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Drexler: Jobs wanted to build 'iCar' before his death

updated 05:18 pm EDT, Thu May 17, 2012

 

No sign Apple working on car tech


Before his death on October 5th, one of the things Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wanted to build was a so-called "iCar," according to company board member and J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler. "Look at the car industry; it's a tragedy in America," he said during a Fast Company conference this week. "Who is designing the cars? ... Steve's dream before he died was to design an iCar."

Drexler further claimed that if Jobs had survived longer, an iCar would've had a major impact on the industry. "It would've been probably 50 percent of the [auto] market. He never did design it," Drexler concluded on the topic.

Jobs is known to have had several pet projects towards the end of his life. One of these, digital textbooks, made it out the door in January of this year in the form of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author, as well as a dedicated iTunes U app. Apple is believed to be in the middle of developing a TV set, but one of Jobs' other projects -- photography -- has yet to manifest even in the shape of rumors.


By Electronista Staff

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Steve Jobs, cars, iCar, Apple, Mickey Drexler
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Previous Comments

  1. macnnoel

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2005

    0

    on the macnn headline

    is that what Right Said Fred looks like today?


  1. automorrow

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 2000

    -2

    He's right

    .. they would have snuffed him like the Impact.


  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +1

    The iCar

    One button to handle all controls, but uses swipe gestures and finger position to determine what you want to do (swipe down on the left side, windshield wiper comes on!). Four buttons for the ipod player (no radio in the iCar, radio is so 1940's). One pedal. Step on the right side to brake. Step on the left side to accelerate. It'll be a snap. Work as perfectly as a mighty mouse does in determining left vs right click!

    No hood. Car owners don't need access to the engine. They just need to replace some fluids on occasion, and that will be done via an easy access panel under the car.

    No trunk. Car owners don't need additional internal storage. That which is needed is provided in the seating compartment. If you need more storage, you can always hang an external case on the roof or off the back (called the iCarrier or iTrailer, respectively).

    The instrument panel will reflect an OS X feel, until the first upgrade, where it will move things around and change the appearance of some of the controls. It will remain that way until the next update, where again they will 'refine' the interface by moving stuff around. Some Apple-haters will whine, while the reasonable people will explain that everything is still there, just in different locations, so you can still do what you want.

    Oh, and once iCar3 comes out (oh, I'm sorry, the "new iCar"), iCar 1 will no longer receive safety or security updates. You can't expect Apple to keep updating their stuff past a couple of years. Do you know how much extra that would cost? Either upgrade your iCar to the latest OS or get a new iCar. Apple's about the future, not the past!


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