Last year when Entune hadn't worked for me for four months (!) because of various incompatibilities with new versions of Android, I was frustrated enough to reach out to Andy Tweddle, the head of the Tweddle Group.
Andy sent me back a very nice note that while the Tweddle Group originally built and provided support for Entune, they had divested Entune's operations to Nuance (http://www.nuance.com), who now sell an Entune-like solution to the automotive market. Tweddle no longer has any stake in Entune, so I would recommend that future angry letters end up going to Nuance.
It is fair to say that the Entune components update over the air, however. The Entune-related apps in the car will update through the Entune app running on your phone when your phone is connected via Bluetooth. The application on your phone itself is updated through iTunes or the Google Play. Connectivity to your car through the service is handled remotely as well. It would seem to one thing you wouldn't need to take into the dealer for service, unless there was a problem with communication to/from the car because of an issue with the SIM card or radio hardware in the ECU gateway.
Andy sent me back a very nice note that while the Tweddle Group originally built and provided support for Entune, they had divested Entune's operations to Nuance (http://www.nuance.com), who now sell an Entune-like solution to the automotive market. Tweddle no longer has any stake in Entune, so I would recommend that future angry letters end up going to Nuance.
It is fair to say that the Entune components update over the air, however. The Entune-related apps in the car will update through the Entune app running on your phone when your phone is connected via Bluetooth. The application on your phone itself is updated through iTunes or the Google Play. Connectivity to your car through the service is handled remotely as well. It would seem to one thing you wouldn't need to take into the dealer for service, unless there was a problem with communication to/from the car because of an issue with the SIM card or radio hardware in the ECU gateway.
Why Entune Sucks App
I've had my Prius C three with Entune for almost a year now. Basically since the C came out. I want to inform anyone who is considering purchasing a Toyota that Entune is a terrible waste, and functions extremely poorly. Here are my main complaints about the system:
1. The system takes a good minute to boot up. This doesn't seem like a big deal at first. I mean, what's a minute? Does your phone or computer really boot up any faster? Not by much in most cases. The difference here is that if you want to use the navigation feature, you can't be moving. So if you need the navigation, you have to sit in the car and just wait until it's ready. Meanwhile (at least in the Prius) your engine is just burning gas if you haven't already warmed it up.
2. The voice recognition SUCKS! The fact that the system takes a minute to boot up actually wouldn't matter if the voice recognition worked well. Actually, it does do some things well. If you know the street address where you're going, it'll parse the full address correctly about 50% of the time. I consider that acceptable. What it does not do well is find POIs using voice control. Call out 'Find Next McDonald's' or any other huge chain, and it will work just fine. But other POIs, even if they're in the POI database, are just lost. I travel to Disneyland occasionally, for example. Disneyland is definitely in the POI database, but every time you call out 'Find Next Disneyland'. the system just says, 'Cancel'. In fact, basically 30-40% of the time when you tap the voice recognition button, no matter what command you issue, the result will be 'Cancel'. Every time I hear that voice say 'Cancel', I want to put my fist through the dash. I am not prone to violence, but that particular word upsets me because it doesn't tell me anything about what went wrong. I have a clear, accent neutral voice. There is no reason it should not understand me.
3. Can't really use apps from voice control. Supposedly you can start apps with your voice, but actually operating them doesn't work. This is important because, while the system doesn't stop you from pecking out your apps with your finger, it's rather dangerous to do so. Yes, this ties back into #2 to a degree.
4. Changes what you're listening to for no reason. About half of the time, when I get in the car, the Entune decides that it's going to play MP3s off of my phone without any prompting whatsoever. If I actually had music on the phone, that might be considered a 'feature', but I don't use my phone for that. So the only MP3's I have on my phone are my ringtone and a few random test recordings I made with a voice activated recording app. So then I have to flip back through to Sirius/XM. The fact that it happens half of the time, with no input at all from me, clearly indicates that this is a glitch. And an annoying one at that.
Really, the biggest flaw with the system is that you have to have an iPhone or Android smartphone to use it. That means that in order to fully utilize Entune in the first place, you have to already have a device in your pocket whose voice recognition, apps, and general function are substantially superior to Entune's. My Galaxy S3 on Android Jelly Bean can navigate to absolutely anything by voice control, and I'm sure the iPhone works similarly well. Point of fact, I'd pay good money to be able to install Jelly Bean over the junky Entune OS, and it's not because I'm more familiar with Android. I've had my Entune almost twice as long as I've been using Android.
