Short term we are looking for a researcher familiar with the telematics industry to aid in the development of an industry white paper.  Great opportunity for a freelance writer or MBA student looking to make some cash.

Long term we are looking for writers to regularly cover the automotive, telematics and consumer electronics industries.

If you are interested please use the “Contact inTELEMATICStoday.com Form” ASAP!

This is a great opportunity for significant exposure within the industry… Jump on it now!

Related posts:

1. Content and Apps for Automotive by Telematics Update Wrap-Up
2. Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It?
3. Convergence is King

Until recently, cars have remained entirely unconnected.  Off-the-grid as far as talking to other devices. On-Star changed that by building a cell-phone into the car and ever since it’s been a mad dash to add functionality that will take advantage of the cars new ability to talk to the outside world.

But with great power comes great responsibility…

The more connectivity and integration is built into any device (a car for our purposes) the more ways there are to access that device.  This is a natural evolution of technology.  Unfortunately those ways to access device also mean more ways for those with less than positive intentions to gain access as well.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington are researching vulnerabilities in electronic vehicle controls, trying to warn automakers about potential security holes. Many new cars have Bluetooth wireless technology and built-in connections for cell phones and other devices, and those connections could be exploited. In one example, the researchers called the car’s cellular connection and uploaded malicious code using an audio file. In another test, they found out how to pair the car to a Bluetooth-enabled device, which they used to execute code.

Hacking vehicle systems started as soon as computers were introduced to vehicles (and before that if you might consider removing your headers ‘hacking’ your exhaust system), but this has already required physical access to the car.  With the addition of wireless connectivity the aforementioned researchers have proven that barrier no longer exists.  The article goes on to speak of some of the challenges faced in attempting this type of hack, but there is absolutely no question this will get easier as time goes on…not harder.  Automotive companies will always try to close security holes, but no system can be completely locked down and still remain flexible enough to talk to other systems.  As additional technologies are introduced to bring smart phone connectivity into the vehicle the frequency of these hacks will increase greatly.  Just about every smartphone on the market can already be hacked to do things its not meant to do and the car wont be any exception.

Personally, I’m not terribly worried about it.  I’ve dealt with technology all my life and done a fair bit of the hacking myself…and, frankly, I’m looking forward to being able to hack my next car to do what I want. It is inevitable that people will try to take control of their devices at the lowest level and they will succeed.  Most will use this power for good and increase the mileage of their Prius or custom build an app for their phone to talk to their car, but someone, somewhere will create a ‘virus’ for the car.  In the PC world viruses are easy to catch and difficult to get rid of, but most don’t bring your system to a crashing halt.  Most are meant to steal information or processing power, not prevent users from completely using there computers.  In automotive I would expect the same to hold true.  Malicious code wont usually be made to send thousands of cars careening into each other.  Instead it will steal personal information, flash messages on the screens, and otherwise invade your life while still allowing the car to operate safely.

On the other hand, there are those PC viruses that format your hard drive for no good reason other than the creator wanted cause destruction.  This is possible in the automotive world as well, but no doubt that particular hacker would be aggressively pursued…much more so than someone crashing home computers.

By no means am I saying the sky is falling, but I do expect this type of intrusion into vehicle systems to increase over time.  Just like Apple computers never had viruses until they become ubiquitous (essentially) and the same will hold true in vehicles.  As the number of these systems increase, and in turn the number of people that can be reached with a particular virus increases, the automotive industry will have to deal with the same problems that PCs and smartphones have.

via [PopSci]

Related posts:

1. Hacker Uses Telematics System for Revenge
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. Application Spotlight: AppSpace.com

IBM has created a super computer called Watson that it will pit against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in a game of Jeopardy! in an attempt to demonstrate some of the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet.  The three contestants will compete over three shows for a total of $1.5million in prize money.

The reason all this is important is because Watson will have to ‘hear’ the questions just like any other contestant, figure out what is actually being asked, and retrieve the information before his human challengers.  Considering most customer service IVRs can barely figure out when I ask for an operator this is an almost unbelievably daunting task.

I’ve joked previously that voice recognition technology wont be have met customer expectations until it functions like the computer on Star Trek (i.e. understands almost any request in any context) and Watson may be the first real world demonstration of the technology that would eventually get us to a place where no man has traveled before.

Competitor Ken Jennings hit the nail on the head, “… the retrieval process is trivial for a computer and difficult for a human, while the comprehension process is much easier for Ken than Watson.” Once Watson thinks it has figured out what is being asked it will have an answer within milliseconds… The tricky part will be whether or not Watson’s answer is to the right question.

