Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
Before I begin this rant I just want to say that I believe cellular communications is one of the most amazing technologies invented in my lifetime and that I believe that what the wireless industry has done over the past 30 years is simply amazing. And with that I would also like to say that some of the advances the mobile space is looking to make need to stop.
More specifically, this push into the connected car market is one that perhaps needs a bit more thought before we rush headlong into something that humans are not ready for.
This tinge of madness was brought on by a study released this week by AAA that found new vehicle features are actually causing more distractions for drivers. The study suggested that these embedded features need to be made easier to use so that they cause less of a distraction for drivers. The survey noted that:
–The accuracy of voice recognition software significantly influences the rate of distraction. Systems with low accuracy and reliability generated a high level (category 3) of distraction.
–Composing text messages and e-mails using in-vehicle technologies (category 3) was more distracting than using these systems to listen to messages (category 2).
–The quality of the systems’ voice had no impact on distraction levels — listening to a natural or synthetic voice both rated as a category 2 level of distraction.
The best part of this is that this isn’t the first study to show increased distracted driving tied to the growth of technology into automobiles. Yet, this push to embed more and more technology into cars continues unabated.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand all the awesome benefits being touted by the industry in terms of migrating mobile communications into vehicles. Who wouldn’t want to be able to use an embedded wireless modem in a vehicle to access driving directions or other Internet services? Or have their car tell a mechanic what’s wrong with it rather than have me stand in a service shop either re-creating some crazy sound my car made or even better explaining something to a mechanic only to have my car returned with the typical “could not replicate” written on the ticket.
That is some Buck Rogers stuff there.
But, I also think that us as humans in most cases are not “evolved” enough yet to handle this level of integration in our lives. Sure, multitasking has been all the rage for years and I have to admit that I have gotten pretty good at walking and chewing gum. But, I have to also admit that I have not yet mastered the act of walking and dealing with a mobile device, though luckily it’s rare that I kill someone by bumping into them on the sidewalk.
Taking this lack of dexterity into the automotive world where I can soon be doing all sorts of awesome multitasking stuff while piloting a 2-ton hunk of metal at triple-digit speeds, and now we are talking about some potential to do serious damage.
I know a lot of connected car proponents will point to all the safety features that can be embedded into vehicles through mobile communications, and for those select features I have no problem. Accident avoidance, traffic rerouting and telematics systems that alert first responders to an accident are awesome features and should be mandatory on all vehicles.
It’s when we get into the “entertainment” category of services enabled by mobile communications where I get nervous. I know we have all seen some crazy drivers out there looking like they have no business being behind the wheel, only to then pull up next to them and see that they are trying to multitask with their cellphone, tablet or Wi-Fi-enabled blender. Heck, I have on multiple occasions driven past people smoking crack pipes while driving. I guess at least they weren’t also on their cellphones.
I understand that a lot of people are spending an increasing amount of time in their vehicles and thus feel the need to “get stuff done” when in those situations. What these people don’t seem to realize is that you are indeed getting stuff done. You are transporting yourself and all your stuff from one place to another in a two-ton hunk of metal using nothing more than slight pressure from your feet and occasionally moving your arms.
I also understand that this rant will have no impact at all on this continued “enhancement” of automobiles. People like their cars, people like their mobile devices and people like being “connected” at all times. Let’s just hope that at some point the powers that be can manage to integrate these activities so that these three “likes” can all coexist in the same car while also leaving space for the human driver.
OK, enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Worst of the Week column. And now for some extras:
–Mad props to HTC this week for rolling out a new smartphone that sports a 13-megapixel front camera catering to the “selfie” craze that seems to have no boundaries.
Don’t get me wrong, I hate “selfies” and the people that can’t seem to get enough of what they look like with one of their arms shooting off screen. But, in the cut throat market that is the smartphone space, it’s good to see companies still trying to tap into niches that allow them to stand out a bit from the staleness of all things Apple/Samsung.
–Finally, continues mad props to Apple for continuing to find ways to squeeze more profits from its devices (and then of course – along with others – finding ways to not pay taxes on those profits).
IHS came out recently with a build-of-material break down for the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices, finding that the $100 more expensive 6 Plus model cost a mere $15.50 more to produce. This of course goes along with Apple also increasing the cost of its devices at $100 increments to move up to the next size in embedded memory.
Obviously, nothing wrong with any of this and if people are willing to pay the price, then let them have at it. Just goes to show that the smartphone space really is Apple’s world, and the rest of its competitors are just being allowed to live in it.
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