimed away from the driver as well). And, great - he was playing an "adult entertainment" video on it.

Yeah, like HE was focusing on his driving.

I got his license plate number, and wanted to call the cops. Eventually, I figured that the cops probably couldn't do anything about it unless they caught him in the act.

So, I just opened up the throttle a bit and put some safe distance between us. My blood's heating up right now just thinking about it.

And people complain about cell phone usage in cars.
Hmmm ... I'll have to remember that trick!