This will be a really fascinating test (and much more understandable than Deep Blue vs. Kasparov).  Click through the articles I’ve provided for more information and I’ll cover this further closer to the airing of the episodes.

via [engadget] and [wired] and [NYT]

Related posts:

1. LinkedIn Question: What’s driving the development of … infotainment systems?
2. Telematics Update Conversation with Gary Gale, Dir of Engineering, Yahoo! Geo Technologies
3. Smartphones and Embedded Systems

“There’s a lot of technology out there now that can disable phones and we’re looking at that,” Raymond LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation said during a discussion during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

This will never happen. Ever.  There are to many legitimate reasons to use a phone in car (e.g. 911, passengers making calls, etc) and to few benefits to blocking it…not to mention the FCC wouldn’t approve it.  I don’t seen a need to spend a long time discussing this issue.  It’s just not going to happen.  Not even if there was a catastrophic distraction related accident to use as a rallying cry.

To be fair, LaHood went on to say, “That’s one way. But you have to have good laws, you have to have good enforcement, and you have to have people take personal responsibility. That’s the bottom line.”  Which is far more reasonable an approach.  The interview coincides with the Department of Transportations new, “Faces of Distraction” campaign which will no doubt seek to demonstrate the dangers of distracted driving (i.e. scare people).

I’m not sure what the impact of federal laws would be as the states seem to be doing a pretty good job of creating the restrictions themselves.  Handset use restrictions are becoming standard and seem to have a positive impact on the issue of distraction.  Texting bans are also being rolled out across the country, but the effectiveness is not the same.  The difference between the two is that it’s fairly obvious when someone is holding their phone to their ear.  It’s easy to enforce.  On the other hand, a texting ban is basically impossible to enforce.  Not only can users just keep the phone low (where law enforcement wont see it), but it’s not illegal to use your navigation system or radio while you drive and as more and more drivers use their phones for directions and music it is impossible to tell the difference legal and illegal uses.

The remaining option is apps that will limit the functionality of the phone while in motion, but this also wont work because enforcement is essentially impossible.  The applications are opt-in, essentially requiring a driver to choose to restrict their own access.  In the end, that means the person is willing to not use their phone while driving, but doesn’t have the will power to self enforce.  It’s a small percentage of people that will fall into this group.  I can see an opportunity in the corporate or fleet environment where the use of the application can be required and enforced.

MSNBC also spoke with Paul Atchley, a scientist at the University of Kansas who studies distracted driving.

The real answer to the problem is a change in people’s attitudes. The research on drunk driving and distracted driving is quite similar, but the reactions of people to both are far different.

“When we ask young drivers about drunk driving, they say that judges should throw the book at drunk drivers, but not the person texting while driving,” said Atchley.

“The bottom line is that people want to use these devices,” said Atchley. “And things are going to get worse before they get better.”

Related posts:

1. Transportation Secretary ‘LaHood fears spread of in-car technology’
2. Texting Bans, Can They Work?
3. App Spotlight: SafeCellApp – Get Paid to NOT Use Your Phone While Driving

The layout of most of the displays is clear and logical, and the voice-command system is still the best I’ve ever used in a car. But Ford’s new user interface has so many options and functions that I believe it presents a challenging learning curve.

Basically it sounds like there are interesting and useful features, but the usability leaves something to be desired.  As the number and variety of features offered increases the challenge to access them quickly and efficiently increases greatly. Ford uses multiple screens and voice controls to give users access, but that in itself adds a layer of complexity.  Screens need to be configured and preferences set so that everything functions the way that works best for the driver.

Mossberg seems to think its over complicated to the point that it’s probably best to do most of your learning in the driveway.  That’s probably not a bad idea, but it’s not a great sign for the not-so-tech-savvy crowd’s.  I don’t know what Ford’s plans for training new customers at dealerships is, but it seems like some required training during vehicle delivery might be very needed.

I’m hoping to get hands on with the system sometime soon, but for now click through for Mossberg’s complete article.  Don’t forget to poke around inTELEMATICStoday.com for lots of detailed information about Sync.

via [WSJ]

Related posts:

1. MyFord Touch Feature Spotlight: Voice Controls
2. MyFord Touch Feature Spotlight: Navigation
3. Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It?

Now, I totally  understand the value of educating drivers, particularly young drivers, of the dangers of distracted driving, but what I don’t understand is the ban on texting.  I’m not saying people should text while they drive, but I am saying the laws banning texting don’t make any sense to me.  They seem to be totally unenforceable.  Smartphones, navigation systems, infotainment systems, etc are all potentially significant distractions and are all totally legal to use while driving.  Since an iPod, Blackberry and countless other mobile devices have merged to become our phone, our music and our GPS how can a police officer possibly tell a legitimate difference between someone using these features on the same device?  Nobody I’ve talked to has been able to give me a good answer…

This NHTSA  study posted on distraction.gov does discuss the effectiveness of education and enforcement campaigns citing >55% drops in cell phone use and >65% in texting use in Hartford and Syracuse.  In Hartford apparently they used spotters to identify violators then radio ahead to other officers to make the stop and write a ticket.  I don’t understand how a spotter can know a driver wasn’t just dialing their phone (specifically allowed in California in-spite of the ban, not sure about Connecticut).

