Touchscreen alternative? Touchpad or mouse extension?

[AlanDL]

I like the touchscreen in the NX (and all toyotas now apparently), but I, like many others, find it hard to use when moving. The screen is large so have to reach over, and with left hand (apologies to those who are lefthanded).  Most advertising shows someone using their right hand where the majority have greater hand coordination.  I often have to stab away a few times, and it can be very distracting.  I didn't realise how useful the previous car's touchpad was.  I have tried using a mouse attached to the usb socket (just as proof of concept), but the system won't recognise that.  Also I have a wireless miniature keyboard with a touchpad, but that has to connect via a usb dongle.  I haven't tried a Bluetooth device (got an old keyboard somewhere), but I suspect the system won't allow that.  Anyone found a solution, or am I probably looking for a solution to an issue that no-one has a problem with?  Why couldn't they provide a rotary selector as well?

[Bezzer]

Now you know how us "keggies" suffer with all the right hand only stuff 🙂

Seriously though we have to keep practising with the "wrong" hand to master a lot of stuff it then becomes a lot more natural and easier. Probably a lot simpler than trying an electronic way.

[Rodd]

 Because in the UK we are driving on the wrong side of the road.☺️ Many countries over time changed it. But for heaven sake we got rid of that puzzle touch pad thing. lol 

I guess a bit of practice over time will help. 👌

[ColinBarber]

The issue with a touch screen is your finger/hand isn't anchored to anything and so it easily sways off course from road bumps etc rather than it being a left/right dominant hand issue.

That seemed to be the main reason Lexus moved away from their touch screens in the 2000s and went to physical controllers in 2010s but everyone hated them, especially the mouse type. Give it another 10 years and it will be controllers again.

 

Give voice control a go, it works ok for certain functions.

[Lmafudd]

Is there a voice command to end a navigation? I couldn't find one after accidentally starting a route and then failing to turn the darn thing off!

[HMT]

7 hours ago, Lmafudd said:

Is there a voice command to end a navigation? I couldn't find one after accidentally starting a route and then failing to turn the darn thing off!

Yes it’s.   Delete destination  

 If it recognises your voice, my mixed northern / Norfolk accent seems to confuse it a lot So I just put it on mute and changed the display 

[BonzoSPB]

I rest my hand on the top of the screen and use my thumb for the more fiddly touch requirements. The phone contacts are a real problem in that I'd like to see a large icon to touch rather than having to touch the phone number text.

[Harrier Man]

20 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

The issue with a touch screen is your finger/hand isn't anchored to anything and so it easily sways off course from road bumps etc rather than it being a left/right dominant hand issue.

That seemed to be the main reason Lexus moved away from their touch screens in the 2000s and went to physical controllers in 2010s but everyone hated them, especially the mouse type. Give it another 10 years and it will be controllers again.

 

Give voice control a go, it works ok for certain functions.

I agree with your first paragraph Colin. I never experienced the trackerpad option so I can't comment on that. I do however find it ironic that the NX is laden with safety features and then fit a touch screen that I find difficult to use and a huge distraction. Minus 100 safety points in my opinion! Like Harry, I find talking to Lexus as troublesome as talking to my 90 year old mother when she's not wearing her hearing aid! Even if she understood better, I don't think it's conducive to safety or family harmony to tell my occupants to shut up whilst I repeat 3 or 4 times simple commands to do whatever. Bring back knobs, switches and dials for the basic functions is my vote for reduced stress levels and enhanced safety.

[RKane]

I agree the display can be hard to use while driving and a distraction. I have been using the energy flow screen when the Nav is not in use but this can be distracting.

I have recently started experimenting with the display off and making myself use the voice control more.

There is plenty of information on the dash and heads up display and even a small energy flow schematic that can be selected. The screen will come back on just by touching it but it also comes on automatically for some operations - for example the camera and for voice control and then switches off again.

I find the voice control very good in comparison to previous manufacturers, that I rarely used, and the range of functions is wide. For example asking 'her' to turn off the seat heating is a lot safer than hitting that small button three times in succession.

 

[Al D-Much]

On 10/30/2023 at 4:00 PM, Rodd said:

 Because in the UK we are driving on the wrong side of the road.☺️ Many countries over time changed it. But for heaven sake we got rid of that puzzle touch pad thing. lol 

I guess a bit of practice over time will help. 👌

I'd say the UK drives on the correct side of the road.
Think about it, most people are right handed. Therefore when changing gear in a manual car your dominant hand stays on the steering wheel, giving greater control of the vehicle.

For the UK the steering columns are wrong. Take a look at an older Japanese car, most had their indicator stalks on the right hand side not left. This means you could steer, indicate and change gear simultaneously.

The main reason the indicator stalk is now on the left is economies of scale. It's far cheaper to produce left hand drive steering for the majority of the market and simply transpose it to the right, rather than building bespoke units for a much smaller market. 

Well, that's what I think anyway.

[ColinBarber]

33 minutes ago, Al D-Much said:

Take a look at an older Japanese car

or British car.

 

33 minutes ago, Al D-Much said:

The main reason the indicator stalk is now on the left is economies of scale. It's far cheaper to produce left hand drive steering for the majority of the market and simply transpose it to the right, rather than building bespoke units for a much smaller market. 

Yes, it was the European manufacturers that were penny pinching. It LED to the Japanese manufacturers agreeing to put indicators on left for all international vehicles so there was consistency.

That penny pinching still goes on - Most RHD vehicles from European manufacturers are compromised because controls aren't reversed. If Toyota decide a control should be nearest the driver then they maintain that for both LHD and RHD by creating a mirror image for the dashboard / centre console - you don't find that level of detail on most LHD designed vehicles.

 

[Al D-Much]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

or British car.

 

Yes, it was the European manufacturers that were penny pinching. It led to the Japanese manufacturers agreeing to put indicators on left for all international vehicles so there was consistency.

That penny pinching still goes on - Most RHD vehicles from European manufacturers are compromised because controls aren't reversed. If Toyota decide a control should be nearest the driver then they maintain that for both LHD and RHD by creating a mirror image for the dashboard / centre console - you don't find that level of detail on most LHD designed vehicles.

 

Another obvious one is windscreen wiper arms, many French cars had the larger (driver's) wiper on the left, giving an odd look to a RHD car. But they and Ford go round that by having the con fig they use now. Corner mounts, with wipers coming up from the centre of the windscreen, still looks odd to me though.

Mercedes and Jaguar got round the problem differently, with one extra large central wiper.

Also noticed filler caps, usually the opposite side to the driver, allowing to drive up close to the petrol pump and still being able to get out of the car easily. Many a time I've seen, usually, German car drivers pull up tight and having to squeeze out the driver's side.