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A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

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1336 points kwindla | 2 comments | 25 Apr 25 15:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.396s | source
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danans ◴[25 Apr 25 15:40 UTC] No.43794785[source]▶
From the related Ars article[1]:

> Rather than relying on a built-in infotainment system, you'll use your phone plugged into a USB outlet or a dedicated tablet inside the cabin for your entertainment and navigation needs.

How is a "dedicated tablet" different than an infotainment system, other than not having vehicle telematics and controls? Also, a regular tablet UX would be dangerous while driving, and typically they don't have their own mobile data connections.

1. https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/04/amazon-backed-startup-w...

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robertlagrant ◴[25 Apr 25 16:02 UTC] No.43795119[source]▶
> Also, a regular tablet UX would be dangerous while driving

A passenger could operate it.

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danans ◴[25 Apr 25 16:13 UTC] No.43795287[source]▶
A passenger can do that today with just a tablet in their lap. Why attach it to the dashboard?
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1. robertlagrant ◴[25 Apr 25 16:26 UTC] No.43795505[source]▶
Oh, I maybe misread it - thought it meant you could plug your own tablet into the speaker system.
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2. danans ◴[25 Apr 25 18:07 UTC] No.43796778[source]▶
You can do that in any car today. Nor is there a lack of devices available for physically attaching a regular tablet to your dashboard.

The question is whether a car maker should be encouraging or enabling a generic touch screen tablet to be installed on the dashboard versus an infotainment device with constrained functionality like AA/CP designed to minimize driver distraction.

I would be happy with a built-in screen that did nothing but AA/CP while the car was driving, and then reverted to a normal tablet interface when the car is parked.

Climate control, etc should be physical knobs and buttons. Anything critical to driving should be on or near the steering wheel.