I get that having the laws can be a deterrent, but is that all they are? For better or worse I don’t really know anyone that doesn’t text while driving (any exceptions are few and far between) and none have been deterred by a no-texting law. More punitive punishments would obviously increase the deterrence factor, but not only does it not make sense to fine someone $1000 for texting, you can’t enforce the law in the first place.

More education would be nice, but in the end, I believe that most people will continue to access more and more information while in the vehicle.  The only real solution is to find safer ways to deliver the services.  The answer has to be better (more) technology not less.  Voice controls, haptic feedback, and even heads-up displays will have to lead the way more efficient interactions with a drivers surroundings while adaptive cruise control, smart cars and lane departure alerts reduce the demand on the driver.  All, hopefully, leading to a safer driving future.

Related posts:

1. LaHood Still Looking at Cell Jamming Technology for Cars
2. App Spotlight: SafeCellApp – Get Paid to NOT Use Your Phone While Driving
3. Driving Distracted (With a Badge?)

If you don’t know what a Chumby is, it’s a standalone open source internet enabled widget device (i know, that doesn’t mean anything to anyone)…basically it’s a little piece of the internet wherever you put it.  The device connects to Wi-Fi and rotates through the list of widgets the user has chosen (through the website) to be displayed.  Personally I had my eyes on the Chumby about 18 months before it was even released years ago… I ended up buying it as a platform for demonstrating the power of widgets and specifically to demonstrate the potential for users to customize the content delivered to them.This is another example of Tier-1s crossing over into consumer electronics platforms to rapidly deliver broad feature sets to their users rather than having to develop them in-house (i.e. the recent Harman / Aha Mobile acquisition).  There are currently about 1500 widgets from all over the spectrum.

As a long time Chumby user I have a particular love for the device, but I have to admit it’s not nearly as useful as I might have hoped.  The functionality is fine, but unfortunately the development community hasn’t taken off.  I’ve only got about 10 widgets that I find even marginally useful and after that I don’t have a need for 100 different zoo webcams (exaggeration but you get my point).
 Safety will of course continue to be an issue…  Chumby apps allow interaction (clicking, selecting, etc) so as with all new in-car technologies the driver distraction issue will need to be addressed.

I really do like the platform (even if it is flash light based), but I’m not entirely sure what widgets will be effective in an automotive environment. That being said, it’s an open source platform and users are constantly improving the ‘app store’ (for lack of a better term).  The introduction of an automotive partner should definitely spur the community to create some apps more appropriate to the car and I look forward to finding out what those might be.

 A couple note, the Chumby comes with a built in accelerometer which means the operating system can accept inputs from an accelerometer… Will the in-vehicle platform allow developers to take advantage of an accelerometer in the car? How much freedom will developers have to create apps for the car?
 The potential is there for some very fun and relevant apps, but it remains to be seen what apps will be thought up (or allowed to be developed).  Best of luck to QNX and in particular to Chumby that sprite little techno-blob-device that has a special place in my heart.

Full Press Release after the break

via [PR Newswire]

OTTAWA, Canada, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ — QNX Software Systems Co. and chumby industries today announced that the QNX® CAR™ Application Platform now supports chumby’s rich media Internet content for connected screens, including applications that deliver specialized content from major media partners and a vast developer community, including text, photo, video, and audio content.

As a result of this initiative, automakers and automotive tier one suppliers can build multimedia head units and other in-car infotainment products that provide access to more than 1,500 chumby applications for news, music, sports, social media, weather, and other services.

The QNX CAR Application Platform is designed to help automakers and tier one suppliers reduce the cost and effort of building in-car infotainment systems. It allows customers to evaluate a rich set of QNX technologies as well as pre-integrated third-party technologies from vendors such as chumby.

“QNX CAR is an ideal platform for the deployment of chumby’s dynamic applications and services, which allow automakers and suppliers to deliver a rich and personalized Internet experience to the car,” said Derrick Oien, CEO at chumby industries.

“This initiative demonstrates our ability to quickly integrate Adobe® Flash®-based applications, such as chumby apps, within the QNX CAR environment,” said Andrew Poliak, director of automotive business development at QNX Software Systems. “With this simplified integration, automakers may bring media-rich applications to market faster to keep pace with demand for integration with the latest consumer technologies.”