What I wouldn't do to have my $2,000 back. Then I could get a small Android tablet, which would function much better, and I'd have more than a grand left over.
1. The system takes a good minute to boot up. This doesn't seem like a big deal at first. I mean, what's a minute? Does your phone or computer really boot up any faster? Not by much in most cases. The difference here is that if you want to use the navigation feature, you can't be moving. So if you need the navigation, you have to sit in the car and just wait until it's ready. Meanwhile (at least in the Prius) your engine is just burning gas if you haven't already warmed it up.
2. The voice recognition SUCKS! The fact that the system takes a minute to boot up actually wouldn't matter if the voice recognition worked well. Actually, it does do some things well. If you know the street address where you're going, it'll parse the full address correctly about 50% of the time. I consider that acceptable. What it does not do well is find POIs using voice control. Call out 'Find Next McDonald's' or any other huge chain, and it will work just fine. But other POIs, even if they're in the POI database, are just lost. I travel to Disneyland occasionally, for example. Disneyland is definitely in the POI database, but every time you call out 'Find Next Disneyland'. the system just says, 'Cancel'. In fact, basically 30-40% of the time when you tap the voice recognition button, no matter what command you issue, the result will be 'Cancel'. Every time I hear that voice say 'Cancel', I want to put my fist through the dash. I am not prone to violence, but that particular word upsets me because it doesn't tell me anything about what went wrong. I have a clear, accent neutral voice. There is no reason it should not understand me.
3. Can't really use apps from voice control. Supposedly you can start apps with your voice, but actually operating them doesn't work. This is important because, while the system doesn't stop you from pecking out your apps with your finger, it's rather dangerous to do so. Yes, this ties back into #2 to a degree.
4. Changes what you're listening to for no reason. About half of the time, when I get in the car, the Entune decides that it's going to play MP3s off of my phone without any prompting whatsoever. If I actually had music on the phone, that might be considered a 'feature', but I don't use my phone for that. So the only MP3's I have on my phone are my ringtone and a few random test recordings I made with a voice activated recording app. So then I have to flip back through to Sirius/XM. The fact that it happens half of the time, with no input at all from me, clearly indicates that this is a glitch. And an annoying one at that.
Really, the biggest flaw with the system is that you have to have an iPhone or Android smartphone to use it. That means that in order to fully utilize Entune in the first place, you have to already have a device in your pocket whose voice recognition, apps, and general function are substantially superior to Entune's. My Galaxy S3 on Android Jelly Bean can navigate to absolutely anything by voice control, and I'm sure the iPhone works similarly well. Point of fact, I'd pay good money to be able to install Jelly Bean over the junky Entune OS, and it's not because I'm more familiar with Android. I've had my Entune almost twice as long as I've been using Android.
What I wouldn't do to have my $2,000 back. Then I could get a small Android tablet, which would function much better, and I'd have more than a grand left over.
This works good, but the voice quality of Entune sucks. Spoken phrases do sound like Toyota is stuck about six years behind on text-to-speech technology, and that's why I'm rating it at only a 7/10.
- Funny - I was literally just at my local used Toyota store 99% ready to pick up a 2015 corolla. Entune absolutely sucks balls. I JUST WANT MY HANDS-FREE SIRI.
- IMHO Entune is a lost cause, Voice recognition does not well at all, Navigation requires far to many button pushes and the constant nagging voice and commentary for every turn renders the system.
Why Entune Sucks On Tv
This works good, but the voice quality of Entune sucks. Spoken phrases do sound like Toyota is stuck about six years behind on text-to-speech technology, and that's why I'm rating it at only a 7/10.
- Funny - I was literally just at my local used Toyota store 99% ready to pick up a 2015 corolla. Entune absolutely sucks balls. I JUST WANT MY HANDS-FREE SIRI.
- IMHO Entune is a lost cause, Voice recognition does not well at all, Navigation requires far to many button pushes and the constant nagging voice and commentary for every turn renders the system.
Why Entune Sucks On Tv
Why Entune Sucks New
Toyota doesn't want to share data. Solution develop Entune. Entune doesn't really provide what people want. Toyota sales guy told me that no manufacturer allowed for navigation input while the vehicle was in operation due to taking focus from the road; that was a lie. My BMW was newer and I could input addresses in it while moving. Microsoft threat modeling tool templates. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us.
