Jewish World Review March 7, 2003 / 3 Adar II 5763
By Mark Kellner
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
Clarion Corporation of America's Joyride automotive entertainment/navigation
system, whose cost, including installation, is around $4,000, offers a
unique premise: an in-car system controlled by a computer processor and
Microsoft's Windows CE for Automotive, a version of Windows designed to
bring computing power to your dashboard.
In the first installment of this review, I noted the travails encountered
with getting the system properly installed, operating and then restored
after the software was wiped out. (Had Clarion opted to continue, in this
product, its earlier use of a programmable read-only memory chip for the
operating system, my near week of silent commutes might have been avoided.)
Now, let's look at some of the ups and downs of this system's performance.
My test vehicle, a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe is, I believe well suited to an
"after-market" audio product like the Joyride. The crew at Audio Options in
Torrance, Calif., near Los Angeles, was able to do a quality installation of
the stereo, optional CD-changer, and GPS hardware.
On a daily basis, however, the Joyride presented challenges: I've noted the
tendency to have to "reboot" the system, using a reset button accessible
either with a bent paper clip or the tip of a ballpoint pen, every couple of
days. Even after a "clean" reinstall of the Joyride system software, my
reset issue returned: last Friday morning, an ear-splitting noise emanated
when there should have been music.
Another periodic problem also remained: every so often, with no explanation,
the unit would switch over to voice command mode, announcing the current
application, "CD Player," "Radio," and wait for me to issue a verbal
command. During this time, often a crucial part of a song or radio
broadcast, the sound would be lowered, and I'd miss a bit. On CD and MP3
music files, there's no way to skip back a few seconds to hear just what one
missed, so the loss can be irritating.
Voice commands on the Joyride are a mixed bag. You can easily switch from
one mode to another, but some commands - "next song" for a CD or "scan" for
the radio - are nowhere to be found. The vocabulary of the Joyride needs to
be beefed up, although the unit gets high marks for voice recognition
without any "training" by the user to make the system know one's own voice.
I had a pleasant surprise when playing a CD containing MP3 songs: artist,
track and title information appeared on the large display screen. Why
similar information can't be obtained wirelessly for regular music CDs
played on the system - something easily done with a computer hooked up to
the Internet - is a bit surprising.
Such a lack of two-way communication is a real disappointment with the
Joyride. The original Auto PC concept from Microsoft included ways to access
e-mail and some Web information, if memory serves me correctly, while on the
road; pairing the Joyride with a built-in, hands-free cell phone would not
only make sense, but also make some wireless data activity possible.
Another somewhat astonishing lack is that of any obvious integration between
the Joyride unit and satellite radio. Even though Clarion apparently has an
arrangement with Sirius Satellite Radio (the display screen had buttons for
the service), there was none provided and no commands in the Joyride
software to handle such an accessory. With both the high quality satellite
programming provides and the need by the satellite services to succeed, it
seems like a natural that satellite radio would "be there."
There's a lot to argue for adding computing power, serious computing power,
to a vehicle, and I hope to try some other experiments in the coming months.
But for now, Clarion's Joyride gets an "E" for effort, but an "F" for
frustration. If you really, really need a computer in your car, buy a laptop
instead.
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JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
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