why oh why the joystick on the navigator

[my2wins]

I've had my new Genesis for less than 24 hours, and I'm already regretting the choice of the joystick navigator (instead of touch screen). Its almost impossible to use quickly, and I can already tell I probably won't get a fraction of the use out of it that I should, at least for a while.

I am a very tech savvy person. I work in tech. I have a masters degree in a tech field. I use technology gadgets all day long. And the Genesis navigator is the most non-intuitive device I've ever used, besides perhaps an HP Scientific Calculator! (Wondering if maybe I've just gotten "dumbed down" by using an iPhone for the last 11 months!)

Trying to enter numbers and letters reminds me of trying to do the same on my son's Xbox using the crazy video game controller. It was very slow going and clunky at first, and even a few years later I'm still not proficient. :\

Granted I've only spent all of 20 minutes in my new Genesis, and I know I'll eventually somewhat get used to the Navigator. But so far, the GUI of the Navi seems much worse compared to the basic touch screen Navi on my Honda Civic.

I couldn't figure out a way to enter the numbers and words using voice inputs. If I find out that its not possible, I think I'll cry. Don't even tell me if its not possible. I'd like to live without that let down as long as possible on that one (I'm kidding, bring it on).

BUT, other than that -- LOVE this car. Love it. I will just have to learn to accept and embrace the complex Navigation system. And probably will need to start using my iphone map feature. (Oh, the irony).

 

[myasian]

Don't know why you are complaining about the navigation now, did't you test out all the toys and gadgets before purchase since you said that " I am a very tech savvy person ".

Maybe you should have bought the Acura RLX, that has a 2 display, touch screen and a joystick.

Check this video and maybe it will help
http://reviews.cnet.com/sedan/2009-hyundai-genesis-4/4505-10865_7-33414208.html

 

[DRS]

I read all the hoopla against the BMW system for years by cranky old men and cranky artsy young rug rat writers at Car and Driver (plus other "car magazines"). So, I was interested in how this would work before I bought mine.

Yes, it is not perfect... And it does not have a choice to use a touch screen when sitting still, and the "dial" when moving. However, I find it very efficient after testing it, and living with it for 1.5 months now. It works great while moving without taking eyes off the road too long and move from the drivers position. I have had twice now morons wander from their lane to mine while I was making an adjustment. I spotted the perps easy, and was not hyper focused on touching the screen while the car move up and down and "aiming" to hit the right button or instruction letter..

I find it is very easy to bounce between nav, to XM, or FM, to iPod or DVD (with VIM), or DVD audio. Easy to get to system settings or whatever. Verses pounding screens while bouncing along with my head in the dash.

The feel of the control and the buttons is good in my opinion.

The nav, audio, video, do their job. I am used to the nav, and had my Garmin wide screen with traffic as a reserve. So far, never started it except to pull some addresses of previous locations. The XM traffic where I am and adjacent states works better IMO than the Garmin. I pay for the subscription.

I find the voice commands for not just the phone, but the nav, and audio choices works very well. I still do not have all the commands down. I would predict not hard for a young tech genius to keep track of like yourself.

It is all matter of opinion. This is how I experience it as a long time tech person myself. I am not frustrated. Especially knowing this was designed back in 06-07 or so.. Being ready for the car roll out and follow on.

Some day soon, gestures in the air might be used. And/or real speech of complete and variable sentences for commands. With a big HUD. Who knows.

I appreciate your shout out on your initial feelings about it. Glad you like the car. Most of us do too Just watch out for the stretching leather on the seats. Big defect.

 

[veed]

someone else here called it the "knobbus kabobbus" or something. i've been in tech 35+ yrs. knee jerk was "are you kidding me?" ... but after a month or so it becomes much more intuitive (apart from having to enter addresses).

the trick is to not fight it (and for ex-[G]UI developers, that can be a tall order).

give yourself a little time ...

 

[OneFunGenesis]

Tech savvy and you use an iPhone...?

The joystick is intuitive but slow. It's better than the iDrive in BMW, and MUCH safer and quicker than a touch screen. Take it from me with a touch screen navi in an Optima and my "iDrive" in the Genesis.

