- Apr 7, 2009
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I too am not a mac guy, pc all the way. As you probably know, when we tried the iPad outdoors the sun washed out the screen.
Do we need a Kindle to make it work?
Anybody Using KBB's CDMData Digital Lot Solution
- Thread starter andwrig
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I too am not a mac guy, pc all the way. As you probably know, when we tried the iPad outdoors the sun washed out the screen.
Do we need a Kindle to make it work?
- Apr 7, 2009
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- First Name
- Joe
Please don't hate me if I copy it
opps, sorry, typo! Please don't hate me WHEN I copy it
Kindle might work. I'm waiting on the Motorola Droid Pad! If its like the Droid X phone but bigger, its gonna be a winner! I'd have that phone if it was on AT&T.
I too am not a mac guy, pc all the way. As you probably know, when we tried the iPad outdoors the sun washed out the screen.
Do we need a Kindle to make it work?
No hating here amigo...I'm always changing and tweaking our sites with my people. Can't get complacent, especially on the web...
Please don't hate me if I copy it
opps, sorry, typo! Please don't hate me WHEN I copy it
Joe Pistell was correct about camera quality and VIN decoding. Both issues have been resolved and I would be pleased to show results. Comparison attachment shows photo improvements.
Charles Corson
[email protected]
Charles Corson
[email protected]
- Apr 7, 2009
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Charles,
Would like to see the changes, Please include dealer web sites that are using the new system so we can see it in use.
Would like to see the changes, Please include dealer web sites that are using the new system so we can see it in use.
I had a meeting with Manheim the other day and we talked about how they need to get more cars online pre-auction with photos, info and condition report. I gotta believe an iTab type device would be the perfect fit for them.
- Apr 7, 2009
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ohoh Andy... you opened another door... You know I can't control myself!!
Auction houses all over are racing to the internet to sell cars wholesale. The "trust worthy" condition report is the stumbling block. From my seat, the stick in the mud is the standards & training needed to produce a condition report. Much of it is judgmental and prone to human error.
IMO there is an opportunity for an independent 3rd party like KBB or HomeNet or DealerSpecialties or NADA or someone to create a condition reporting method AND a feedback/incentive system to make it self-policing.
Anyways... If they get a certified vehicle condition report in place, then it only makes sense for it to make it out onto the retail arena. IF that happens <gulp> it will TOTALLY change the used car world as we know it.
It's the last step needed to totally flatten the used car shopping experience.
Imagine the simplicity of a search for a [year] [make] [model] [trim] [pkg] with miles from__ to___ with a condition report grade no less than ___. Ouch! say good buy to margins. It'll open the doors to internet behemoths like PriceLine.com, kayak, pricegrabber and more.
Keep a weary eye on this, I see trouble ahead.
Well said Joe. Its still open to human interpretation and any rating system will be imperfect. However its hard for a photo to lie, unless its airbrushed of course. All I'm saying as a dealer to an auction is: give me lots of good, detailed photos showing body condition (we already do that for retail customers), tell me what the tires are, if the motor is smoking (coming out the exhaust) and if anything is missing from the car (i.e. nav disc, shift knob, key fobs, wheel lock key, etc). Pretty much everything else is up in the air: brakes, ball joints, struts, etc. The auction cant do full 120 pt inspections on cars at the auction with any kind of efficiency. It will become cost prohibitive for the auction or our fees are going to get jacked up big time. Besides, that's what post sale inspection is for. All the stuff I want to know ahead of time doesn't require an ASE certified technician to evaluate. Just give me some good photos first and foremost and an accurate description of the model, trim level, and package equipment.
You bring up some great points. I guess only time will tell. That's what makes the car business so much fun!
You bring up some great points. I guess only time will tell. That's what makes the car business so much fun!
ohoh Andy... you opened another door... You know I can't control myself!!
Auction houses all over are racing to the internet to sell cars wholesale. The "trust worthy" condition report is the stumbling block. From my seat, the stick in the mud is the standards & training needed to produce a condition report. Much of it is judgmental and prone to human error.
IMO there is an opportunity for an independent 3rd party like KBB or HomeNet or DealerSpecialties or NADA or someone to create a condition reporting method AND a feedback/incentive system to make it self-policing.
Anyways... If they get a certified vehicle condition report in place, then it only makes sense for it to make it out onto the retail arena. IF that happens <gulp> it will TOTALLY change the used car world as we know it.
It's the last step needed to totally flatten the used car shopping experience.
Imagine the simplicity of a search for a [year] [make] [model] [trim] [pkg] with miles from__ to___ with a condition report grade no less than ___. Ouch! say good buy to margins. It'll open the doors to internet behemoths like PriceLine.com, kayak, pricegrabber and more.
Keep a weary eye on this, I see trouble ahead.
I'd like to chime in on behalf of CDM along with Charlie. As Charlie mentioned, we have resolved the previous issues with our camera. Our latest iteration of the iTab has a camera that matches an off the shelf, consumer-grade digital camera as close as makes no difference.
