.KEYWORD autopc
.FLYINGHEAD AUTOPC POWER
.TITLE A look at the first year of the Auto PC with Microsoft
.DEPT
.AUTHOR Mark Moeller
.SUMMARY With 1999 winding down and the year 2000 about to start, Contributing Editor Mark Moeller takes a close look at the Auto PC, how far it has come, and where it still needs to go. Plus, read this important article for an exclusive interview with Dave Wright, Director of Business Development for the Auto PC at Microsoft.
December marks the first anniversary of the Auto PC’s shipment. I thought this would be a good time to take a look at what this past year has brought and get a peek at what the coming year will bring. I also thought this was an appropriate time to get some questions answered for those of you who have written in wondering what was happening with the Auto PC. So, as part of this issue, I have included an exclusive interview I conducted with Dave Wright, Director of Business Development for the Auto PC at Microsoft, regarding the questions you’ve been sending me.
When the Auto PC was rolled out in December of 1998, it was welcomed by many who had been anticipating its arrival since January of 1998, when it was introduced with great fanfare. Although the product was over six months late when it was released, enthusiastic consumers snatched it up quickly. From reading posts on the Club Auto PC forum, it was clear that people were excited and eagerly awaiting add-on software and hardware.
The first third-party Auto PC software on the market was OmegaOne’s Active Volume. It turned the volume up and down on the Auto PC, based on the speed of the vehicle. This kept the volume to road-noise ratio the same as the vehicle traveled at various speeds. The first full-featured application to ship was InfoGation’s Odyssey navigation system. Its high quality and attention to detail really set a reference standard for other third-party ISV’s (Independent Software Vendors) to measure up against. Odyssey truly made the Auto PC shine in the area of navigation and was well received by Auto PC owners. It’s also the only third party software for the Auto PC that has actually passed the certification process with Microsoft. Over the course of the year other applications and utilities trickled out, such as OmegaOne’s game suite and Mobile Visions’ very popular sound schemes. However, nobody would introduce another major piece of software until TravRoute shipped CoPilot for the Auto PC this past October.
When Clarion rolled out the Auto PC they announced several hardware peripherals for it including a GPS receiver, CD changer, cellular phone interface, wireless receiver, vehicle diagnostic bus interface (CARPORT), and an improved microphone. Over the course of the year all these products, with the exception of the CARPORT, were released. Each of these products helped the Auto PC deliver more and more of the functionality promised. Auto PC owners quickly snapped up these items and had their enthusiasm renewed. However, each had its own shortcomings and users had mixed results, depending on which of these devices were being used together. Clarion responded by releasing an operating system update for the Clarion AutoPC called Service Pack 1 that fixed many of the problems users experienced.
In the development community, all was not well. Microsoft didn’t deliver software development tools for the Auto PC that used current development tool technology until mid-year. Neither Microsoft nor Clarion had an Auto PC developer support program in place for the development community at large. This deterred or delayed developers waiting to do products for the Auto PC. Overall, the scene was not meeting Auto PC developers’ expectations and was a source of frustration for many. It was a typical version 1.0 product situation.
To their credit, Clarion has since started a developer support program, but the bridges to the development community need mending. The result is that the Auto PC end users suffered because the development community was hindered in getting software and hardware to the market for the Auto PC.
The Auto PC won a "Best of What’s New" award from Popular Science this year. It also received an "Excellent" rating as a navigation system, when combined with Odyssey, from a leading consumer product rating publication. Generally, the press has been overwhelmingly positive on the Auto PC. Terms such as "revolutionary," "redefining the industry," and "innovative" have been used to describe the product. Many in the press understand the Auto PC’s potential and are impressed by its features. But, even with all the press the Auto PC has gotten in major publications, consumer awareness of the product is very low. Neither Clarion nor Microsoft has engaged in any sort of a sustained, highly visible advertising campaign to let people know about the product. Consequently, some Auto PC owners and a few in the press have suggested that the Auto PC has been orphaned by Clarion and Microsoft, even likening it to Microsoft’s infamous product, Bob. I know that nothing could be further from the truth, but that’s because of confidentiality agreements I have with many in the Auto PC industry.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Exclusive interview
To help address growing misperceptions about the future of the product, I asked my friends on Microsoft’s Auto PC team if they would be willing to address some of the concerns my readers have sent me regarding the future of the Auto PC. I gave them the most common questions I have received from you and other people working in the Auto PC industry. Here’s what Microsoft’s Dave Wright had to say:
.Q MM
Is Microsoft committed to moving the Auto PC platform forward?