QNX Software Systems is the global leader in operating systems and middleware for the in-car telematics and infotainment market, and has licensed its technology for use in more than 17 million in-vehicle systems worldwide.

About QNX Software Systems

QNX Software Systems Co., a subsidiary of Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), is a leading vendor of operating systems, middleware, development tools, and professional services for the embedded systems market. Global leaders such as Cisco, Daimler, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Siemens depend on QNX technology for network routers, vehicle telematics units, industrial control systems, medical instruments, security and defense systems, and other mission- or life-critical applications. Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems Co. is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and distributes products in over 100 countries worldwide. Visit www.qnx.com.

About chumby industries

chumby industries, based in San Diego, California, is a software company that works with consumer electronics OEMs to bring a rich and personalized Internet experience to a multitude of connected products, ranging from devices as simple as clock radios to high-definition televisions. The open chumby platform enables developers to easily create Flash content for chumby-powered devices resulting in a constantly growing catalog of more than 1,500 applications in 30 different categories.

Related posts:

1. The Internet Radio Universe
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. Google Will Bring The Internet To You!

The solution is a decentralized approach that lets the traffic lights work together by figuring out how changes at each individual intersection would affect the entire system. Instead of being stymied by natural fluctuations in traffic, the system takes advantage of them, using random gaps to help improve traffic flow.

Click through to PopSci for the full article.

via [PopSci]

Related posts:

1. PopSci Takes Notice of a Telematics Trend
2. Smart and Safe Automotive Electronics
3. Application Spotlight: Waze

It’s no surprise that the iPhone is the most popular camera used to take pictures hosted on Flickr.  It’s probably the single most popular consumer device that has a camera, the quality has improved, and it’s connectivity as a phone allows it to upload directly to Flickr (rather than meaning to upload all those pictures and getting lazy about it).

The thing worth noting here is that a camera does not need to be top of the line to be useful to people and the ability to upload on-the-fly is key.  The car is such a mobile platform and ubiquitous part of daily life that it should have a camera and not just a wonky backup camera.

Cameras (internal and external) would offer all sorts of engaging applications.  With built-in geotagging and upload capabilities the car might even be able to rival the smart phone as a source of still images and video.

Cars will eventually have cameras for things like lane recognition, but there will definitely be more fun options than that.  What would you use a CarCam for?

via [holykaw] via [picturemore]

Related posts:

1. The Dangers of GPS, ‘The Simpsons’-Style
2. Ford Sync Release AppLink to 2011 Fiesta; Apple iPhone Supported
3. Traffic Data Will Be a Battlezone in 2010

We’re working on expanding in a few places and this is just the first step.  Join in the conversation!

In Telematics Today LinkedIn Group

Related posts:

1. Twitter Chats and Digital Cars
2. Telematics Update Conversation with Gary Gale, Dir of Engineering, Yahoo! Geo Technologies
3. Aha Mobile Acquired by Harman

via [jalopnik]

Related posts:

1. ‘What is Telematics?’ Infographic
2. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
3. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up

I don’t have much news other than what is in the press release, but it seems like this joint venture, called Pearl Mobile DTV Company, automatically becomes a major player in mobile TV.  What does this mean for FloTV?

Pearl Mobile will take advantage of the “ATSC-M/H, an open broadcast transmission system developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) specifically for mobile devices.”  This technology is backwards compatible with existing broadcast DTV standards, so existing DTV receivers will need no modification to receive signal (usually this means the hardware will be cheap and widely available).  Almost most importantly, given the players coming together as part of this endeavor they are guaranteed content people want to watch.  And as we all know, content is king.

The release says, “The venture is designed to complement the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Initiative by giving consumers mobile access to video content while reducing congestion of the nation’s wireless broadband infrastructure.”

I don’t know exactly what that means, I do intend to figure that out.

For the automotive industry, the establishment of a mobile TV standard and the adoption of that standard is a big deal.  Satellite TV never really hit the mark and Flo has been making progress, but they are swimming upstream.  The increased availability of options will lead to better coverage and higher adoption rate amongst manufacturers.

There has been some talk about rear seat entertainment around here and this is another service that will definitely give RSE a boost.

Full press release below.

Twelve Major Broadcast Groups to Form Joint Venture to Develop National Mobile Content Service

LAS VEGAS, April 13 /PRNewswire/ — Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Fox, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television Inc., ION Television, Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., NBC, Post-Newsweek Stations Inc. and Raycom Media today announced plans to form a standalone joint venture to develop a new national mobile content service. Utilizing existing broadcast spectrum, the service will allow member companies to provide content to mobile devices, including live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, as well as sports and entertainment programming.