Joe - I see you have a number of valid concerns about our solution and I'd like to address them one by one:
Our current camera does not have a wide angle lens. That said, it does have a very respectable 62 degree field of view compared to our previous iteration's 56 degree field of view. What does that mean? Well, basically, if you're taking a side profile shot of a 20 foot long vehicle, you need to be 16 feet away from the vehicle with our new integrated camera vs. 21 feet away from the vehicle with the old one. That may not sound like a big deal, but when it comes to automotive photography on a dealership lot, it's no easy task to find enough space to back yourself up enough to get a good side profile shot.
To your point, that increase in degrees of field of view translates to capturing a wider view of the interior on interior shots and as well, making the items further away in the image seem a lot further away than a longer lens would - essentially making the inside of the car appear bigger like you're talking about.
We have several instances where our hardware solution is used to process over 9,000 vehicles per year, which amounts to well over 100,000 photos per year - all by 1 operator. No joke! Even in those very heavy usage scenarios, we only have a situation where the iTab needs to be RMA'd - whether a component of the iTab failed, the iTab got run over by a truck, or something else happened - on average 1 time per year. When the operator has to move through that much inventory, they're moving fast and sometimes accidents happen that are not the fault of the hardware. I know, because as someone who used to move through almost that much inventory, I've had one or two of those accidents myself.
Regarding the tired camera issue, we used to have the tired camera issue with a decent level of frequency on our previous integrated camera iteration, but after checking with our hardware specialists, we have not had that issue with the latest integrated camera in the past year and a half since it's been on the market. I'm not saying it's not going to happen eventually - everything fails eventually, but it hasn't happened yet.
What if it did? Or how does CDM handle things when something else goes wrong? If it's the camera/scanner module, we usually send a new module to the customer and walk the customer through the installation process (it's easy). If they aren't comfortable with that, they can send the iTab in to us and we'll take care of it. When it's the tablet PC that has an issue, we send out a loaner to the customer, the customer sends us their iTab for RMA, and when it's repaired, they swap places again. Everyone comes away happy.
The current iteration of our iTab has a transflective (sunlight readable) screen that is easy to work with.
Here are some example customer sites. Now keep in mind that not all people are created equal when it comes to using camera angles to frame the photo optimally or find the best lighting condition, but it should give you a good idea of how the latest camera performs.
http://www.auctiondirectusa.com/
http://www.scrantonmotors.com/
http://www.appleford.com/
I'd really appreciate hearing your feedback on this issue. If we haven't already resolved what you're referring to, it'll help us address it in the future. Please feel free to reach me at alex.schoeneberger[at]kbb[dot]com on this or any other topics. Thanks!
Joe - I see you have a number of valid concerns about our solution and I'd like to address them one by one:
Our current camera does not have a wide angle lens. That said, it does have a very respectable 62 degree field of view compared to our previous iteration's 56 degree field of view. What does that mean? Well, basically, if you're taking a side profile shot of a 20 foot long vehicle, you need to be 16 feet away from the vehicle with our new integrated camera vs. 21 feet away from the vehicle with the old one. That may not sound like a big deal, but when it comes to automotive photography on a dealership lot, it's no easy task to find enough space to back yourself up enough to get a good side profile shot.
To your point, that increase in degrees of field of view translates to capturing a wider view of the interior on interior shots and as well, making the items further away in the image seem a lot further away than a longer lens would - essentially making the inside of the car appear bigger like you're talking about.
We have several instances where our hardware solution is used to process over 9,000 vehicles per year, which amounts to well over 100,000 photos per year - all by 1 operator. No joke! Even in those very heavy usage scenarios, we only have a situation where the iTab needs to be RMA'd - whether a component of the iTab failed, the iTab got run over by a truck, or something else happened - on average 1 time per year. When the operator has to move through that much inventory, they're moving fast and sometimes accidents happen that are not the fault of the hardware. I know, because as someone who used to move through almost that much inventory, I've had one or two of those accidents myself.
Regarding the tired camera issue, we used to have the tired camera issue with a decent level of frequency on our previous integrated camera iteration, but after checking with our hardware specialists, we have not had that issue with the latest integrated camera in the past year and a half since it's been on the market. I'm not saying it's not going to happen eventually - everything fails eventually, but it hasn't happened yet.
What if it did? Or how does CDM handle things when something else goes wrong? If it's the camera/scanner module, we usually send a new module to the customer and walk the customer through the installation process (it's easy). If they aren't comfortable with that, they can send the iTab in to us and we'll take care of it. When it's the tablet PC that has an issue, we send out a loaner to the customer, the customer sends us their iTab for RMA, and when it's repaired, they swap places again. Everyone comes away happy.
I too am not a mac guy, pc all the way. As you probably know, when we tried the iPad outdoors the sun washed out the screen.
Do we need a Kindle to make it work?
The current iteration of our iTab has a transflective (sunlight readable) screen that is easy to work with.
Here are some example customer sites. Now keep in mind that not all people are created equal when it comes to using camera angles to frame the photo optimally or find the best lighting condition, but it should give you a good idea of how the latest camera performs.
http://www.auctiondirectusa.com/
http://www.scrantonmotors.com/
http://www.appleford.com/
I'd really appreciate hearing your feedback on this issue. If we haven't already resolved what you're referring to, it'll help us address it in the future. Please feel free to reach me at alex.schoeneberger[at]kbb[dot]com on this or any other topics. Thanks!
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