AErcen

Those are our choices?
If we don't like a certain feature of the car we love otherwise, we should buy something else? A Lexus or a Hyundai?
or
Stop complaining about it because we failed to check out all the features of the car prior to buying?

At least that makes sense to someone. It doesn't to me!

It will be very hard to have a car for test drives and keep it long enough to check into all those features, including MBrace and Comand. How long do you think I should be allowed to test drive the car? A week? Two weeks?

It is only after we buy cars and electronics we find about all their idiosyncrasies and shortcomings.

Even if I don't like certain features and how they perform, does not mean I don't like the car. I wouldn't have bought a Ford or a Chevrolet because it had better user interface.

I guess you can put me on the column of those who are failing to fully understand your point.
Was your intent to scold me for complaining about a feature of the car that many find to be below any reasonable expectations?

Arrie

My point was not just towards you but all who complain about the Mbrace being so bad. If it is so bad don't buy it. They give a very amble period to test it for free if you buy a new car. There should be no complaints from anybody if they tested it during the free period and after that elected to pay for it.

Like I said in my earlier post just the automatic emergency call from airbag deployment is enough benefit for me to pay the $250 yearly fee. Anything else is extra.

if you don't like the service then why the hell did you pay for it? Just to get to complain about it in the forums?

GregTR

I actually agree with Arrie's points on the matter. I personally feel MBrace is a DISGrace but it is not a dealbreaker for me as it wasn't the primary reason why I chose an E-class. It wasn't even a secondary reason. It was actually a totally don't care in my car purchasing thought process. I didn't even think about this feature or how it would be useful to me or beneficial in any shape or form.

We all bought the car as a package and a whole with all its great features and all it's minor idiosyncrasies or nuances. Some of these can surface later in the ownership experience while others can rear their ugly head on a short test drive.

I can't imagine paying for an MBrace type service on any of my vehicles from any manufacturer, period.

schorert1

I'm sorry, but has there ever been a built in auto nav system that was in any way acceptable when compared to aftermarket solutions like stand alone gps systems and then cellphones?

Why manufacturers don't make on-board gps systems out of existing TABLET technology is beyond me. A 7" android tablet could be wired into the dash for next to nothing, run pandora, google maps, etc ad they could do it for LESS than it's costing them to produce their own hardware and clunky software.. it's assenine.

What's sad is, for the last five years the gap between consumer tech and automotive tech has been growing, and there isn't one auto maker who's even CLOSE to making a useful onboard computer....why bother?

Arrie

I have a friend in Germany who got a 5 series BMW as a company car. This car did not have built-in navigation system at all. It had a small bracket where you could connect a remote navigation device much like the garmins etc are. This device did connect to the car's audio system for the voice driving instructions.

I don't know if they still build cars like that but for me it looked very poor compared to the BMW built-in systems especially those with the dual screen.

schorert1

I think we've just grown used to automotive style menus and appearance. If the tablet was insterted behind the dash, and a simple GUI developed, adoption would be impressive. the first company to say "now ipad equipped" will be a big seller.
Imagine if you had to navigate your phone with a small wheel and click system? I bought my first "modern" benz in 09...I was dumbfounded at how poor the nav system was for a premium vehicle. it's almost comical.

AErcen

Such a relief to hear others share my views and certainly my opinion of the COMAND and MBRACE.
They suck!

Having owned 12 Mercedes Benz's in the past, I am certainly a friend of the brand.

However I will remain a critic of any voice recognition system that can't decipher between a simple "yes" or "no"!!
I probably could have written the code for that one and have it work with any accent. This is not rocket science.
If you are installing a voice recognition system into a car or into a device it should be able to do the basic choirs of housekeeping.
No voice recognition is perfect but if they can build a SIRI into an iPhone, surely MB can do better than have me repeat "Yes" four times before it will accept the command.

schorert1

I've owned a wide variety of vehicles. The current Toyota my wife drives (2012) has the best voice recognition system, and it STILL sucks! The apps that toyota wants you to PAY for are a total JOKE, and you wouldn't use them for FREE on your phone.
A typical drive to an unfamiliar destination goes like:
wife: I will enter destination in the Nav
Me: take your time

(three minutes later)
Wife: arggghh
me(into phone): navigate to _______

the phone then brings up the destination with traffic guidance in seconds.

