현대차가 최초로 안드로이드 auto smartphone지원

현대자동차에 좋은 뉴스가 하나 나왔네요. 최초로 안드로이드 auto를 2015년 소나타(미국 모델)에 지원한다고 합니다. Navigation이 탑제된 모델에 한정되고 현대딜러에 방문해서 firmware를 업그레이드 받아야 하는거 같습니다. 그래도 한국 특유의 빠르게 움직이는 모습이 보여서 박수를 보내고 싶습니다.

기본적으로 현재 애플과 구글이 자동차시장에서 밀고있는 smartcar의 컨셉은 가지고 있는 스마트폰을 유무선을 통해서 자동차의 display를 통해 테더링하는 것을 말합니다. data통신과 storage는 핸드폰에서 사용하고 자동차에 있는 상대적으로 큰 화면과 speaker/마이크를 사용할수 있지요. 스마트폰에서 아주 다 잘되는 기능이라 어려울것 같지 않은데, 자동차 시장은 정말 느리게 움직입니다.

그런데 현대는 아쉽게도 뚜렷한 방향은 없고 뭐든 닥치는 대로 다하겠다는 작전이라 아직 모르겠습니다. 작년에는 애플 PlayCar를 지원한다고 했었죠. 이러다가는 애플 PlayCar+ 구글 안드로이드 + 자체 솔루션, 결국 뭐하나 잘하는것 없는 회사가 될수도 있습니다. 현대차의 점유율이나 자본력만 보더라도 하나에 집중해서 차별화에 도전하는것이 좋아보입니다. 문어발식이 아니라.

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Hyundai releases first Android Auto smartphone capability to U.S. market

f you purchased a 2015 Hyundai Sonata with a factory-installed navigation system, and have a smartphone with the Android Lollipop 5.0 or higher operating system, you can integrate your car with the new Android Auto software.

Best of all, it’s free. Your local Hyundai dealer will provide a software update to your car’s existing system. It’s the first integration of a smartphone operating system—be it Android Auto or Apple’s CarPlay system—in the U.S. market by a major manufacturer.

We borrowed a 2015 Hyundai Sonata with an early-release version of Android Auto software and a Google Nexus phone to test it out. Generally speaking, the Android Auto system works well, with excellent Google Now voice controls that use natural speech. It’s easy to make and receive calls using your voice, and to compose or listen to text messages. Entering an address is just as easy—Google navigation and traffic info are intuitive. Also, the on-screen buttons and menus are large, easy to read, and straightforward to use.    

One drawback is that Android Auto operates in its own little universe. If you want to switch from listening to music on Spotify over to FM or XM, for example, you have to exit Android Auto. And it takes several steps to back out of the Android environment.

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http://readwrite.com/2015/05/29/hyundai-and-chevy-roll-out-carplay-and-android-auto-cars

Hyundai's One

Despite GM’s bold, 14-vehicle plan, Hyundai has beaten the American car company to the punch. The Verge reported Tuesday that the first batch of 2015 Sonatas with Android Auto on board have rolled off the assembly line, and that more Hyundai vehicles would come equipped with Android Auto later in 2015. 

Interestingly, where Android Auto is absent from Chevy’s eight-inch MyLink system, so too is CarPlay missing in all of Hyundai’s offerings. 

Back in November, the South Korean auto company issued two different press releases, each claiming that it would offer versions of the 2015 Sonata with Android Auto and CarPlay. As the 2015 model year winds down, Hyundai appears to have only just now pulled off half of its claim, with no whiff of CarPlay at all. I've contacted Hyundai for more information, and will update this post if the company responds. 

Despite the excitement of seeing the software finally accelerating toward the market, the car companies' varying approaches, at least initially, may conjure more questions than answers. 

What happens if a driver buys a car with Android Auto built in, but then switches to an iPhone? If bugs force a navigation application to crash while you're en route, could that pose a safety hazard? Are there other stability or performance issues that come with, say, a Chevy MyLink system that supposedly supports both platforms?

With Hyundai and Chevy both jumping into the smart dashboard game at nearly the same time, there’s at least one question that may have an answer: How long will it take for the rest of the auto industry to follow suit? Probably not long. 

Chevrolet Android Auto and CarPlay photos courtesy of Chevrolet and General Motors; Hyundai Android Auto photo courtesy of Hyundai

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