German automakers have gotten plenty of flack for their less than intuitive Navigation/Infotainment systems, but Mercedes Benz is working hard to change that with its myCOMAND concept. The myCOMAND system uses high-speed wireless Internet with upload and download speeds of over 3MB to bring the connectivity of the web into any driver's hands. It's similar to interfaces from the competition in that it gives access to phone info, different types of digital media and the web. The difference comes from Mercedes' decision to go entirely Internet-based. Gone are hard drives, CD/DVD players and most computer hardware. Mercedes stuck with a thin-client and incredibly intuitive graphical user interface coupled with the ubiquitous Mercedes command controller to pull the strings.

We got a chance to sit in a myCOMAND-equipped Mercedes at the LA Auto Show today and were up to speed within seconds. We were able to surf the net (Autoblog was one of the presets, nice), explore Google Maps, check the weather and look for the cheapest gas in the area with minimal effort. The myCOMAND system is a concept right now and Mercedes engineers feel the technology is still a few years from production. It does, however, show the potential of future Infotainment systems, and we like what we see. See how it works by watching our video demonstration of myCOMAND with Mercedes Infotainment and Telematics VP Johann Jungwirth above, and you can view high-res pics of the system from Mercedes in the gallery below. As always, a press release with all the official details is after the jump.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/20/m...ely-into-cars/

 

great more things to distract you from the road...

i rented a toyata yaris a couple of months ago, everything is in the middle of the console (odometer etc) very distracting... maybe its just me, but i noticed every time i looked at how fast i was going, the car started to drift to the right h:

 

cool.