To be honest, in-car infotainment systems are a challenge to use, an expensive option, and they become quickly out-of-date because of the long development time. Thankfully, the folks at Jaguar Land Rover North America (JLRNA) have come up with a solution that is flexible and user-friendly. After a 10 minute hands-on demonstration of their new InControl app, we walked away duly impressed and expect this new app to disrupt the automotive industry enough for them to rethink their approach to clumsy, in-car infotainment systems that are most often unintuitive, complicated, and frustrating to use.
What we experienced was JLRNA’s 1st generation of in-car connectivity personalized using your phone, your apps, your content. This means that wherever you take your smartphone, your setup comes with you. They are also the first OEM to have an iOS and Android full-screen solution over a standard USB connection with a look and feel that is familiar to YOU. Now the user experience that you are familiar with on your phone also appears on the touch-screen display in the car.
Announced at CES, the Jaguar F-TYPE will be the first vehicle to have the InControl App and then expanded to other Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles soon after. The platform will allow access to apps including: iHeart Radio; Stitcher; Glympse; Sygic; Parkopedia; Hotelseeker; Cityseeker; Airmotion News; Winston and Mobile Day.
Imagine having an in-car infotainment system that is immediately familiar and easy to use. In other words, make the Stitcher app look and feel in the car the same as on your smartphone. Customers said they didn’t want their app to look like Jaguar’s version, but wanted it kept the same as much as possible. Notably, an app can’t be 100 percent the same on the phone and in the car. There are small difference such that the transposed app has been simplified for the car and unnecessary features – like complex settings – are removed. Any apps adapted for InControl are quick, simple, and streamlined for use in the vehicle.
After given the task, developers at JLRNA came up with a working suite of productivity and entertainment apps, ready for market, within 12 months. Today there are 4 apps native to InControl – Calendar, Contacts, Maps, and Music Player; 9 of 12 apps announced at CES (Jan 2014) were available for demonstration in June with the other 3 soon to follow. We checked the website and saw the following apps are already integrated with InControl. Some of the apps may not be familiar to you since JLRNA has a worldwide customer-base and some of these apps are popular in other parts of the globe.
- iHeartRadio – access more than 1,500 live radio stations and user-created custom stations
- Stitcher – on-demand radio app for fans of podcasts and talk radio
- Glympse – calculates estimated time of arrival (ETA) and shares your movements with anyone in real-time
- Sygic – GPS navigation tool
- Parkopedia – parking information provider allows drivers to find the closest available parking to their destination
- Hotelseeker/Cityseeker/Eventseeker – provides global-based services to the world for over 15 years
- Airmotion News on Board – first news app available on a global basis equipped with a reader function
- Mobile Day – an easy one-touch connection to any conference call
InControl is compatible with iPhone 5/5S with the Lightning connector and Andriod Ice Cream Sandwich v4.4 and newer. Simply connect your iPhone or Android smart phone into the USB port and select the InControl app from the display screen.
Interestingly, app developers are excited about JLRNA’s new approach to in-car infotainment systems and anxious to work with JLRNA’s development team. Integrating a smartphone app to InControl isn’t difficult and can be done within a few weeks. Expect more apps to be added to InControl’s suite of apps and announced every quarter.
Responsiveness of the app is leaps and bounds over the native Jaguar infotainment system because performance comes from the smartphone. Essentially, the video signal from the phone is displayed on the in-car touchscreen monitor. As smartphones get better and faster, that performance will carry over to the InControl app and be usable in the car as well.
InControl is currently an optional feature for the F-TYPE with the Range Rover Evoque next in line to offer the app. Eventally, all the vehicles in the Jaguar Land Rover product line will feature InControl.