AErcen

Only way MB will do something about this in the future if the loyal customers voiced their displeasure with this mess rather than cuddled and apologized for them. Until there is a total rejection of COMAND and MBrace they will be serving the same cold dish over and over until they feel it in their pockets or there was a public relations issue.

Hard to hurt MB in the pocket book. They are having a bonanza year and 2014 looks promising also. As long as NAV is bundled in packages that customers want, there is no way to hurt them in the pocket books.
Are there any Benz's being sold sans the NAV?

So, it has to come to letting them know in private and public we are not happy with the product.

El Cid

My wife and I each have one for safety when out walking, travelling, etc. Have the cheapest plan that phone company offers. Have BlueTooth, but only because BlueTooth came with the MB. Never turn them on except when off the homestead.
Been checking out smaller SUV's and found that Nissan Murano is available with all the bells and whistles, including premium sound and BlueTooth, without navigation. Navi is a stand alone option.
Got navigation in my 2010 E because had to in order to get the premium sound system.
BTW, this thread actually covers mBrace and COMAND, which are two different systems-neither very good.

GregTR

I agree that built-in systems in any vehicle I've seen can't hold a candle to the software applications and hardware available from third parties. The problem with touch pad is the total lack of tactile feedback and it is a biggie when driving. And this is precisely why car manufacturers haven't adapted touch controls and soft buttons for vehicles.

Case in point, if you look the Active Steering Assist on the E-class the ON/OFF switch for the feature is buried in the software dash menus. On the new S-class there is a dedicated hard button to turn this feature on or off. It is essentially very similar to what camera manufacturers do. They will sell a lower level DSLR with fewer dedicated hard buttons and fewer options while the top of the line DSLR will have hard buttons for everything you'd need to make it more user friendly.

In ergonomics and attractive design will constantly battle it out in the arena of vehicle interior and it's probably a very tough task to make something user friendly, intuitive and useful for most customers while not giving them a dash that looks like the Star Enterprise. If you look at the average customer for MB it's not your internet savvy 30-somethings but your 50-something who has problems operating their Android phone. Trust me, MB and all other manufacturers do focus groups and do extensive consumer studies to come up with their interior and ergonomics design.

Another case in point is Lincoln's MKZ with its capacitive touch buttons for...well everything and how quickly they abandoned it and reverted to a more traditional button setup in their latest SUV the MKC: http://blog.caranddriver.com/lincoln...acitive-touch/

Arrie

I just hope MB never goes with touch screen or anything like that. It is a lot safer to use the current selector knob.

What comes to how good the navi in the cars is comes to the data they have. I have never had an issue with the navigation other than sometimes the address is not in the system or the POI is not in the system. To make this better they need better data supplier. Obviously lots of businesses are not willing to pay to be included on the Navteq data sheets. And this same company supplies bunch of other car companies too so it cannot be any better with those cars.

Perhaps they just need to go with other data sources but the system in the car is very good in my opinion.

AErcen

Have you been exposed to ANY other navigation system?
Other cars, boats or airplanes or even those throw away cheap units hikers use?
I am not trying to debate this to no end but how can you be happy with the system in what is in our cars passes for navigation?

Alternative to a better system is not necessarily a touch screen system. I don't know too many touch systems that do not offer alternative means of input.

The MB system's shortcomings are more than just substandard data. Data, missing house numbers or road construction, detours that are not in the data base is the least of most people's concerns
The problem is the interface. Not the data.

I can't believe I am still arguing that this being a bad system, but what is really hard pill to swallow is how you are still defending this.

I could end this back and forth not to cause any more of a wedge and agree with you. If I did that, then we would both be wrong.

MB COMAND sucks. That simple. The fact that one or two or five hundred people think is is "OK" does not make it OK. I know at least 12 people who think Nehru jackets are OK also.

Put up a poll, find out just how many people besides me wishes MB COMAND was better. Or, that it is AWFULL. DO it and I will drop this subject rather than constantly bicker over it. I realize I am the new kid in here, and you have some longevity based on your post count but for God's Sake my good man....How in the world do you defend this garbage?

I am as big a fanboy of MB as you and perhaps even more. That doesn't mean I have to plug my ears and close my eyes to something that is so obvious UNLESS.....you have absolutely no other exposure to other systems.

