[Crabby]

Pete

I have. A number of gripes with the LR InControl Apps - which renders them pretty useless - but have been unable to get any constructive feedback from LR InControl website. I wondered if you can provide some feedback and help please?

Firstly, iPhone 6 using the latest iOS (8.3).

I have intalled and try to use the standard LR Apps, then Parkopedia, HotelSeeker, CitySeeker. I have separately contacted the 3rd party app developers, but to be honest past history shows little support.

Gripe 1 - if LR are actively encouraging use of 3rd party apps, they should make sure that they work and integrate properly. For example, none of the 3 apps above integrate with the phone or car satnavs, therefore they are nothing more than lists that you cannot then find and drive to. Parkopedia is particularly poor as it keeps asking to buy premium content - which is a constant bug.
My main point is - if LR encourage their use - LR should make sure that they are fit for purpose.

Now the LR Apps.

Calendar. Lists the calendar entries. If a meeting is somewhere, it's not beyond the wit of man for the location to integrate with the satnav and therefore if required direct you to the location. But no. If a Conf call, would it be useful to dial the number? But no.
Pretty useless then.

Contacts. Does it actually show any contact names? No. So what's the point. What really does this app do?
Again - pretty useless.

Music. Flakey to say the least. Intermittent connection problems, and what happened to access to podcasts and audiobooks? My old evoque had access to this stuff via the music player no problem. Since not racks presents delays to the music starting (in some instances the first 5 seconds of the track is muted).

In summary - InControl - a waste of money due to poor application quality control - LR should have adopted CarPlay or put in some killer applications that work.

So now forget the InCintrol apps and look at the standard offerings in the Infotainment Centre.

SatNav - usable - and many better features than the old Evoque Meridian system satnav (such as better maps) but trying to find a location using the screen browser is impossible. Other elements of functionality have gone (such as adding your own POIs). 1 step forwards, 1 step backwards.
Phone - why does it default to Contact List rather than last calls? Why isn't this configurable? Why don't the contacts show the pictures of the contacts? -poor.
Music Player - Browse doesn't work - never has since I plugged my iPhone in. Pretty basic stuff.

I could go on - but won't.

In summary:
3rd party InControl apps - very poor and LR have a responsibility to ensure some standards are met - such as do they work and are they fit for purpose.
LR InControl Apps - poor and again not fit for purpose. Can LR blame IOS upgrades? - no - as every app developer gets chance to test against the new OS before release. When did LR last post an InControl update?
InBuilt player/nav etc - see above.

I wouldn't expect yourself or LR to make many statements regarding the inbuilt infotainment system - as it would expose some failings and possible issues that need to be dealt fixed. But the general software quality is weak.

However I would expect LR to do something about the InControl apps which have been sold as the next great thing - and charge us for for the privilege of being exposed to. I would also expect LR to have a responsibility for the 3rd party apps and get the vendors sorted - or drop them if bad quality. Finally as regards InControl Apps - what really are they giving me? Nothing other than a different music player which isn't great.
A refund or revamp is in order - or a switch to Apple CarPlay.

As a software developer for many years - I feel pretty qualified to comment. A £44,000 car with a £2.50 entertainment system. Over the weekend I was passenger in my friends new BMW. A revelation. Please take some lessons from them.

Can LR Infotainment/InControl please give a response ( other than a 'we are very sorry that... )

Thanks in advance.

 

[[email protected]]

Hi Crabby,

Thank you for your post and I will be raising all of your feedback to our InControl development team.

I will respond further once I have more information regarding the points you have raised.

Many thanks,
Pete

 

[Crabby]

Thanks Pete

 

[Fizzpop]

Interesting. Mine is flawless all works and no problems. I have actually been impressed with the music elements.

 

[Chalky]

Interesting. Mine is flawless all works and no problems. I have actually been impressed with the music elements.

Ah, but your not a Software developer :?

 

[Fizzpop]

Actually I am ! Seriously mine is fine. Interesting how people seem to be having different experiences ...

 

[Chalky]

:shock:

Actually I am ! Seriously mine is fine. Interesting how people seem to be having different experiences ...

Well in that case, :lol:

Is this the Software Developers Dream car then? i'm not a software developer, so how will i know what to do.............. :idea:

 

[qubito]

[email protected]

Are any updates due soon? Will Incontrol Apps support any new apps soon? My suggested apps are Deezer, Spotify, Google Maps, waze, BBC iplayer/iplayer radio, Gmail...

 

[RRMike]

I am also disappointed by this, why on earth do i need to plug in my phone!

Car Play would be much more acceptable.

I can't even get spotify.

It also appears to be a close ecoscystem open only to certain apps.

 

[[email protected]]

Hi All,

Thank you for the feedback.

I am unfortunately unable to provide further information until such time that it has been officially released / confirmed. However there are plans to continue to provide support and applications.

Once such application is outlined at the following link: http://blog.rdio.com/uk/2015/01/new-for-2015-jaguar-and-land-rover-integration-and-partnerships-with-dts-lg-electronics-and-hisense.html

I can however assure you that your feedback is being passed on to the InControl Team and is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Pete

 

[[email protected]]

Good Morning,

I did advise that I would look into this further and as such, I do have more information regarding this.

