RyZt

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During the webinar, I asked the moderators to comment on Ford's partnership with TomTom for navigation versus the more obvious choice of Google (free updates of maps, POIs, etc) and asked about costs.
Especially when Google Maps is right there as an alternative.
A few years back I paid $200 per years to update the (poor) map in my Ford. As soon as Google, Apple and Waze began providing them for free, I discontinued paying for the updates.
Google Map is not free.

Google offers Google Map for free directly to us on our phones and in our web browsers.

However, Google Map is quite expensive:
* if you are a website trying to show an integrated map on your website with custom markers (think the map on EA website) and have a non-trivial number of visitors.
* if you want to integrate Google Map into your product (think Ford)
* if you are a website or mobile app providing some sort of value-add service on top of maps (think websites like ABetterRoutePlanner) and have a non-trivial number of API calls per day.
* etc

By the way, none of the examples I gave above uses Google Maps. Those are just examples.

See link if you're interested in how much Google charges.
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MerryBrown

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Google Map is not free.

Google offers Google Map for free directly to us on our phones and in our web browsers.

However, Google Map is quite expensive:
* if you are a website trying to show an integrated map on your website with custom markers (think the map on EA website) and have a non-trivial number of visitors.
* if you want to integrate Google Map into your product (think Ford)
* if you are a website or mobile app providing some sort of value-add service on top of maps (think websites like ABetterRoutePlanner) and have a non-trivial number of API calls per day.
* etc

By the way, none of the examples I gave above uses Google Maps. Those are just examples.

See link if you're interested in how much Google charges.
If I am in my car using Google Maps I am not paying for it. So I hate to be cranky, but I still think it's free compared to that $200 a year I had to pay for a crappy map that was only updated once a year.
As a business owner I pay Google to have my business on the map in the accurate spot along with information about my business. I am fine with that. It's called advertising. So when I am driving looking for other things I see other places popping up all the time and I know they also have paid that price to feature their businesses. This keeps the cost of the maps "free" to the user.
 

Woeo

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If I am in my car using Google Maps I am not paying for it. So I hate to be cranky, but I still think it's free compared to that $200 a year I had to pay for a crappy map that was only updated once a year.
As a business owner I pay Google to have my business on the map in the accurate spot along with information about my business. I am fine with that. It's called advertising. So when I am driving looking for other things I see other places popping up all the time and I know they also have paid that price to feature their businesses. This keeps the cost of the maps "free" to the user.
TANSTAFL

It is ignorant to think Google Maps are free to the user.

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
 

RyZt

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If I am in my car using Google Maps I am not paying for it. So I hate to be cranky, but I still think it's free compared to that $200 a year I had to pay for a crappy map that was only updated once a year.
As a business owner I pay Google to have my business on the map in the accurate spot along with information about my business. I am fine with that. It's called advertising. So when I am driving looking for other things I see other places popping up all the time and I know they also have paid that price to feature their businesses. This keeps the cost of the maps "free" to the user.
My comment was not about the ads-supported part of free/paid. I never mentioned ads in my earlier comment. And I'm in no interest of debating whether Google Maps on your phone is free or not. It's nuanced and you clearly understand it.

I'm talking about the part that Google charges the users when Google Maps is used through a 3rd party product/service. (Well, technically it charges the business that provides the product/service to the user. But that business has to pay it somehow.) If Ford wants to put Google Maps in the car's nav system, it will have to pay Google (or come up with some sort of business partnership that may involve trading something else than cash).

Therefore, if Ford wants a navigation system, it has to pay (be it TomTom or Google). You may believe that Ford should just forego having built-in navigation and save the cost. I'm not arguing with that either. In fact, I'll be totally fine with it, but some people won't like it. The point I was trying to make is that Ford will have to pay Google to put Google Maps in Mach E.
 
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MerryBrown

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TANSTAFL

It is ignorant to think Google Maps are free to the user.

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
I am not going to get into a pissing match with someone who is too ignorant to see the logic of my argument. Some people people refuse to see the facts as they are stated. You do you.
I am done with this discussion.
 


ChasingCoral

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If I am in my car using Google Maps I am not paying for it. So I hate to be cranky, but I still think it's free compared to that $200 a year I had to pay for a crappy map that was only updated once a year.
As a business owner I pay Google to have my business on the map in the accurate spot along with information about my business. I am fine with that. It's called advertising. So when I am driving looking for other things I see other places popping up all the time and I know they also have paid that price to feature their businesses. This keeps the cost of the maps "free" to the user.
"If You're Not Paying For It, You Become The Product"
It's not a new concept. Here's an article from back in 2012.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/market...g-for-it-you-become-the-product/#4fc81835d6ee
 

Mach-Luan

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That is already in this video here: (at 1:49)


Screenshot 2020-09-25 095339.jpg
It's great to see it from an official Ford video.

For the record, I could see it on the prototype displayed for the French tour at Fordstore in south of France.
You can see pictures I posted there:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...g-with-just-the-mobile-charger.925/post-33690


https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...g-with-just-the-mobile-charger.925/post-33752

Settings are flexible allowing to record several locations with different settings (max. of charge, one or two time slots per day, week days or weekend).

Very convenient for me because at home I have two off-peak slots, in the afternoon and late night. When I arrive home, I will just have to plug the car without thinking of anything else.

And there are many public chargers in Paris which have free charging during the night. And there is one close to the place where I regularly stay when I traveled to Paris.
Don't mention the free parking! :)
I don't think these advantages will last as BEV will be more numerous in the future but it's nice for the moment and… By the time I will be able to actually drive my Mach-E FE… Before spring 2021 ?
 

MerryBrown

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Free parking in Paris? no way! is that just for charging or electric cars?
 

Mach-Luan

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Free parking in Paris? no way! is that just for charging or electric cars?
Both!

There is a charging network named Belib with 90 stations.
Each station has 3 stalls : 2 with 22 kW and one with 3 kW plug. You can access to them with an annual subscription and pay according the time spent.
Expensive for long time charging (probably for promoting a good turnover with short charging periods).
But charging is free on the 3 KW one between 8 pm to 8 am. Parking is authorised only for charging and free.

For visitors (non Paris residents) with BEV, parking is free on all paid surface parking spaces. For six hours maximum at the same place.
 

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Given the interface, I wonder if Ford will allow people to add skins to it or maybe change colors.
 

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This was a definite step up from last week. Better audio, better organization, better presenters. Clearly Husein is a really intelligent engineer and is excited about his work. He's a reasonably good presenter, too.
Darren Palmer is awesome. Super bright, really knows the Mach E inside and out, well practiced and an excellent presenter.
They handed off pretty well, gave a good presentation, and did a great job on the Q&A.

I'm hoping next week I can get some details on how that panoramic glass roof works.

Maybe in week 4 we'll find out if we can program ending SOC into the charge scheduling. Darren hinted it today saying it can do all that stuff but we've yet to see a SOC selection on the screens.
The panoramic roof is not dynamic. It is a low-e coating like they use on buildings.
 

ChasingCoral

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The panoramic roof is not dynamic. It is a low-e coating like they use on buildings.
There was some speculation it is photochromic. When @jdmrc93 rode in a Mach E the roof looked dark in a bright sunny day.
 

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There was some speculation it is photochromic. When @jdmrc93 rode in a Mach E the roof looked dark in a bright sunny day.
I remember in one of the ford videos that is how they described it. I am pretty confident on this. I will try to find it again.
 

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I remember in one of the ford videos that is how they described it. I am pretty confident on this. I will try to find it again.
Yes. That was what I remember from the videos at launch time. However what @jdmrc93 saw sounded different that what I would expect from low-e.
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