iDrive glitches.

[SmoothCruise]

What don't you like about your 6's iDrive system? For the most part it's a decent tool, but here's a few things off the top of my head that need improving:


1. Response time. Sometimes it takes more than a second to register that I want navigation, communications, etc. Sometimes I have to move the joystick a twice before it 'registers.'

2. Presentation processing slow. At times it feels like they got WindowsXP running on an IBM PC XT at times.


3. No freaking back button. As in, "Go back to what you were doing before." So let's say I'm driving with navigation turned on. I need to make a phone call, so I go to the communications menu, and then I make my call. Now, I want it to go back to navigation mode with a map, and not have to go 'up', then select navigation.

4. If I have the map on the 'larger screen', and I get an incoming call or need to make a call... iDrive should be smart enough to move the map to the smaller screen.

5. Destinations are listed in order by closest thing to car or town. But there's no way to list them in alphabetical order of things say within 10 miles from you. You want to go to restaurant X, but you need to go through an unalphabetized list to select it.

6. DVD drive slow to load up data. Again, that's the response issue of 1.

7. Destinations have confusing and overlapping categories. What should be included is a 'yellow page' or 'white page' index, similar to typing in the town to where you want to go.

8. No option to select 'accident up ahead... find alternate route to destination.'

9. When the navigation interrupts music to give directions, it doesn't pause the CD. but if you get a phone call, that does pause the CD. Nav directions should work like the phone interruption.

10. I got a convertible, should have more route preferences: fastest route, shortest route, a new one: scenic route (which detours on a scenic road by a configurable additional miles of say 1-50 off the shortest path).


11. Existing functional buttons on steering wheel are limited in mapping to various aspects of iDrive. So if I press the 'diamond button', I should be able to map it all the way down to, 'Select destination nearest my car' option, or even 'dial friend X'. Right now, it's so limited in customization, it's almost useless.

12. Need about 6 more functional buttons on steering wheel, 3 on each side.

13. With 6CD-disc changer, you can use the arrow buttons to move between tracks, but not between disks. Argh! Now, why not have it so that you can? Better, why not make it configurable so that the 'next' arrow moves to the next disc, and not flip to the first track on the present disc? Since it's configurable to do that, you can always revert back to old behavior. yeah, voice command is easier in this regard, but I prefer buttons.

14. The map shows the names of roads on screen, but it doesn't do it for all of them. It should at least do it for the road that you are on!! You can have the smaller screen do that for you, but what if you got something else on that screen?

15. Reliability. 2 times in 6 months, my iDrive mysteriously crashes on me for no apparent reason while I'm driving.

16. Sometimes the BMW intro screen (Not the 'Accept' screen), gets displayed way too long. What the heck is iDrive doing?

17. Sometimes communications just doesn't hang up the call. So, I can't use my phone.

18. Sometimes iDrive just doesn't shutdown after I've shutdown my car. What the hell?

19. This is a pet peeve, but I wish the 'joystick' had diagonals. It just feels like I'm using an old Atari joystick in terms of direction senses.

20. While using navigation, I should be able to scroll map, and not have map centered on car. This would be useful, if you want to 'scroll ahead' to know what lane you need to be in. I can zoom out, but it's not the same thing and you lose details.

21. Most of the time navigation tell you to 'turn right in x miles', but most of the time it doesn't tell you onto what road. It would make a big difference to have that information on some confusing intersections.

22. Sometimes I select one thing, and iDrive takes me to some other place. I select navigation, and I end up in entertainment.

And finally for kicks...

23. I should be able to use communications and download celebrity, movie character, and video game character voices for my iDrive system. Imagine having the Terminator/Arnie as your iDrive voice! "Turn left NOW." "Get out now." "Possible responses... f*ck you @sshole!" What about Patrick Stewart. "Engage following the road for 5 miles." "Turn left, make it so." What about the Ghost from StarCraft. You click the voice button and you get "Call the shot."





Overall iDrive is easy to use contrary to the false reports you hear from car reviews. It gets mediocre reviews from me, because of the 21-22 complaints I have about it now, and these are just off the top of my head. These are the things the car reviews should be talking about. There's lots of room for iterative improvement to existing iDrive without having to re-architect the thing.

