Ac Man

Hey guys, I would like to know your opinions on the direction that Acura is going with their Nav systems. We all have the touch screen Nav on our 3rd Gen TLs, but it seems that Acura is getting rid of the feature for all of the new vehcles they've been releasing (RL, RDX, MDX). Personally, I love the touch screen. I think that it's very easy to use, simple and intuitive. I haven't played around with a non-Nav set-up yet, and I heard that they're not that bad. Obviously you can get used to using a non-touch screen set up, but which do yo prefer and why? Do you think the all new 4th Gen TL for 2008 will be touch screen or not?

jzacuto

Ick! NON-touch screen?! WHY oh WHY?! I mean I can understand it in the RL because the screen is so far out of reach. But on the RDX and MDX, I think it's closer. I much prefer being able to use the touch screen rather than the joystick or voice recognition though.

If they greatly, GREATLY improve the voice recognition, it might be okay, but until then...

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

MB Navs are non-touch screen....They SUCK!! Just check out a forum and see how many people complain of the complexity. Many people regret shelling out the loot for it. Touch screen system like Acura/Lexus are the way to go. VR has improved leaps and bounds but not enough to replace touch screens.

leedogg

I was messing around in an RDX and I was REALLY annoyed by the lack of touch screen. Likely in part because i'm so used to touch and also i was unfamiliar with the navi input mechanism in the rdx, but dialing that stupid dial to get to each character was highly annoying and even more distracting - i kept scrolling too far and it was harder to see I was selecting the right characters. I would NOT want to do this while driving. Overall it took me longer to navigate around and input stuff.

AMIC

Touch screen all the way!! I hope they don't change it for the TL.

FLBusa

Touch screen for sure! My buddies G35 is stick controlled and it's definitly more difficult to use.

GabesTL

Touch screen alll the way!!!!!! My mom has an '06 Audi A4 and it had a wheel to control the nav... it's so annoying!!!

Will Y.

That's exactly the phrase a friend used for her 2006 Merc E350's Nav system, but I think she was unenthused with its lack of accuracy as well as lack of touch screen.
Touch screen is a no-brainer if it's reachable!

csmeance

the reason the touch screen is not an option is beacuse of where the screen is located. In the 3G tl, the navi is reachable, but in the RL and new MDX, the navi is on the top of the dash where the driver will have to stretch out their hand to use a touchscreen.

Pat D

True, the screen is too far away. REASON it's far away is that it's a non-touch screen, so it CAN be that far away.

Acura (And others) are moving away from the touch screen because too many people are having problems using it (Read older users or those with shakey hands.) Don't you think Acura has engineered enough NAV screens close enough to touch by the user? Once they decided to do a no touch screen, they could move it anywhere within eye shot.

pnoi521

AHHHH!! I hated the navi in our g35 coupe! It was soo annoying. the joystick was pretty bad. It wasn't accurate at all and to select i had to press down, but it didnt anways work out right.

I LOVE the touch screen on the TL. It makes poeple go whoa... its a touch screen?! and it's just fun being able to cahnge CDs and stuff on the screen.

kreolo

I'm with all of you - TOUCH SCREEN ALL the way !!! I hate having to keep cleaning my screen but TOUCH SCREEN ALL THE WAY.

~ KREOLO

CobraGuy

What in the world is Acura thinking??? One step forward, two steps backwards....

1995hoo

I never touch the screen because I don't like the fingerprints, but it's nice to have the option if needed.

Knertified

You mean you dont have that little window washer guy that drops down and squeegees your touch screen every morning?

AdamNJ

Not a total but I use these to clean my navi screen and they do a damn good job and I don't have any scratches or anything (yet).

http://www.klearscreen.com/
http://www.nushield.com/products_main_klear.htm

Desert_TL

Touch screen is definitely the way to go. The joystick/wheel is alright, but it sucks typing addresses into that thing. BMW's nav screen is smaller and no-touch. I hated it when I test drove the BMWs

bluenoise

I'll be impressed when someone can enter a name on their non-touchscreen navi as quickly as I can with the on-screen QWERTY keyboard. Until then, touchscreen is the only decent option.

Pat D

Can you "voice-spell" on any systems yet? Just like we do voice dialing with numbers, you've GOT to be able to do letters.

evantec

On some other cars (BMWs, etc) the NAVI screen is also deeply recessed. That probably reduces sun-glare, which can be a problem when the NAVI screen is out-front like it is on the TL. If the screen is so deep as to hide it from the sun, maybe they think we can't reach it. Or maybe some focus-group told them the fingerprints on the screen made it look cheap.

Still, I like the touch much better than using the joystick or the other buttons. (I wish there were tactile feedback but it's glass so I can't expect miracles!)

I agree that this is a one-step-forward, two-steps-back issue. Maybe in 2020, they'll wake up and re-introduce it as a new feature again. And we'll all chime in, we remembered the 3G TLs had this feature back in 04.

Ac Man

Point taken, but either way you have to reach to touch something, whether it's the joystick/dial or the screen itself. Instead of touching/typing on screen, you're turning a dial, same thing, still have to reach.

bluenoise

It would be cool to have a compact QWERTY keyboard that slides out of the dash or support for a Bluetooth one. Even if we get perfect voice control, there may be times it's fastest to type in names.

tl tommy

why acura would get rid of the touch screen is an absolute mystery to me . Im a slales rep and for work i use a 05 jeep with navi and it is not a touch screen i am in that car 8 hours a day and im used to the set up but it is a little anoying to use... compared to acuras touch screen, but it could just be that jeep navi has a poor set up .. the only bad thing about touch screen i have noticed is the fingerprints and smudges left all over the screen. This is a small price to pay..I hope they keep the touch screen and if they get rid of it i think they will bring it back.

evantec

At some point, some of the teens and tweens who grew up Text-messaging their cell phones will be Acura buyers. I wouldn't be surprised if someone comes out with a phone-like keypad for text entry, using either 1-tap-A, 2-tap-B, 3-tap-C, or T9-predictive logic. (And we'll all be wailing on these boards that it's guessing the wrong words!)

If they do put that kind of touch-tone keypad into the car, it'll look just like the early in-dash car cellphones from the 90s.

boe_d

I consider MS Smartphones the gimped version of the PPC phone. Just about any interface is easier with the touch screen. They will have to improve the voice command on the NAV at least 100% - recognition, features input, for the tough screen to be any less required.