Arrie

I have owned two Garmins before I had the first car with a navigation. When I bought my Audi Q7 it came without navigation so I installed myself the Audi factory navigation to it. It cost nearly $3000 but I think it was way better than have these hand held units around.


I have also driven several BMW and Audi rental cars in Europe with navigation, did once also have a Ford with it.


I don't understand what it is with your unliking of the interface? That I don't get at all. I thought your issue is with missing navi data but now I see you have bigger problems with it.


I can just say that it works really well after the target address has been entered. I have had no problems at all other than a couple instances where the data in my car did not have some roads in it until I updated it.


It also allows you to pick an address from the address book as a navigation destination. I don't know how the hand held units handle this. Mine did not but they were old though.


But, I think I have the right to like the MB navigation as much as you have the right to hate it...

AErcen

Absolutely..
You certainly have that right. I appreciate you allowing me the discenting position.

What don't I like about the interface? Suffice it to say, just about everything.

Well tonight for instance, I was able to bring my Garmin Nuvi into the house plug it into my laptop, download the latest updates, and database, system upgrades and be done with it all within a matter of 30 minutes. I have no idea where the operating manual is for that thing. I don't believe I ever cracked it open once. It recognizes my voice with almost 90 percent accuracy in spite of my accent since English is not my native tongue.

Everything is intuitive and it works, and works well. I find COMAND to fall way short of that.
I think you will eventually agree with me when MB announces the New Improved COMAND III or something along those lines thus proving my point that it definitely needed improving.

I tried to be fair about this, Had I have been driving a certain vehicle and been used to one type of a GPS and was comfortable with it, I could see how I would extol the virtues of that one particular unit because that is what I am used to. That is not the case. Due to my profession I have had the opportunity to use just about everything under the sun including marine purposed Magellan's and Ray Marine's.
I can categorically say this with absolute certainty none is worse than the one I have in my car.

I respect your willingness to defend what you believe to be the truth. Nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time.
Cheers.

AErcen

Absolutely..

.................

Wolfman

I share the sentiment that car navigation systems are vastly inferior to any tablet system in the market. Having used Command navigation for close to 14 years, it is amazing of how little it advanced. Not that BMW's iDrive or Audi's systems are any better. And touchscreen systems are outright dangerous... In the end the long development process and hardware implementation in cars makes the tech outdated at the time of introduction. I still like the nav screens and the nav in the HUD. Car manufacturers simply need to support existing interfaces to phones and tablets and we would be good to go. Give me the Apple Airplay feature to stream my iPhone or iPad content to the on-car screen and i am all set

steinjr

I just started my 3 month Mbrace trial and it seems I can't use the apps feature or a few others. It appears my radio does not have the "globe" icon where those features are found.

Can the radio be unlocked or flashed to enable that function? If not... I am not sure if I will find ANY use for Mbrace.


*** EDIT ****

Well... the next thread I read explained that I have Command 4.0 and you need Command 4.5 to have these features. Would have been nice for the Mbrace rep to explain this to me.

dfordham

You're not missing much. The apps are so slow that they are useless to most of us.

Regards,
Don

pamiboy

Absolutely, don't worry at all that you don't have the latest command unit. I finished my six month free trial last week and disconnected it. No regrets about the apps. Didn't even use them once after testing it out. The only function I ever used and liked was the send to Benz which I believe you already have.

AErcen

I am afraid it will take more than a software update to make it a valuable system.
I finally fixed mine! I CANCELLED IT!

dbldpr

Never activated it. Never have activated ON star on GM car either. Felt it was tiotally worthless.

Dema

Android L promises tighter integration with a car, so you will get all brace features directly from your phone and delivered to your HU under your steering wheels and iDrive knob. Enjoy.

El Cid

Just got a Nissan Rogue with navigation, etc. Seems to work a little better than M-B's, but then my M-B is five years old. Still not what I would call great. Some voice commands have to be very specific, as in word for word, whereas M-B seems to accept different terms. May not have used Rogue navi correctly,but when I checked out restaurants under POI, it showed me restaurants within 50 miles of cars location. Like I'm going to drive another hour?
BTW, Rogue is touch screen only and this includes for most audio and a lot of other settings.

listerone

Two things...I suspect that it can't find the car in a garage because it needs GPS contact.I'm sure you've noticed going through a tunnel or driving through midtown Manhattan that your GPS loses contact.Second,I just posted a comment about Mbrace that folks might consider.


https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post6161411