Conflicting reports released about need for in-vehicle apps

A clash of interests could be looming in the automotive world, judging by two conflicting new reports — and the motorist will be in the centre of the battleground.

UK firm Juniper Research says that the number of in-vehicle apps in use is expected to reach 269 million by 2018, representing a fivefold increase on last year’s figure, underlining motorists” and car-makers’ obsession with the technology race.

By 2018, most new cars will come with integrated apps as standard, but with after-market offerings also commonplace, it says.

In Detroit, meanwhile, automotive research firm SBD says that drivers are already tiring of automakers embedding superfluous apps in their cars: they only want “essential” apps that work as well as the ones on their smartphone. Mostly, they want sat-nav or infotainment apps. Andrew Hart, head of advanced research at SBD, says car-makers sometimes embed the “wrong” apps in cars because, in the rush to catch up with smartphones and tablets, they forget about usability and responsiveness.

In the UK, Hampshire firm Juniper says growth will nevertheless be fuelled by clever solutions such as Apple’s CarPlay (which lets drivers sync their phones to their cars, controlling apps through the car’s built-in display), promoting in-car apps to the mainstream. It coincides with news this week that nine new car manufacturers — Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Mazda and Ram — have now committed to integrating CarPlay, bringing the total to 29.

Encouragingly for consumers, the report says that widespread smartphone tethering and in-vehicle apps will continue to drive down the price of vehicle manufacturers’ own embedded infotainment services.

One lesson is key: manufacturers should keep it simple. The Detroit focus group had to complete three simple tasks with in-car apps: find a radio station, navigate home, and find a pizza shop. Only 40 per cent were able to complete the simple tasks. For now, downloading apps on to smartphones offers the best of both worlds, as they can be used in or out of the car, and manipulating apps on your phone is almost always easier than via dashboard controls.

This page recently reported on one such useful app for motorists, ETA for iOS, which usefully predicts the amount of time it takes to reach a destination.

Now we’ve tried a rival, Windows app, Here Maps, an engaging way of finding your way around 95 countries worldwide. Click the nearby point of interest and you get the address, phone number, locator map — even a review. Click the map icon and it speedily “inks” in a clear route with projected time and mileage. Going off-line? Download relevant maps before leaving. We tried it on the Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone (£399.95 sim-free) which, with its big, intense, 600x950mm screen, makes it perfect for use with mapping when you want to see the detail.

This app works well in “foot” or “public transport” mode as well as for motorists planning a route. Here Maps’ best feature is LiveSight, revealing just how clever apps can be: point the camera in any direction and — as the maps match the compass — labelled points of interest “hover” over the streetscape. It’s a fun way to explore a city and — as it’s not fixed to your car — you can show it off in the pub too. Who could tire of that?

Follow David Williams on Twitter at @djrwilliams