 

[waveman]

@my2wins: I don't think that the DIS control (I assume that's what you mean by "joystick") is unintuitive at all. It's usually pretty obvious how various UI elements will react when you rotate, move, or press the dial. I agree that it's sometimes difficult to know what to do next, and some functions (e.g., iPod control and some nav aspects) are poorly implemented. Controlling the nav via voice is often better because you can tell it where you are before you enter the street.

 

[my2wins]

Don't know why you are complaining about the navigation now, did't you test out all the toys and gadgets before purchase since you said that " I am a very tech savvy person ".

Funny you should say that. You're actually right, I didn't test the tech model much. I actually spent all my eval time with the premium package model, thinking that was my intended purchase. I did test drive one fully loaded model, but since I thought the tech pack wasn't in my budget, I didn't inspect the gadgetry with a critical eye, and certainly didn't do any usability investigation.

I went in planning to buy the model without the tech package, then on the day I was ready to buy, the numbers worked out unexpectedly such that I was able to "upgrade" to the tech package for not much more. Wanting that dang ventilated seat and the parking assist, I just went with the upgrade, instead of spending any time playing around with the knobs first.

Lesson learned. (Maybe).

 

[my2wins]

Check this video and maybe it will help
http://reviews.cnet.com/sedan/2009-hyundai-genesis-4/4505-10865_7-33414208.html

Okay, that is super cool. Thanks for sending. I have hope.

 

[my2wins]

Tech savvy and you use an iPhone...?

Tell me about it.

 

[my2wins]

I find the voice commands for not just the phone, but the nav, and audio choices works very well. .

When I finally figure out how to initiate voice commands, 90% of my complaint will be moot point. (The fact that I thought I had to spell everything out with that door knob was the big bummer.)

Until I read these replies, I thought I was going to learn there was no voice option. I guess I should crack open the manual tonight.

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[my2wins]

the trick is to not fight it (and for ex-[G]UI developers, that can be a tall order).

give yourself a little time ...

This makes me feel a lot better. Thank you. Seriously.

Changing topics for a second, I am almost fanatically in love with this car in every other way. I would put a ring on it if I could.

 

[homeofstone]

This makes me feel a lot better. Thank you. Seriously.

Changing topics for a second, I am almost fanatically in love with this car in every other way. I would put a ring on it if I could.

Voice commands is way better most of the time. The manual has a list and some commands that the car will work with are not listed. It takes time to master.

 

[DRS]

Ok buckos... Having fun mocking the iPhone 5? I get that. However, the Galaxy Note 2 I have has problems with this site. The Surface Pro, I also have, does not have an app for this site yet.. The iPhone app for this site works great. Too lazy tonight to use either the MacBook Pro, or A variety of Windows laptops, or PCs. Enough with my tinkling around the tree.

The only major flaw (beside no BT audio) is with the directory system on the iPod integration. It has categories for podcasts (which I listen to a bunch), music, books, albums, artists, etc. problem is, on my firmware, they lump the content all together across all categories. Podcasts in albums, whatever. The voice recognition seems to pick them out well. IF you can remember all the content..

 

[landtuna]

I've had my new Genesis for less than 24 hours, and I'm already regretting the choice of the joystick navigator (instead of touch screen). Its almost impossible to use quickly, and I can already tell I probably won't get a fraction of the use out of it that I should, at least for a while.

Similar background and similar experience but it takes awhile to get used to it and then becomes almost second nature.

I had a 2011 Santa Fe with touch screen nav just prior to my R-spec and can tell you trying to touch the characters on the screen while bouncing down an average road is hit and miss. In that respect the ba-donk-a-donk button is much easier.

 

[my2wins]

...trying to touch the characters on the screen while bouncing down an average road is hit and miss. In that respect the ba-donk-a-donk button is much easier.

I hear ya. On second thought, poking at the screen vs man-handling a door knob, actually wouldn't solve some of these initial issues I've had. I was hasty to blame the hardware. Its not the knob itself that ails me, its the SW usability.

The main issue is that I keep getting "dead ended" in these rabbit holes that I can't seem to get out of, whether I side step left, right or push up or down. I end up going back to home and starting over, and getting lost again. its not just in the Navi menu, but in other areas. It just seems like the menus don't behave the same in every section of the software.