Gripe 1 - if LR are actively encouraging use of 3rd party apps, they should make sure that they work and integrate properly. For example, none of the 3 apps above integrate with the phone or car satnavs, therefore they are nothing more than lists that you cannot then find and drive to. Parkopedia is particularly poor as it keeps asking to buy premium content - which is a constant bug.

Towards the end of 2015 we will be adding a feature which integrates "Navigate to" which will enable 3rd party applications such as those mentioned above to pass through navigation directions to a Navigation app such as Sygic within the InControl Apps framework.

The portfolio of apps are not specially developed for the InControl Apps platform but are imply adaptations of pre-existing applications readily available in stand-alone handset mode. Therefore any 'freemium' or premium content features are simply carried over and are not under JLR's control.

Now the LR Apps.

Calendar. Lists the calendar entries. If a meeting is somewhere, it's not beyond the wit of man for the location to integrate with the satnav and therefore if required direct you to the location. But no. If a Conf call, would it be useful to dial the number? But no.
Pretty useless then.

Similar to above, we plan to introduce a feature called Roadmap to integrate cross functionality between apps for scenarios such as passing addresses through to a 3rd party navigation app. Details of 3rd party cross functionality still under development at this time.

MobileDay is an app which will be introduced shortly that allows for the user to access dial in details direct from your calendar, so with a single touch of a button you can join your meeting.

Contacts. Does it actually show any contact names? No. So what's the point. What really does this app do?
Again - pretty useless.

The Contacts App does show contact names if they are stored correctly in the users handset with the surname and forename fields populated. The only time the number is solely shown is if the contact name is stored in the Company field, which is an issue with the iOS operating system.

Music. Flakey to say the least. Intermittent connection problems, and what happened to access to podcasts and audiobooks? My old evoque had access to this stuff via the music player no problem. Since not racks presents delays to the music starting (in some instances the first 5 seconds of the track is muted).

Unless all music is downloaded from the cloud onto the handset then it will not stream using the music player in InControl Apps. This is due to the fact that cloud stored media is not accessible through the InControl Apps feature. The reason why Audiobooks cannot be played through the media player can be attributed to the fact that the media player in InControl Apps only plays locally stored music. Furthermore InControl Apps doesn't support the Podcast app and as downloaded Podcasts are played through this application. This is currently not available through InControl Apps and has never been purported to have been a feature. If the user is Bluetooth paired then he is not blocked from using the podcast app to stream content. However this is planned as a future feature improvement to incorporate other media sources onto the platform.

I hope this has gone some way to answer your questions.

Many thanks,
Pete

 

[Discoman64]

Hello All,

I am struggling with mine. Had to buy a new phone (Samsung S5) because the S2 wasn't compatible. The nav system worked ok for the trial period but freezes all the time now i have bought it. I haven't been able to get the sound to work.
I am no tec expert so any help with settings will be greatly appreciated.

 

[[email protected]]

Hi Discoman64,

Have you raised your concerns to your local Land Rover retailer for assistance.

More than happy to ensure that any concerns you are experiencing are looked into if you would like to PM me with the following details:

Full Name:
Contact No:
Contact Email:
Vehicle Reg:
Chosen Retailer:

Many thanks,
Pete

 

[Discoman64]

Thanks Pete,

I will contact my retailer on the matter.

 

[Behury]

I appreciate this is an old thread and improvements have been made to the In Control Apps.

However, there are some related issues that I have noticed:

1) Connecting to In Control Apps is inconsistent and it seems to hang quite often, even if I have a 4G signal. Usually it requires unplugging my phone, closing the app and reconnecting. Clearly not great if you are driving. If someone can tell me this never happens to them, I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong.

2) I tried using the feature to open the Calendar and then select your meeting location, in order to use it for your navigation location. If you have paid for premium Sygic, this works (I paid for the 7 day trial). Great. But why not connect to the in-built satnav if you have not bought premium Sygic? I assume LR don't make any money from Sygic...

 

[Behury]

I have been using justDrive for a while now. There are a couple of older threads on here that are still relevant and I agree having hired a Ford in Germany recently that had CarPlay, it was simpler and more stable than my LR In Control. This probably would have been a better choice of system for LR. It also lets you dictate a response to text messages, which is useful and hopefully not too dangerous. The InControl app will read texts, but I don't think you can dictate a reply.

However, as a quick update to my last post, you can select your meeting location from your calendar on the In Control Apps and if you have justDrive, it will start navigation using the justDrive app. Also you can use the voice command to open any song from Spotify which works really well. I was almost impressed

 

[wardie]

[quote="Behury" But why not connect to the in-built satnav if you have not bought premium Sygic? I assume LR don't make any money from ...[/quote]
If I remember there I should a setting somewhere in InCintrol app where you tell it which app is your preferred navigation app. That may work. More to the point when is TomTom app coming???

 

[Behury]

Had another look but couldn't find a setting to select preferred nav system, maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

Agree with you though wardie, Tomtom app would be great. I also like waze.