[lctric]

Nissan talks about an iPod USB interface, but the photos I've seen look like an audio input jack...Anyone else see or hear any clues about the Leaf Stereo and features?

[malcolm]

It would HAVE to have iPod compatability. It would be crazy not to.

[lctric]

You're right, that is the dominant world standard. I would actually prefer to just be able to copy mp3 files to a memory stick or a memory card and plug that into the stereo to play. Maybe even have a hard drive in the stereo to store a collection of songs.

An iPod is good for putting a few songs on one of their smaller units like the Shuffle and going to the gym, but too difficult to manage a large music collection and sync from a PC to the iPod. I make too many changes to my file folders of music on the PC, and am always changing tags, swapping hard drives, etc. The iTunes software, due to copy protection concerns, doesn't like the user messing around with the song files and it wants to delete them on the iPod when they have been changed on the PC, etc.

Please don't make iPod the primary external interface...

And please include some decent speakers in the stock stereo system...

You know we want one....

[mikexilva]

I would be very glad if there is a good integration with Android phones, I have a Google Nexus One (micro USB port and additional flat power pins on te bottom surface), but there are many other brands with mini USB ports, so if Nissan really want to haev a docking station for portable devices, somehow it should have a interchangeable connector.

Anyway I think best overall solution would be to have bluetooth and wifi connectivity for music, voice calls and data transfer.

It would be nice to see Android 2.2 inside Leaf's computer but that would be too much to ask for...

[mikexilva]

Google just anounced Android 2.2 at Google IO ( http://www.youtube.c...F01A789E62F2454 ), and I think it would be a perfect OS for this car, you can remotely (from any web conencted computer) instruct the remote device to download some music, or open the navigation to some destination, or get some app from Android Market (could be a phone or could be the car if it had Android 2.2 on car computer).

Anyway let's hope Nissan gives Android the same atention as this iPhony app beacuse Android is almost in every brand now.

And the Android Notification System is way ahead of any other phone system.

Not to mention the wifi portable hot-spot (aka wireless thetering) that comes standard in Android 2.2 and it can give wireless to all your devices in the range.

This would be perfect for all devices inside the car that would require internet access (phones, iPads, laptops).

And did you see the music app (also demoed at Google IO) that can play over the internet all your music collection from your home computer's Hard Disk, so you don't need to carry disks or any storage media, yet can access virtually unlimited storage

That is the Future Now done with actual technology, so why do we have to wait for next version of Nissan Leaf to do this? or will we we be able to just update the OS inside Leaf's computer with Android 3.0 ?

Come on Nissan, give that big gadget (Leaf) a new life with Android OS onboard
I'm sure it would keep up ahead of all other car computer systems with new features in each Android version coming out every 6 months or so.