Broadcast spectrum to be utilized for the new mobile service will come from the three owned-and-operated station groups — Fox, NBC & Telemundo, and ION — and the nine local broadcast groups, which are Belo, Cox, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, Hearst, Media General, Meredith, Post Newsweek and Raycom. Separately, these nine local broadcast companies formed Pearl Mobile DTV Company LLC as a vehicle for their involvement in the venture.

By aggregating existing broadcast spectrum from its launch partners, the new venture will have the capacity to offer a breadth of mobile video and print content to nearly 150 million U.S. residents. In addition to broadcast spectrum, the partners will commit content, marketing resources and capital to the new venture. The service will employ ATSC-M/H, an open broadcast transmission system developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) specifically for mobile devices.

The venture is designed to complement the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Initiative by giving consumers mobile access to video content while reducing congestion of the nation’s wireless broadband infrastructure. In addition, the service’s mobile content network will have the capacity to deliver local and national time-sensitive emergency information to citizens across the U.S.

Regarding the announcement, Jack Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer of Fox Television Stations, stated: “We are excited about building a platform that makes mobile television universally available and economically viable. This venture is the first step in forging cross-industry and company partnerships to deliver content to consumers.”

“This initiative offers a path for the next generation of video consumption, and will help the FCC in its goal of ensuring efficient and reliable broadband service for US consumers,” said John Wallace, President, NBC Local Media.

“Local broadcasters are the backbone of the U.S. media industry,” said David J. Barrett, President and CEO of Hearst Television Inc. “This sharing of content, broadcast spectrum, marketing resources and capital is unprecedented, and underscores U.S. broadcasters’ commitment to bringing vital local news, weather, and emergency information to increasingly mobile U.S. consumers. This is a critically important initiative that holds great promise for our audiences and the television industry. This is truly the next generation of local television service.”

“This venture takes to the next level the work we embarked upon three years ago with the development of Mobile DTV technology, in anticipation of digital TV capabilities and consumer mobile demand,” said Brandon Burgess, CEO of ION Television.

“Mobile digital television places each of our companies at the center of a consumer transformation, putting us on cell phones, netbooks, DVD players and even in-vehicle entertainment systems,” said David Lougee, President, Gannett Broadcasting, Gannett Co. Inc. “And it’s the consumers who are the big winners. From news and entertainment to emergency information, virtually all U.S. consumers will soon be able to bring their most valuable content with them wherever they go.”

Information regarding a dedicated management team that will focus on securing additional content, spectrum and distribution partnerships for the venture will be made available at a later date.

via [prnewsire]

Related posts:

1. Google Will Bring The Internet To You!
2. Where Do Kids Fit Into Telematics Strategies?
3. Rear-Seat Entertainment Sales to Double by 2015

via [mashable]

Related posts:

1. ‘What is Telematics?’ Infographic
2. Making Foursquare Work for Business. Could Dealerships Learn Something?
3. Twitter, Now With Geo-Location

With the oncoming proliferation of apps and advanced connected applications the RSE market is a huge opportunity.  I’ve already spent some time talking about how kids could fit into telematics strategies and some of the potential for RSE systems.

Because RSE users are encumbered by all those silly driver safety laws they can become (and rapidly are becoming) rolling media centers / offices.

Toyota, meanwhile, has an RSE in its new 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan that features a 16.4-inch-wide screen drop-down LCD, a DVD player, a 100W AC 120V outlet, an auxiliary input for gaming systems or other devices, and an iPod interface.

At present, the largest display for an RSE system anywhere allows for a split-screen view when two sources have been activated. Next are the 10.2-inch screens—seen on the new 2011 Audi A8, and whose RSE system will include its own AMI, a 20Gbyte HDD, two SD card slots, a DVD player, a Human Machine Interface (HMI) and connectivity with the rest of the vehicle.

With the availability of mobile broadband, especially 3G-to-WiFi devices, that allow mobile connectivity for one or more passengers make streaming music / video, web browsing, email, on and on, so easily accessible that it’s hard to imagine a future for RSE that doesn’t include large touchscreens and connected apps.

via [isuppli]

Related posts:

1. Will Toyota’s Issues Shine Spotlight on All In-Car Electronics?
2. Ford Announces AppLink
3. Google In Position to Control Mobile Future

In the April 2010 edition of Fast Company Anya Kamenetz talks about how technology is impacting childhood creativity and the way kids learn.  It’s a great read and you should definitely click through the link at the bottom, but first I want to talk about how this movement might impact the automotive world.

