Archive for In-Car Computing
Posted on Mar 13, 2009 by Sam Costello at 2:48 am
Given the production cycles of cars, adding new in-dash components like GPSes means planning years in advance. And, as a result, the devices most manufacturers can offer are rarely cutting edge.
That may change, though, thanks to a modular GPS system being developed by Harman International and Mercedes.
The system would come in pieces – one piece displaying the content in the dash, the other a “processing box” buried in the car that supplies that actual processing power and data connection. The system will make its debut on eight Mercedes vehicles in the second half of 2010.
What I find interesting about this is that it portends an easy upgrade path to adding new in-car computing features to these boxes. Right now, changing the capabilities of in-car electronics is more complex than an equivalent PC software upgrade. With this system, perhaps it will become easier, leading to new partnerships to deliver content to the dashboard besides just directions.
Posted on Feb 17, 2009 by Sam Costello at 2:28 am
I’ve noted here the drive to bring computers to cars in this space a number of times. Some visions of this combination involve the computer arriving in the form of a GPS device. In others, it actually means putting a full-fledged PC into your dash.
Two new car computers offer not just media features but also connections to the web.
The Fujitsu ECLIPSE AVN4430 packs an iPod-compatible, CD/DVD playing, GPS-having, 4.3-inch touchscreen sporting, Bluetooth-aware computer into the dash. The screen can even detach from the dash and be connected to a computer or used as a standalone device.
The ECLIPSE AVN4430 is on sale now for US$850.
The Dashboard Devices ENV line of in-car computers offers a computer for one part of the car and multiple “head” modules that connect to it in another part of the car and display content. In the package you’ll find a WiFi connection, a 7-inch touchscreen, and a PC running Windows XP.
The package can run over $2,000 in some configurations.
What’s most interesting to me about these products is what the screens will be doing when they’re not immediately in use. In that situation, the screens are passive presences in the car and become like digital picture frames in the home. Given that, why not use them to display photos and other web content?
Posted on Feb 11, 2009 by Sam Costello at 2:20 am
Internet radio beats traditional radio every time in my book. Sure, the sound quality might not be quite as good, but I’ll take the much greater selection (and thus greater likelihood that I’ll find something I want to listen to) over more clarity and less interest every day.
Trouble is, internet radio lovers like myself are stuck when we hit the road – no way to get the web music into the car, right?
Not anymore, thanks to Blaunpunkt and miRoamer.
The companies have teamed on two new in-dash Internet radio receivers, the New Jersey 600i and the Hamburg 600i. Both devices offer streaming web radio using miRoamer’s service and various combinations of wireless devices to provide service over 3G/HSDPA/HSPA networks.
Which is great stuff, no doubt. But when I see an Internet-connected screen in my dash, I start thinking beyond music and to images, too. With a web connection and a screen, when the LCD isn’t displaying radio information, couldn’t it host my photos, news, cartoons, and trivia?
It would be great to be able to take that aspect of my home computing experience with me on the road, too.
Posted on Jan 27, 2009 by Sam Costello at 2:34 am
The web is increasingly coming to our cars and trucks – whether it’s in the form of data delivered to dashboard-mounted GPSes or via turning the whole car into a WiFi hotspot.
Looking to ride this trend, Chrysler has unveiled a “Web Edition” add-on package for its vehicles. The Web Edition includes the Chrysler uConnect service installed in the vehicle (uConnect is a private-labeled version of Autonet Mobile) along with a passel of gadgets including an iPod touch for $1,999. That includes one year of service, after which an additional monthly fee accrues.
Customers who don’t need the gadgets can go for a lower price-point version that ditches most of the gadgets, but maintains the WiFi, for $1,100.
While I’m not sure what attraction that a car full of gadgets will hold for consumers, bringing the Internet to the car probably will be attractive – if not now, in the next few years for sure.
Posted on Jan 8, 2009 by Sam Costello at 2:26 am
As chronicled on this blog, WiFi is increasingly coming to the dashboard, making the front or back seat an in-car computing platform. While I suspect companies are envisioning these products and services keeping kids quiet on long trips with streaming video or web-connected video games, having a computer in the car also seems potentially distracting, and thus dangerous.
Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, suggests the same thing in this review of Autonet Mobile’s in-car WiFi system, which can be dealer-installed on Chrysler models, or after-market installed in other cars.
While acknowledging the potential benefits of the device/service, Mossberg also flags up the two major potential downsides: distraction and speed.
Drivers don’t need any more distractions, of course, and adding a web connection to the car could create one. Also, your car may be able to go faster than the Internet connection offered by Autonet – Mossberg got speeds of around 400-450 kbps on average.
It certainly behooves drivers to be safe in their use of products like this and manufacturers to support safe behaviors. Still, I can see a definite future for WiFi in the car – especially as LCDs are increasingly built in the backs of headrests.
With more speed from these devices, and better ways to be safe while using them, the car should become just another node on the network.
Posted on Nov 24, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:38 am
In yet another example of the growing presence of WiFi in our daily lives, a new ad for the Dodge Ram pickup truck uses the vehicle’s WiFi connectivity as a key selling point.
That the Ram has WiFi isn’t completely new – the Chrysler uconnect in-car computing system has been available for a while – but this is the first time I’ve heard it used as a key feature in a major TV ad campaign (I saw the ad during NFL games earlier this month). That Dodge and its ads agency think that highlighting uconnect WiFi features in the vehicle’s ads will help sell trucks says something about how important WiFi is becoming.
Though I haven’t been able to find the ad online (you wouldn’t think it would be so hard!), keep an eye out for it on TV this month. It’s yet another sign that as WiFi heads into cars, so too will information appliances.
UPDATE: I found the site. Took stumbling across the ad on TV, but I found the site – and it’s pretty cool. Enjoy.
