Do You Really Want Your Car To Be A Rolling WiFi Hotspot?
from the might-lead-to-some-other-problems dept
Apparently Chrysler is looking to turn your car into a rolling WiFi hotspot, allowing you to connect to the internet both for the sake of accessing information, but also for providing it (such as traffic info). Of course, automakers have talked about internet access in cars before, but it hasn't gone very far -- so unless you brought your own EVDO card, you weren't doing much. But is there really a strong demand for such things? As some analysts note, it seems like the automakers may be "leapfrogging the market," when they should be focused on making cars work better with the gadgets we already have. This is a problem that has come up before. Automakers love to build new technology into their cars in order to control the experience, but that's not what consumers want. Having an MP3 player is nice, but it's easier if you can just use your iPod. Having a built in GPS system is cool, but the new Garmin has a lot more features. Working with consumer electronics devices that people buy seems like it may be a lot more sensible than trying to recreate the wheel. And, then, of course putting WiFi connectivity in cars may eventually lead to xkcd-style scenarios:Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: automobiles, cars, wifi hotspot
Companies: chrysler
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Even worse
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Re:
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Some people don't want disconnected items.
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Re: Some people don't want disconnected items.
My boyfriend had a hard drive system in his old car and it was a million times better than the iPod he has hooked up now in his new car.
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I dunno
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Re: Jake
Back to the subject, Think of all the traffic jams I cou.... Someone could cause, tell everyone that freeway X is packed, and re-route them... :D
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Re: Re: Jake
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Kinda Ironic
Did I miss something or didn't you read the article?
"Chrysler says any wireless device and 'all major gaming systems' will work with UConnect."
Isn't that making the car work better with gadgets you already have?
This article comes on the same day as one about newspapers criticizing technology. Sounds similar to me. "Why would anyone want a new fandangled integrated car when you just need a car to drive?"
Cars WILL have connectivity in the future regardless and it makes sense that car manufacturers are looking on how to do that now. Security is always an issue with any new technology, but that is just a obstacle to overcome.
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Shut Up Will Ya!
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Why not drive the telecos insane?
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Waste of Resources
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Well not quite...
In addition to the point above about having to stow the Garmin (what a pain when I had one), there is the charger cable, especially when it gets confused with the phone charger cable and the headset charger cable. But even more important, the Garmin takes far longer to find the satellites than a built-in unit; if you don't know which way to get on the freeway, you can be stuck sitting there for five minutes while it looks for its location.
Built-in bluetooth is great also, no more fiddling with headsets and chargers. Now that it's required in California, it's far easier not to worry about what you've brought besides the phone, or digging it out of some pocket.
On the other hand, a lot of the stuff they put in is stupid - how different is the temperature going to be from one side to the other in a compact car? And I'd rather have them invest in petroleum replacement technology than anything else.
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You have reached your final destination.
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STRONGLY disagree
The question of WiFi (and more importantly, EVDO) in cars is likewise a case of marketable functionality. Unfortunately, until a large number of cars have EVDO and WiFi, coorporations and developers will not have the incentive to build great auto applications. Without those great applications, we will have no consumer demand. You see, it is a catch 22. My prediction is that we will have to put the internet in cars before we see ANY consumer demand. My advice regarding EVDO and WiFi in cars: "If you build it, they will come."
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