Generally the focus of all telematics except streaming video has been the driver.  The burgeoning in-vehicle app ecosystem is generally focused on enabling the driver to interact with their phone or apps in a safer way.  On the other hand, the primary consumers of rear seat entertainment are children.  As every OEM and Tier1 moves to implement some sort of advanced telematics technologies taking advantage of brought in or downloaded applications I’ve heard nothing about rear seat entertainment and how this movement towards open frameworks will impact and be impacted by the kids in the back seat.

American children now spend 7.5 hours a day absorbing and creating media — as much time as they spend in school. Even more remarkably, they multitask across screens to cram 11 hours of content into those 7.5 hours. More and more of these activities are happening on smartphones equipped with audio, video, SMS, and hundreds of thousands of apps.

I have to believe that RSE is a major opportunity for the new breed of app enabled infotainment systems.  Sure, kids in the back seat could use their phones as they normally do, but as with the rest of the equation, the OEMs will have to sweeten the deal.  For example, in the back seat, 2 larger touch screens connected to each other to allow connected gaming would no doubt be a huge hit for any family regularly driving around with 2 young ones in the back.  Hardware costs could be a concern, but aren’t modern minivans just rolling entertainment centers for kids?

Not only are kids absorbing media, but they are learning at the same time.  The article highlights children from ages as low as 3 that are using technology to improve learning.  For example, learning how to spell or do your multiplication tables from an iPhone app (come to think of it, I know a few adults that would benefit from a math and spelling refresher).  Though kids have traditionally consumed video from the RSE, there is a distinct difference between video and both game and learning apps (it should be noted that most learning apps are just games with a purpose…So kids are often learning without realizing it).

“You put a kid in front of a TV, they veg out,” says Andrew Shalit, creator of the First Words app and father of a toddler son. “With an iPhone app, the opposite is true. They’re figuring out puzzles, moving things around using fine motor skills…”

And this engagement is key both in keeping kids interested as well as convincing parents to adopt these technologies.

With the launch of the iPad this past weekend, Apple is targeting education (amongst other things) as a key market for the device.  Text book manufacturers have announced iPad versions of text books and schools have even announce ‘an iPad for every student.’

Advanced applications of mobile connectivity don’t just have to enable web browsing, Facebook, and email.  They can enable not only fun, but also educational.

via [fast company]

Related posts:

1. Rear-Seat Entertainment Sales to Double by 2015
2. Eric Schmidt Says, “Mobile Is The Future”
3. Pearl Mobile DTV Is A Big Deal For Mobile TV

Now, sit back and enjoy a little reading before you take a long lunch and leave early… It is the weekend after all!

How Do You Use Apps In The Car? – The iPhone App Store has over 100,000.  The Android Marketplace just reached 30,000 apps.  Billions of downloads have already been delivered to devices and the market grows every day.  Users everywhere are becoming accustomed to downloading and installing applications that extend the utility of their devices and the car is the next platform that will benefit from this explosion in applications.

The Dangers of GPS, ‘The Simpsons’-style – In this clip from a recent Simpsons episode, Homer drives the kids to school, but reminds us to never blindly follow anyone (especially a GPS).  Now, maybe if the system he used had real-time data connectivity (or if he had listened to Bart) Homer wouldn’t have ended up where he did…10 feet off the ground.

The Internet Radio Universe – Roger Lanctot offers a great overview of what internet radio is and isn’t. We know that in-car connectivity is on the rise and streaming music will be one of the major uses of that bandwidth.

The Mobile Web vs Apps vs Both – As the mobile web (i.e. sites specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices) is being replaced by mobile apps and sites that are dual purpose (i.e. the standard site can be viewed reliably in a mobile browser) Google seems to think that developers should be leverage the mobile web to create cross platform applications.

Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It? – As the mobile web (i.e. sites specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices) is being replaced by mobile apps and sites that are dual purpose (i.e. the standard site can be viewed reliably in a mobile browser) Google seems to think that developers should be leverage the mobile web to create cross platform applications.

Related posts:

1. Ford Sync Has The Lead, Will It Hold On To It?
2. The Mobile Web vs Apps vs Both
3. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up

It’s a new foundation for the ultimate mobile device. The automobile will never be the same.

As the mobile web (i.e. sites specifically designed to be viewed on mobile devices) is being replaced by mobile apps and sites that are dual purpose (i.e. the standard site can be viewed reliably in a mobile browser) Google seems to think that developers should be leverage the mobile web to create cross platform applications.

Fast Company’s April’s 2010 issue includes an article by Paul Hochman on Ford, Sync and how the electronics platform is redefining the automaker that few people wanted anything to do with just a couple years ago.  It’s a good read and you should click through below to the full article, but first I want to highlight a passage from the end of the article.