[AriciU]

Since Navigation does not work in this country (no map CD for the whole Eastern Europe :() i don't really use it much but i noticed that the response is very slow and i had it reboot on me while driving once.
The Arnold/Terminator thing would be KICK ASS! :D Turn right, you IDIOT! :rofl:

[cobradav]

3. No freaking back button. As in, "Go back to what you were doing before." So let's say I'm driving with navigation turned on. I need to make a phone call, so I go to the communications menu, and then I make my call. Now, I want it to go back to navigation mode with a map, and not have to go 'up', then select navigation.

There is a way. After ur call push and hold knob )several seconds) in the nav direction, you will go back to where u came from.

Agree with many of your points but I just work around them. Need newer/faster processors and better code.

[tksung]

3. No freaking back button. As in, "Go back to what you were doing before." So let's say I'm driving with navigation turned on. I need to make a phone call, so I go to the communications menu, and then I make my call. Now, I want it to go back to navigation mode with a map, and not have to go 'up', then select navigation.

Try holding the controller down in the direction of nav for 2 sec. It'll take you where you left it off.


4. If I have the map on the 'larger screen', and I get an incoming call or need to make a call... iDrive should be smart enough to move the map to the smaller screen.

Try keeping the map or arrow display on the smaller screen all the time. There is nothing else useful to keep on the smaller screen anyway.


5. Destinations are listed in order by closest thing to car or town. But there's no way to list them in alphabetical order of things say within 10 miles from you. You want to go to restaurant X, but you need to go through an unalphabetized list to select it.
7. Destinations have confusing and overlapping categories. What should be included is a 'yellow page' or 'white page' index, similar to typing in the town to where you want to go.
idrive s/w will come with google local search in the future.


9. When the navigation interrupts music to give directions, it doesn't pause the CD. but if you get a phone call, that does pause the CD. Nav directions should work like the phone interruption.
That can cause cognitive dissonance and distort the music. Phone calls are long pauses, so pause works fine.


11. Existing functional buttons on steering wheel are limited in mapping to various aspects of iDrive. So if I press the 'diamond button', I should be able to map it all the way down to, 'Select destination nearest my car' option, or even 'dial friend X'. Right now, it's so limited in customization, it's almost useless.

12. Need about 6 more functional buttons on steering wheel, 3 on each side.

That would only prove that idrive is implemented badly. You shouldn't need programmable shortcut buttons if the UI with idrive and fixed buttons are done correctly.


13. With 6CD-disc changer, you can use the arrow buttons to move between tracks, but not between disks.

I don't have CD changer so I can't, but try holding down the arrow button and see if that moves the CD rather than the track. That's what I would've done if I were designing idrive. In any case, I don't use arrow buttons anymore since I discovered go-back-to-where-I-was method. I keep it in Entertainment screen most of the time and use the controller.


15. Reliability. 2 times in 6 months, my iDrive mysteriously crashes on me for no apparent reason while I'm driving..

16. Sometimes the BMW intro screen (Not the 'Accept' screen), gets displayed way too long. What the heck is iDrive doing?

Try updating the s/w.


19. This is a pet peeve, but I wish the 'joystick' had diagonals. It just feels like I'm using an old Atari joystick in terms of direction senses.

Too complicated. Four direction is already complicated enough.


20. While using navigation, I should be able to scroll map, and not have map centered on car. This would be useful, if you want to 'scroll ahead' to know what lane you need to be in.

What for? The nav will tell you when/where to turn.


21. Most of the time navigation tell you to 'turn right in x miles', but most of the time it doesn't tell you onto what road. It would make a big difference to have that information on some confusing intersections.

Use the arrow display on the right panel.


22. Sometimes I select one thing, and iDrive takes me to some other place. I select navigation, and I end up in entertainment.

And yet, you want diagonal menu?

[SmoothCruise]

(Regarding my suggestion to switch the map to the smaller screen.)

Try keeping the map or arrow display on the smaller screen all the time. There is nothing else useful to keep on the smaller screen anyway.


Ah, no. I like to know the road I'm on, which is why I place the current position on the smaller screen. I'd agree with you, but you missed my other suggestion of labeling the road you are currently on in the map screen, instead of randomly picking roads to label on the map.






(regarding pausing the CD music that's played while Nav gives directions.)

That can cause cognitive dissonance and distort the music. Phone calls are long pauses, so pause works fine.


Maybe it will cause you cognitive dissonance but not for me. And how does pausing the music distort it?




(Regarding the wish for more function keys or more configurable programmable buttons.)

That would only prove that idrive is implemented badly. You shouldn't need programmable shortcut buttons if the UI with idrive and fixed buttons are done correctly.


