Audi: Evolution of car controllers

Our other blog "Foursprung" has a nice article about the evolution of car controllers, giving you a comparison between BMW's iDrive, Infiniti's controller and the Audi MMI.
Easy win for Audi of course.

A shiny aluminum knob less than 2 inches high is an unlikely lightning rod, unless you're talking about the BMW iDrive cockpit controller. The iDrive became a metaphor for all that's been unworkable in technology-centric cars of the past decade.

The problem with the first iDrive, beyond the cool-looking but slippery controller knob, was that it went too far in removing dashboard switches and relied too much on the controller. People want to switch from FM to CD with one button, not three layers down in a menu. Audi, Infiniti, and now Mercedes have created cockpit controllers that do a better job than BMW's, in part because they learned from the iDrive's shortcomings.

Audi's MMI (multimedia interface, shown at left) was a big step forward. The Audi control knob isn't quite as showy as the iDrive, but it's easier to grip and has eight task buttons around the controller: Radio, CD, Net (communications but not Web browsing, sorry), Tel, Nav, Info, Car, and Setup. You just press one of the eight buttons and then fine-tune your choices with the control knob.

I find Audi's MMI preferable to Infiniti's busy layout. The Audi gear has some brilliant touches. Need silence suddenly? Slap your palm anywhere to the left of the MMI controller and quickly mute the sound. A nifty roller control on the steering wheel provides fast access to more precise volume control.

Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Audi, MMI

Source: Foursprung

Audi: Evolution of car controllers

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