Competition is looming. In addition to Kia, Audi, Mercedes, and other manufacturers are working on their own systems. “They obviously have a big lead,” says Koslowski, the Gartner auto analyst, about Ford, “but sometimes being a first mover doesn’t pay off. Think of Apple. There were plenty of MP3 players in the market before it introduced the iPod. For Ford, the burden it has put on itself is to keep innovating. I think the company is capable, but it takes a commitment all the way from the top.”

This is an important point… Ford has the first mover advantage, but they’ve picked a strategy that no one else is using (yet) and not only do they need to keep innovating they don’t have anyone in the automotive industry then can learn lessons from.  Now, and this is important, Ford is purporting itself to be thinking like a software company and that is, to a large extent, what it (and others) will need to do to address the challenge of short development cycles and changing customer demands.  Zipping through multiple iterations of a web site or software package is extremely common, but unheard of in the automotive world of 7 year vehicle cycles and 2-3 electronics cycles.

Ford has taken a very rational approach to rolling out new features and functionality for the Sync system (including the launch of MyFord Touch), but it remains to be seen how they will continue to innovate the platform while developers take advantage of their newly granted freedom to integrate.  Other manufacturers are taking different approaches and it’s only a matter of time before there are other products in market that will challenge Ford for the in-car electronics ‘wow factor’ (in fact, how long before this isn’t a wow factor and we just expect it like we expect AM/FM radio?).  I’ve said before, I believe that some hybrid connected / embedded combination is likely the long term answer (tho it has it’s own challenges…cost, for example), but will Ford go that way or continue to offer the most low cost platform possible.

I haven’t seen Ford’s product roadmap, so I don’t know where the product will end up, but I do know that the answers to these questions will decide if Ford keeps it’s lead or give it all up to the ‘fast followers’ (blech, I hate that term) that often dominate the industry.

via [fast company]

Related posts:

1. Challenges with Telematics Adoption
2. Sync Named Top 10 Most Innovative Mobile Tech
3. MyFord Touch Review From Mossberg

Roger Lanctot offers a great overview of what internet radio is and isn’t. We know that in-car connectivity is on the rise and streaming music will be one of the major uses of that bandwidth. Pandora seems to have the buzz right now, but it is not the only player.

The major music services are Slacker, Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify, iTunes and Napster. The major programming guides are RadioTimes, Reciva, vTuner and Radio Locator. The available Internet radio stations include: iHeartradio, RadioParadise and a host of individual and bundled stations ultimately encompassing the entire 65K stations available worldwide. Mobile radio apps include Flycast, Stitcher, Radiolicious, and WunderRadio amidst a long and growing list.

Lanctot highlights RadioTime BMW/Mini’s choice for a way to organize the streaming experience (including FM radio).

It is still early days in the Internet radio and music service business as far as automotive and mobile app implementations are concerned but there are already dozens of mobile applications available for nearly every mobile platform. For music services the business model revolves around subscriptions, paid downloads and advertising. The business models range from free (often with advertising) to paid (without advertising) and include sales of music and other access privileges such as caching or “skipping” songs.

With all the options out there (and not just for internet radio) organizing all the content and making it readily accessible to end users will need to be figured out long term.  Normally I would consider this a particularly daunting task for the automotive industry (and it is), but the proliferation advanced platforms is shortening development cycles and app marketplaces will offer multiple solutions for end users to choose from (just like with the smartphone market).

Click through to Strategy Analytics for the full text of the article.

via [@rogermud] via [strategy analytics]

Related posts:

1. RIM Buys QNX
2. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
3. App Downloads Will Near 6Billion in 2010

In this clip from a recent Simpsons episode, Homer drives the kids to school, but reminds us to never blindly follow anyone (especially a GPS).  Now, maybe if the system he used had real-time data connectivity (or if he had listened to Bart) Homer wouldn’t have ended up where he did…10 feet off the ground.

Related posts:

1. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
2. Twitter, Now With Geo-Location
3. Application Spotlight: Aha Mobile

Now, sit back and enjoy a little reading before you take a long lunch and leave early… It is the weekend after all!

Survey: How would you use apps in the car? – We’re wondering how you use apps in the car and how you might use them in the future.  Check out our quick survey (less than 2 minutes) and let us know what you think!

Application Spotlight: AppSpace.com – AppSpace.com helps smartphone users find the perfect apps for them.  Soon telematics systems will be facing the same flood of apps and drivers will need the same type of help finding apps (not to mention OEMs needing help distributing them).

Location Awareness Keeps On Rolling – In his article on NYT.com David Carr talks about the pervasiveness of location based services at South by Southwest. Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple and more have introduced location enabled apps or features and we are just at the leading edge of adoption among users.

Smartphones and Embedded Systems – Over at Telematics Update Andrew Tolve discusses, ‘The Smartphone: Friend or Foe of In-car Infotainment?” My take away from the article is that the answer is, it’s both…and I would tend to agree.