Well, yes, hence the subject line.




I don't have CD changer so I can't, but try holding down the arrow button and see if that moves the CD rather than the track. That's what I would've done if I were designing idrive.



Thanks. I'll try that out.





(Regarding the wish to have an option to scroll the navigation map instead of having it car centric all the time.)

What for? The nav will tell you when/where to turn.


Like I said, so I can look ahead to see where I'm going. The nav tell you when/where but not early enough at times, especially if the intersections are confusing.

The Nav also doen'st have that other option I was telling you about the 'too much traffic here, let's find an alternate route'. This function I could do myself, if I could scroll the map and plan a different course to my destinaton.

Finally, I got a vert, and I like cruising down back roads and hillsides, and I might see something that catches my fancy 'a hill over', and it would be cool if I could pinpoint it on my map. Zoom out you say? No, because I lose the detail of the minor detours I need to take to get there.




"21. Most of the time navigation tell you to 'turn right in x miles', but most of the time it doesn't tell you onto what road. It would make a big difference to have that information on some confusing intersections."

Use the arrow display on the right panel.


But wait! You suggest that I put the map on the right panel, because, in your words, "There is nothing else useful to keep on the smaller screen anyway." And doesn't the arrow display just show you the current street you are on? It doesn't show you what street you want to turn on, so how does your suggestion work in this case?




" 22. Sometimes I select one thing, and iDrive takes me to some other place. I select navigation, and I end up in entertainment."

And yet, you want diagonal menu?

They are related, but this is still a separate issue. I really want diagonal menu while pinpointing a destination on the map, but my original complaint still stands. I could be in the entertainment panel, in the main menu, in the navigation screens, etc, and when I push forward, or backwards, or right, or left, iDrive thinks I've pushed the joystick in a different direction. The point is the joystick, or iDrive, or whatever is behind the 'lid' is flaky and should be made more reliable.

[cobradav]

Lost track of all the posts, but the arrow view does give you the next turn info well in advance, from 100s of feet to 100s of miles, if you have a destination established.

[tksung]

Maybe it will cause you cognitive dissonance but not for me. And how does pausing the music distort it?

While listening to "take second exit off the traffic circle", the song continues to play in your mind. When the voice goes away, the song is off by 4 sec., rudely disrupting the rythm in your head. I'm sure BMW engineers thought through all this.


The Nav also doen'st have that other option I was telling you about the 'too much traffic here, let's find an alternate route'. This function I could do myself, if I could scroll the map and plan a different course to my destinaton.

I can do that even better with zoom, but you can scroll if you want. Just select full screen icon (3rd from the top) while you are in nav screen. Then you will be able to scroll in all directions. Personally, I'd advise against scrolling while driving. Zoom in/out you can do without looking or thinking. Scrolling takes a lot more work.


But wait! You suggest that I put the map on the right panel, because, in your words, "There is nothing else useful to keep on the smaller screen anyway." And doesn't the arrow display just show you the current street you are on? It doesn't show you what street you want to turn on, so how does your suggestion work in this case?

I suggested to place map or arrow display. Arrow will show you the street you are on and the street you'll be turning to.


I really want diagonal menu while pinpointing a destination on the map, but my original complaint still stands. I could be in the entertainment panel, in the main menu, in the navigation screens, etc, and when I push forward, or backwards, or right, or left, iDrive thinks I've pushed the joystick in a different direction.

Even 4 directional selection causes problem of selecting a wrong item or none. And that's more to do with the position of the knob and not with flakeyness. If you want 8 position knob, you'll definitely need adjustable knob position to make the wrist movement more precise. But if scrolling is what you have in mind, it already gives you diagonal direction of scroll.

[seanwalmsley]

3. No freaking back button. As in, "Go back to what you were doing before." So let's say I'm driving with navigation turned on. I need to make a phone call, so I go to the communications menu, and then I make my call. Now, I want it to go back to navigation mode with a map, and not have to go 'up', then select navigation.



You don't have to go back to the main menu. You are in nav, switch to a phone call, then if you want to go back, push the idrive to the left and hold it there a few seconds, and your navigation screen will return. I thought the same as you until someone else showed me how to do it.

But I agree with many of the points you made. Especially that idrive doesn't deserve the pummelling it gets from reviewers (who only use it for a day), yet it could stand more improvements. Its features have expanded beyond its processor, regrettably.

Cheers
Sean