My Ford Touch

[francois.nc]

Not sure if this is the right place or not, but I would think so, since it is only available on the 11's.

 

Can you guys/gals give some updates on My Ford/Lincoln Touch. Like how it is working, is it slow, what are some of the best features. I was looking at and am still debating between a Fusion and Edge, and the systems are different, I like what I see in the Fusion but the Edge is supposed to be cutting edge.

 

I know we have all seen the commercials and the you tubes of how it works, I just wanted some real life experiences of how it is working.

 

Thanks.

Edited September 16, 2010 by francois.nc

[revOevoM]

This guy at DetNews drove the Edge cross country. See what he had to say in his review.

[akirby]

I've heard it can be a little slow and there might be a few bugs still to work out. No hardware problems reported so nothing that can't be fixed with a user initiated sofware upgrade - probably within a few months.

[lakleeman]

I posted something a few days ago on this forum about MyFord Touch, but some moderator must have moved it.

 

I agree, though, the "Sync" forum seems to only be about the pre-2011 (non-Touch) electronics -- so this is a better place to post about MyFord Touch.

[francois.nc]

This guy at DetNews drove the Edge cross country. See what he had to say in his review.

Thanks it was a good read, however I wanted some of our fellow forum members to chime in as well.

 

Is it slow to respond as Akirby mentions? Just curious what our fellow forum members are experiencing.

 

Thanks.

Edited September 16, 2010 by francois.nc

[francois.nc]

I posted something a few days ago on this forum about MyFord Touch, but some moderator must have moved it.

 

I agree, though, the "Sync" forum seems to only be about the pre-2011 (non-Touch) electronics -- so this is a better place to post about MyFord Touch.

 

So do you have a new Edge/MKX, what are your thoguhts on the My Touch interface...?

[Ctrl-z]

Thanks it was a good read, however I wanted some of our fellow forum members to chime in as well.

 

Is it slow to respond as Akirby mentions? Just curious what our fellow forum members are experiencing.

 

Thanks.

 

I'm still waiting for mine (MyLincoln version) but I know it won't be optimal for responsiveness and I'm certainly not expecting it to be bug-free. This is Ford's first all in-house software development of this scale and the system is built on Flash which can never be made all that responsive. Hopefully down the road they will port it to a more suitable platform. In the meantime I'll be happy if Ford provides timely updates that don't require a dealer visit.

[akirby]

the system is built on Flash

 

Source?

[Ctrl-z]

Source?

 

 

If you want a definitive souce you're going to have to find it yourself. My information is from an interview with one of the primary developers dated about January 2010 on Ford's media com site. I remember it mentioning the hope to move MyFord Touch to a different platform down the road. Flash is a good platform for (relatively) quickly laying out the interface and basic functionality but I don't think it's all that suitable for a production environment.

 

Here's a quote I read on another forum that you might find interesting:

 

"Did you purchase a 2011 model with MyFord (aka Sync 2)?

 

I worked with Ford on the MyFord system, i.e. so-called upgrade of Sync. Ford decided to build this system themselves and managed the entire software project themselves. It was their first foray in a software project of such magnitude, and I speak from first-hand experience when I say the quality of the software is mediocre at best. The system is rolling out to production now and is still full of bugs. MyFord will have you making repeated trips to the dealership for software updates."

 

Time will tell.

Edited September 17, 2010 by Ctrl-z

[lakleeman]

Source?

 

This article http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/08/22/driven-2011-ford-edge-and-edge-sport-with-myford-touch/

says....

"In addition, the system needs to be a bit faster in overall operation, but we’ve heard that the initial UI was built in Flash and that engineers are working to improve the software – we’re told the hardware is very robust."

 

Personally, I've noticed there are times when it slows down. I find myself pushing a screen-button several times because it's briefly non-responsive, then it finally catches up and sometimes go farther than I wanted because of too many button pushes. But usually it works fine with a little patience.

I do hope to see speed improvements in future updates. And, updating should be easy -- with a USB flash drive, we can download updates from syncmyride.com

[akirby]

I wasn't questioning it - I had just not heard it before. Actually I had not heard anything about the UI code or platform. Maybe that's why Apple doesn't want iPhone apps to interface with MyTouch yet. (that was a joke - it has to do with the hardware itself).

[wilsons66604]

I wasn't questioning it - I had just not heard it before. Actually I had not heard anything about the UI code or platform. Maybe that's why Apple doesn't want iPhone apps to interface with MyTouch yet. (that was a joke - it has to do with the hardware itself).

Or maybe Microsoft dosen't want to code to Apple devices.

I wonder how the new Windows Mobile will work with MyFord Touch.

 

akirby, do you have an iPhone?

[akirby]

Or maybe Microsoft dosen't want to code to Apple devices.

I wonder how the new Windows Mobile will work with MyFord Touch.

 

akirby, do you have an iPhone?

 

Yes I have an iPhone 3Gs. Actually what happened is Apple doesn't want to allow apps to connect to other devices unless they have some type of authentication chip (not sure about the details other than it's a chip in the hardware device). Sync doesn't have it now but will in a few months. At that point iPhone apps can connect to the car and control infotainment functions and access other info. Other smart phones can do it now (or whenever that feature is allowed in mytouch).

 

I think it's a really smart move - letting all these smartphone app developers do it their way. The possibilities are enormous.

