Surf the web from your parked Renault: Vivaldi comes to OpenR
- Reference: 1652861870
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/05/18/vivaldi_renault/
- Source link:
[1]
Click to enlarge
The company had already brought the [2]Chromium-based browser to Polestar 2 electric vehicles at the end of 2021, so its arrival in another Android Automotive OS car was not entirely a surprise.
In this instance it is the big screen of the Megane E-Tech Electric on the receiving end, as well as the Austral and pretty much all future cars featuring the OpenR Link system.
Renault is betting big on [3]OpenR , and described it as "seven times smoother to use than the previous generation."
It isn't only the bet that is big; the system itself (on the Megane E-Tech at least) comprises a vertical 12-inch screen on the center console and horizontal 12.3-inch screen built into the dashboard. With a 267ppi resolution and anti-reflective and anti-smudge coatings, the display should make Vivaldi's browser look pleasant enough.
[4]Electric fastback fun: Now you can surf the web from the driving seat of your Polestar 2
[5]Mozilla browser Firefox hits the big 100
[6]Rivals aren't convinced by Microsoft's one-click default browser change
[7]Scam, pyramid scheme, environmental disaster: Vivaldi boss shares his thoughts on crypto-coins
Although you'll need to be parked if you actually want to use it. Pull away, and streaming content becomes audio only.
Google recently [8]announced a revamp of Android Automotive OS, which included a split screen mode and a boast that the number of compatible vehicles had hit 150m worldwide.
[9]
Vivaldi for Android Automotive is, however, available for Polestar 2 and OpenR-enabled Renaults. A Vivaldi spokesperson hinted that more big names are in the pipeline and Renault's partners in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance must be keeping at least half an eye on proceedings.
[10]
The browser is available in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK and is installed via the MY Renault app.
Being pretty much the full-fat version of Vivaldi (replete with features such as Vivaldi's approach to tab-handling) means the code should receive regular updates alongside the Windows, Linux, macOS and Android versions. Logging into a Vivaldi account will also mean browser data will be synchronized over devices, although one's private data will neither be stored in the car nor be accessible by Renault. ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/05/18/vivaldi_on_open_r.jpg
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/22/vivaldi_polestar/
[3] https://en.media.renault.com/news/openr-touchscreens-and-tech-blend-841f-989c5.html
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/22/vivaldi_polestar/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/03/firefox_100_released/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/07/browser_default/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/14/vivaldi_says_no_to_cryptocurrency/
[8] https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2022/05/whats-new-with-android-for-cars.html
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YoTDxZ-OEdnmrxiazVzArgAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YoTDxZ-OEdnmrxiazVzArgAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Megane specs kneecapped for UK models.
Sadly, it seems that Renault have replaced the 12-inch infotainment screen mentioned in the article, with a 9-inch version on all UK spec trim levels.
They've also removed the "smart" digital rear view mirror that is absolutely essential, given the ultra-widescreen proportions of the rear glass.
TL;DR - Will not be buying one.
I can understand why.
Recently I had a bit of a discussion with Firefox devs about issues that I was having in Firefox.. namely the amount of patch nagging, forced restarts after patches had been applied in the background (couldn't even open a new tab without being forced to restart Firefox - this was happening every few days and I was tearing my hair out at the end) and the removal of the option in the menus, to turn off automatic patching. This was the last in a number of issues which broke the camels back.
I mean, I was getting up in the morning, sitting down at my workstation and wanting to see what had happened in the world overnight, only to be forced to do yet another firefox restart (and I have a fair few tabs open) ... and that was before I'd had my first cup of tea, which is probably me at my worst mood! :-)
Their attitude was that Firefox must be patched, that normal users are not to be trusted with a menu option and that in order to achieve turning off automatic patching, you had to make a profile file somewhere. Even then, it failed to turn off the nagging and I went to Vivaldi and after a bit of a learning curve am finding it pretty much the same in terms of user experience, except that there's no nagging now. (obviously I had to do the usual stuff like limit the cache size, turn on the window border, etc.)
I personally believe that Firefox's devs taking the attitude that they alone know what's best for the users is going to be an increasing barrier going forward. Which is a bit of a shame IMHO. Vivaldi and others are likely to keep winning results like this.
"seven times smoother"
Must have been a really bumpy ride before.