{"id":50564,"date":"2013-07-25T23:51:09","date_gmt":"2013-07-26T03:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-17T19:49:55","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T23:49:55","slug":"the-wireless-car-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/the-wireless-car-frontier\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wireless Car Frontier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>Now that the mobile floodgates are open, developers, manufacturers, and platform operators are trying to design wireless cars. These devices will channel the next wave of mobile usage and innovation<\/strong>. Some are looking at\u00a0wearable tech, such as Google<\/a>‘s\u00a0(GOOG<\/a>)\u00a0Glass<\/a> and\u00a0the Pebbles Watch<\/a> and as the natural progression of mobile technology. But computing platforms, including mobile operating systems, are also becoming ubiquitous in consumer electronics and appliances.\u00a0The Business Insider<\/a><\/em>\u00a0writes<\/a> that\u00a0the greatest potential for mobile platforms and services could be cars<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"mesh<\/a>The article states the obvious, cars are inherently mobile. Additionally, many of the activities people do in their cars, listen to music, look up directions, mesh nicely with popular activities on mobile. The author claims that Americans spend an average of 1.2 hours a day traveling between locations and American commuters spend an average of 38 hours a year stuck in traffic. If mobile apps and Internet-based services can shoehorn their way into the in-car environment, that means a great opportunity to expand their ability to engage consumers, absorb their attention, and gather data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The BI<\/em> explains that there is already a sizable and growing mobile market in the car. Five years from now, there will be over 60 million connected cars<\/strong> on the road globally, according to estimates from the GSMA <\/a>and others. Car-focused telecom, hardware, and software services will drive some $51 billion in annual revenue by 2018. Pandora<\/a>, for example, is now being used in 2.5 million cars and 100 car models through one of its 23 partnerships with auto brands and eight partnerships with stereo manufacturers. BI<\/em> identified three ways in which mobile products and services can be integrated into cars<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Wireless car integration<\/h3>\n

\"handset<\/a>The owner’s Internet-connected handset connects with vehicle-based hardware and computing systems<\/strong>. However, the mobile device<\/strong> drives all key facets of the app, including Internet access, and the car simply provides some tools to facilitate it (i.e., dashboard user interface, voice controls, speakers, jacks, and\/or steering wheel-based controls). Currently, many in-dash automobile app suites in cars are nothing more than an interface that provides control over a Bluetooth<\/strong><\/a> or audio jack-connected smartphone.<\/p>\n

Tethering<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0connection<\/strong> is provided through external<\/strong> means, but the computing<\/strong> and delivery of the services happen\u00a0in the car<\/strong>. For example, a Bluetooth or USB connection might link a car’s navigation system to your phone-stored contact list, and from that moment forward a simple press of a button in the car would guide you to a friend’s house from any location. In this scenario, the car depends on the external device to gather Internet-based data.<\/p>\n

Embedding<\/h3>\n

\"Connection<\/p>\n

Connection and intelligence are baked into the car<\/strong>. The car houses the operating system, apps, and other services that will deliver Internet-based mobile services to the user. A mobile device might sync with whatever is in the car, but external mobile gadgets aren’t essential to running car-based apps. GM is moving in this direction with its new fleet of 4G cars. (rb-<\/strong> I covered the evolution of 4G here)<\/a><\/em> Means of integration can be blended, and often are. (rb-<\/strong> I wrote about Microsoft’s move into cars back in 2011, here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

iOS in the Car<\/h3>\n

Emily Price\u00a0at Mashable<\/a><\/em>\u00a0reports that\u00a0Apple<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(AAPL<\/a>) jumped into the\u00a0mobile products and services integration game. Ms. Price reports that the folks from Cupertino\u00a0have received a USPTO<\/a> patent for a touchscreen car dashboard. If Apple carries through with their patent, it would\u00a0replace most of your car\u2019s existing instrumentation. The new\u00a0dashboard would make your vehicle’s controls digital, letting you control everything from the temperature in your car to the radio station using a touchscreen.<\/p>\n

\"OS<\/a>The article claims\u00a0\u201ciOS in the Car<\/a>\u201d should be released in 2014. Cars that support the service will allow your iPhone<\/a> 5 to connect to your car\u2019s in-dash system make phone calls, send and receive messages access your music, and get directions. Siri<\/a> support will also let you do all of those things hands and eyes-free.<\/p>\n

The blog reports that “Siri Eyes Free” is available in General Motors<\/a>‘s\u00a0(GM<\/a>)\u00a0Chevy<\/a> Spark<\/a> and Sonic<\/a> via the Chevrolet MyLink<\/a> system. According to reports<\/a>\u00a0sometime in 2014 Apple iOS<\/a> will be available in 15 more car brands including:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Acura<\/a>
\n\u2022 Audi<\/a>
\n\u2022 BMW<\/a>
\n\u2022 Chrysler<\/a>
\n\u2022 Ferrari<\/a>
\n\u2022 Honda<\/a>
\n\u2022 Infinity<\/a>
\n\u2022 Jaguar<\/a>
\n\u2022 Kia<\/a>
\n\u2022 Land Rover<\/a>
\n\u2022 Mercedes-Benz<\/a>
\n\u2022 Nissan<\/a>
\n\u2022 Opal<\/a>
\n\u2022 Toyota<\/a>
\n\u2022 Volvo<\/a><\/p>\n

rb-<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Detroit<\/a>I covered<\/a> Ford<\/a> (F<\/a>) Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr.<\/a> plan to re-position<\/em> Detroit as the \u201cSilicon Valley<\/a> of Mobility.”<\/em> Hopefully, AAPL has figured out how to multi-thread iOS. I gave up my iPhone because it could not mult-thread. Every time I went to answer a call, I got 5 or 10 email pop’s that I had to deal with before I could answer the call. This kind of behavior could be catastrophic in a car. <\/em><\/p>\n

What if you need to do two things at the same time, like shift from forward to reverse and turn on the air conditioning. <\/em><\/p>\n

Then there is the privacy issue. Will AAPL give all the data they collect to the NSA<\/a> or your insurance company? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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