All said, I'm very very very very very VERY happy to hear there is voice command functionality. Once I find may way in, I'm sure I'll be just fine. That was the part I was most worried about, thinking how miserable it was going to be to enter addresses. Not a problem now it sounds like.

By the way, EVERY single person who's seen this new car today has been blown away by it. Is the Genesis one of the world's best kept secrets or what? I myself had never heard of it until a few weeks ago. But I've seen them zoom by me periodically over the past few years, and it caught my eye every single time. When I finally figured out what it was, and did about 80 hours of deep research, I knew it was for me. So funny how few people agree.

I mentioned in an earlier post that our friends were snickering about our intended purchase over the past weekend, as they'd never heard of a Genesis. Just the idea of it was laughable to them. (And in fact my hub felt the same exact way until he took it for a test spin for the first time this past Saturday, and he fell head over heels before we even got out off the car lot.)

Fast forward to today, day 1, first things first, show the baby off. We took the Genesis up on the California Coast tonight and let our most skeptical buddy, a Lexus lover, drive it. The guy bought a new RX two weeks ago, and was campaigning for us to forget Hyundai and go for Lexus, Infinity, or even an E series. After zipping around in the Genesis on the Coast tonight, he was drooling like a fool when he got out of the car. #Converted!

 

[GenesisCaptain]

I've had my new Genesis for less than 24 hours, and I'm already regretting the choice of the joystick navigator (instead of touch screen). Its almost impossible to use quickly, and I can already tell I probably won't get a fraction of the use out of it that I should, at least for a while.

Give it time, and you may come to like it. Almost every premium car uses a touchscreen or a similar input to the Genesis. I have used both, and I prefer the Genesis input method to touchscreen. It has a few clutzy moves between screens, but it does everything from the comfort of your arm rest.

For history, the auto critics pretty much hated the BMW iDrive in 2002 and bemoaned it as the end of the world as we know it.. However, that is one of the most-copied interfaces in the auto industry now, and the complaints have all but vanished.

 

[Fast55]

So far, I'd say this is superior to iDrive, and far better than the touch screen/voice in my Tahoe. Voice commands are pretty good too. Makes the Avalon I got rid of seem like a Model A in comparison (worst nav ever made). Blows away the MB too, but it's 7 years old, so no surprise there. BT streaming from my HTC EVO is awesome. So far, I like this car a lot and I'm pretty picky........

 

[wd40]

I've had my R spec for a month now and my biggest complaint is the nav system. the unit in my opinion is slow to respond. the angle of the screen makes viewing very difficult depending on the position of the sun hitting the windshield. I have an Alpine unit that replaced an old antiquated nav unit in my other vehicle. Much more user friendly and presets for the xm/radio are easier to use.

 

[my2wins]

Follow up 72 hours later: I am in much better shape on figuring out the Navi GUI.

The issue that was my biggest concern, being unable to use voice commands, is no longer an issue. I was apparently not holding it down the correct length.

As I now know from finally cracking open the manual last night, as it turns out, one must hold the voice button "up to .8 seconds" to engage the voice menu. Holding it longer essentially cancels the voice menu, which is what I was doing every time. (i.e. I was holding it a count of 2 seconds, based on my previous car, and the Genesis voice command would do nothing, leading me to believe erroneously that there was no voice capability. D'oh).

THANK YOU to all for the great replies. I got back in there after hearing your multiple perspectives, and slowly but surely its all making sense.

I still keep getting "dead ended" and can't figure out how to proceed sometimes, but I'm slowly but surely seeing how it'll all be okay. :}

My favorite moment of the Genesis ownership experience so far was having my next door neighbor ask me this morning when the **** did I buy a Bentley?

I didn't understand the connection until I Googled the below picture. So funny! When I told him it was a Hyundai, he was shocked. Fun fun!

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...LXt0LBAmP7AGK7OpDlUg87vIEJkI-D0noJ7Mc3LF-HTfA

 

[ockevin]

Glad you like and understand it now. It took me a day or so....but its second d nature now.