.A DW
Absolutely. The team has grown, the investment has grown, and the partners have grown. 1999 has been a successful year for us in terms of industry development, including across the automotive and PC industry. Because the industry is in its infancy, it takes longer to get a product to market. The year 2000 will show a lot more of what those activities have been. There is no longer a question about this marketplace, it’s simply a matter of timing.
.Q MM
Sales of the Auto PC have been very slow, and consumer awareness of the Auto PC is almost zero. What is Microsoft doing to rectify this?
.A DW
Microsoft’s focus during 1999 has been on industry market building. The year 2000 will bring further market building. This will be done in conjunction with Auto PC hardware and software partners in places such as consumer electronics shows, auto shows, over the Internet, and in public markets.
.Q MM
When will we see advertising by Microsoft for the Auto PC?
.A DW
Starting in calendar year 2000. The year 2000 will bring lots of activity in the Auto PC area. Our presence will be much broader and deals will be publicly discussed.
.Q MM
Why isn’t Microsoft developing applications for the Auto PC?
.A DW
We are in the market enabling stages. The market is growing very fast but Microsoft’s focus is on enabling that market. Microsoft has historically focused on building a great platform before building applications.
.Q MM
What is the status of application development interest from ISV’s for doing software for the Auto PC?
.A DW
Amazingly high. There is a lot of interest from many different elements looking at in-car computing and bringing real time data, Internet content, safety, and entertainment applications to the automotive environment. Many different players in the automotive, PC computing, Internet, and entertainment industries are all interested.
.Q MM
What is Microsoft doing to attract programmers to the Auto PC platform?
.A DW
Most of the work in this area has been with manufacturers of Auto PCs. We have been dealing with software vendors and content providers. Most of this has not been publicized. We have had a presence at the Windows CE developers conferences but there has been no big push to attract programmers. The Auto PC team’s focus has been on automotive manufacturers, tier one suppliers, and systems integrators. Even though Microsoft has not spent a lot of resources attracting third-party ISV’s, they have been coming on their own. Calendar year 2000 will show a lot of the development work people have been doing for the Auto PC.
.Q MM
What avenues do the small development shops have, beyond the Auto PC SDK (Software Development Kit), for getting their questions answered?
.A DW
Microsoft is expending resources to create white papers and improve documentation on specific topics. The Auto PC team will be launching a developers’ forum in the near future.
.Q MM
Of all the companies listed on Microsoft’s Web site, only one has shipped a product. What is delaying 14 of your 15 partners from shipping products?
.A DW
Clarion took a leadership stance and went to market really early. You will see many more of our listed partners, and others that are not listed, rolling out products in the year 2000. Most of the partners are from the automotive industry or are working with companies in the automotive industry. The product development cycle is very different than the PC market. The auto industry recognizes this and is trying to change their development cycles to be more in-line, time-wise, with the PC development cycle.
.Q MM
There are five areas that are often sited as shortcomings of the Auto PC. They are: lack of continuous speech recognition; poor text to speech quality; too small a display; slow system operation; and no MP3 player. What is Microsoft doing to address those concerns in future Auto PC versions?
.A DW
We recognize the shortcomings in the version 1.0 product. We have worked on these issues and many more. Improvements in processors, speech technology, display technology, and software architecture will address these issues, and many more, in upcoming versions. A larger screen, continuous speech, and digital audio support (such as MP3) are just around the corner for the Auto PC.
.Q MM
What is the message you would like Auto PC enthusiasts to take away?
.A DW
The activity happening in this industry is reaching unprecedented levels. Any question regarding the feasibility of this industry should be erased. Timing and driving great solutions to market are the only issues. People should fully expect great Auto PC’s in their cars in the coming years for greater safety, communications, and information access of all types.
.END_SIDEBAR
.H1 Conclusion
So there you have it. To sum it up, the Auto PC is alive and well! 1999 was a year of industry building for the Auto PC, but end users saw new offerings as well. Microsoft’s focus is now on quietly working with its partners to build a solid foundation for the industry. The year 2000 will be one of much more public visibility of Microsoft’s promotion of the Auto PC. During the next year, watch the news wires any time a consumer electronic or automotive industry show comes up, as they will be some of the main venues Microsoft will be using to do their promotions. I, for one, will be at the International Consumer Electronics Show this coming January 6-9 in Las Vegas.
Be sure to keep in touch, and keep those questions coming to markmo@autopcware.com.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
You can find Clarion’s AutoPC at http://www.autopc.com.
For more information on OmegaOne’s Active Volume and game suite, see http://www.omegaone.com/AutoPC/Default.htm.
If you want more information on Odyssey from InfoGation, check out http://www.infogation.com/odyssey.html.
Mobile Visions’ sound schemes can be found at http://www.mobilevisionssoftware.com/schemes.htm.
CoPilot from TravRoute can be found at http://www.travroute.com.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