[francois.nc]

Yes I have an iPhone 3Gs. Actually what happened is Apple doesn't want to allow apps to connect to other devices unless they have some type of authentication chip (not sure about the details other than it's a chip in the hardware device). Sync doesn't have it now but will in a few months. At that point iPhone apps can connect to the car and control infotainment functions and access other info. Other smart phones can do it now (or whenever that feature is allowed in mytouch).

 

I think it's a really smart move - letting all these smartphone app developers do it their way. The possibilities are enormous.

When you say "SYNC doesn't have it now but will in a few months." Are you talking about a hardware chip, if so would us iPhone users be out of luck if we were to buy a current Edge without this, should we be waiting until the chip is in, before we get a new Edge?

[beare3]

The synch has itunes tagging does it not? If that is still holds true i would think that any current Apple smartphone / ipod that supports it will work fine with MyTouch - i know they suggest having the current firmware / OS on your devices to ensure compatibility - but other than that would think out the door they should work - but that is not to say that Apple wont come up with something else to toss a monkey wrench into things

[francois.nc]

The synch has itunes tagging does it not? If that is still holds true i would think that any current Apple smartphone / ipod that supports it will work fine with MyTouch - i know they suggest having the current firmware / OS on your devices to ensure compatibility - but other than that would think out the door they should work - but that is not to say that Apple wont come up with something else to toss a monkey wrench into things

Yes iTunes tagging appears to work fine, I actually test drove a Kona Blue Limited today at Lunch. All I can say is wow, I am ready now..

Anyway when my iPhone4 was connected via the USB cable, it worked perfectly with the Album Art and all.

 

I think what Akirby is talking about, is some of the features that have been shown with a Droid and apps like Pandora, you can actually use SYNC to control Pandora for example, I think that was on the 11 Focus maybe? Don't remember, so what I was asking about the chip was is this a software type fix, in that some time down the road they will add this software chip (handshake) to allow the iPhone to work with SYNC to control apps like Pandora, or is it some physical hardware piece that is getting added down the road to allow this.

[carfaninpa]

Can someone elaborate on this "chip"? I have an iphone4 and would want to have any abilities that I could from using that. If I buy an MKX now, will I have the ability to upgrade later? Is this actual hardware and could I not have the ability to upgrade? or is this a firmware or software upgrade that will be available to me?

[wilsons66604]

Check out this review by Molly Wood of CNET http://bit.ly/bJnrNi

She does explain what is and isn't available in this version of our Edge.

 

Readin SMS messages to you is only supported on a couple of phones..not iPhone.

I guess the Pandora & Sticher app options are coming next year for MyFord owners

[akirby]

I think what Akirby is talking about, is some of the features that have been shown with a Droid and apps like Pandora, you can actually use SYNC to control Pandora for example, I think that was on the 11 Focus maybe? Don't remember, so what I was asking about the chip was is this a software type fix, in that some time down the road they will add this software chip (handshake) to allow the iPhone to work with SYNC to control apps like Pandora, or is it some physical hardware piece that is getting added down the road to allow this.

 

Exactly. No word on whether the hardware upgrade can be done retroactively and it's also possible Apple will reverse it's position on allowing it without the hardware chip over the next few months.

 

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1044357_ford-sync-applink-voice-control-hates-iphone-loves-blackberry-android

[wilsons66604]

Exactly. No word on whether the hardware upgrade can be done retroactively and it's also possible Apple will reverse it's position on allowing it without the hardware chip over the next few months.

 

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1044357_ford-sync-applink-voice-control-hates-iphone-loves-blackberry-android

Well. I guess it is a Microsoft system.

[beare3]

Well. I guess it is a Microsoft system.

 

According to ford - the hardware is "robust" so i would think that hopefully some of this is being considered in preplanning as far as updates long term - but in the other aspect of this is - how many other companies are going to fall in line behind Ford and develope their own touch based interface system - MyTouch is prob tops right now but wait 6 months and all the new models will have something available would be my guess - so i would think that all us geeks could come up with solutions to fit every need - even if apple sticks its head in the sand "again" with some of the stuff they do (and no i am not bashing apple before someone gets started)

 

Personally - i prey Ford and MS focus on system durability and stability before tuneing the system with more and more features - i see this way too often in the IT industry - great ideas and instead of building a really good quality product base they half patch it and stat adding more gadgets which only slows it down and makes things worse long term

 

I guess time will tell after the first major release update to MyTouch once these puppies are in real world in greater quantity.

[akirby]

According to ford - the hardware is "robust" so i would think that hopefully some of this is being considered in preplanning as far as updates long term - but in the other aspect of this is - how many other companies are going to fall in line behind Ford and develope their own touch based interface system - MyTouch is prob tops right now but wait 6 months and all the new models will have something available would be my guess - so i would think that all us geeks could come up with solutions to fit every need - even if apple sticks its head in the sand "again" with some of the stuff they do (and no i am not bashing apple before someone gets started)

 

Personally - i prey Ford and MS focus on system durability and stability before tuneing the system with more and more features - i see this way too often in the IT industry - great ideas and instead of building a really good quality product base they half patch it and stat adding more gadgets which only slows it down and makes things worse long term

 

I guess time will tell after the first major release update to MyTouch once these puppies are in real world in greater quantity.

 

While the OS may still be microsoft I believe Ford did 100% of the UI coding as well as the applink interface.