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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/22/2022 in all areas

  1. My old company used to sell the specialized memory (non-volatile) for companies that make the systems. The design in cycle is really long and so many of the platforms are highly specific to the different auto models. We also did the black box memory for airbus, but I digress. The reason that so many of these are terrible is that the car platform refreshes are long cycle, typically 4-5 years. So, Imagine you are buying a 2022 Nissan Rogue. the platform refreshed in 2021. The design cycle on the NAV was probably 3 years, so the bulk of the design work started in 2018. Right now you are sitting on 4 year old technology. That *might* not seem too bad. But the 2017 was the previous platform and that one was designed ~2014. If you bought your Rogue in 2020, you were buying 6-year old tech. Now consider that you are going to hold the car 5-6 years and by the time you get rid of it you're sitting on ~11 or 12-year-old technology. Compare that to the phone that you carry in your pocket that you refresh every few years and you can see how the gaps can widen. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a really big deal for auto manufacturers because they allow them to move away from a business that they have generally performed poorly in over time. As evidenced by the huge aftermarket that exists for in-dash entertainment systems. 10 years from now the default option will be wireless connection to your phone and having your phone do all of the heavy lifting, they are just waiting on smartphone penetration. Someone will come up with a smartphone analog, some type of 3rd party device for maps, music, etc. that can be plugged in. The idea of in-dash NAV and entertainment is going to go away as soon as they can get a semi-standard figured out.
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  2. Adding to this, their markets are going to be shrinking in the future. Cell phones today are starting to employ low earth orbit satellite connectivity. This will be limited only to sending small text messages, not surfing the web, but it will provide the "always connected" experience for people that they currently get from things like Spot. The tracking capability won't necessarily be there (at least not officially or immediately) but it will eventually get there. But for a sizable chunk of their user base, the "connect to help in an emergency" is far more important - they will lose these people soon enough. These guys are the equivalent of the companies designing the proprietary in-vehicle navigation systems. When everyone carries a smartphone, nobody uses the in-vehicle nav very often because it has shitty usability and relies on out of date technology. Their days are numbered.
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