Bringing Telematics to Cars Without Them – Your ’97 Accord doesn’t have remote diagnostic reporting, geo-fencing, trip logging, yada, yada yada?  Well, for $200, now it can! Motolingo’s Motoriety is a system to bring telematics features to your older car’s OBDII port and represents a creative little bit of tech.

Related posts:

1. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
2. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
3. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up

The number of apps available for the iPhone, Android OS and Blackberry is rapidly approach a combined 200,000. Wading through the sewage that constitute most apps to find that diamond in the rough can be a daunting task.  For some of us installing and deleting apps is a hobby, but most people don’t have the patience or desire to go through all that downloading and testing.

AppSpace.com is a recommendation engine for the app store of your choosing (WebOS is once again snubbed) and is intended to help you find just the right app for your needs.  By taking your indicated areas of interest and the apps you like and dislike (based on your ratings) AppSpace will recommend apps for you to try (along with the appropriate download links).

It’s a handy little system and while you’ll probably still have some trial and error in finding the perfect app for your tastes, AppSpace should definitely make the process easier.

The idea here is pretty straightforward even if the execution might not be.  The automotive industry will face a similar challenge.  As more and more apps become available for vehicle integration how will users sift through the thousands to find the ones that fit their desired experience the best?  Well, I’d bet that AppSpace will add some preference options for automotive apps (once the apps actually hit the market), but the providers will likely need to come up with their own ways to help the car buyer customize their experience effectively or less tech savvy users might be overwhelmed.

Ford Sync’s user-device-centric model may make it harder to recommend apps though I’d expect the respective app stores to create a category or tag (or the like) for automotive enabled apps.  Something more embedded in the vehicle like Continental’s AutoLinQ might offer greater opportunities for recommendations through the embedded system.  Either way, I believe that telematics offerings will need to support access to the respective app store in the vehicle and, in turn, will need to find creative ways to support the user experience (including OTA app downloads)

This video will do some explaining and you can click through to MakeUseOf for a writeup on the site and it’s features…

via [techtoliveby]

Related posts:

1. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
2. Smartphones and Embedded Systems
3. The App is the Future of Telematics

Now, sit back and enjoy a little reading before you take a long lunch and leave early… It is the weekend after all!

Twitter, Now with Geo-Location – Twitter has announced the addition of a more significant tweet your location feature that allows users to add location information from their mobile device to their tweets and, most importantly, makes that information searchable for other users.

Telenav’s Top 10 Most Searched – The Telenav Blog posted top 10 usage statistics of their users and there are some noteworthy items.

Driving Distracted (with a badge?) – Matt Richtel at the The New York Times talks about the ever growing number of police, fire fighters, paramedics, etc that are weaving through traffic at high speeds while talking on a cell phone or radio and typing on a laptop or navigation system.

Application Spotlight: Waze – Waze is a turn-by-turn navigation platform with it’s roots in real-time user provided data

Application Spotlight: Aha Mobile - Aha Mobile will give you a customized traffic report, your facebook / twitter updates, yelp reviews and move all based on your preferences and location and delivered as audio through your device’s (phone or vehicle) speakers.

Related posts:

1. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
2. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
3. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up

Matt Richtel at the The New York Times talks about the ever growing number of police, fire fighters, paramedics, etc that are weaving through traffic at high speeds while talking on a cell phone or radio and typing on a laptop or navigation system.

Ambulances and police cars are becoming increasingly wired. Some 75 percent of police cruisers have on-board computers, a figure that has doubled over the last decade, says David Krebs, an industry analyst with the VDC Research Group. He estimates about 30 percent of ambulances have such technology.

There is no question that these groups of people are at the absolute top of the list of folks that have good reason to use these technologies while in motion (do you want an ambulance to pull over to input a destination on their way to your house?) and the article even notes an estimated savings of 20-30 seconds per call.

So what has to happen to keep these technologies safe? Well, in my mind, exactly the same thing that has to happen for consumers…simplified UIs, voice controls and hardware integration.  The NYT article mentions a University of New Hampshire project (federally backed with $34million) is working on hands-free technology for police cars (and a quick Google search reveals other projects), but I can’t seem to find which, if any, of the major voice control providers they are working with.

It would only make sense that the technology being used is the same as is used in consumer applications (this is one case where the demands are essentially the same between consumers and law enforcement or fire fighting).  That being said, I’m a bit surprised there isn’t a more readily available solution already on the market.  Maybe this is one area with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood might look to impose some government regulation (just speculating, but these vehicles are a very logical place for the government to start).

Though there seem to be very few reports of technology-distraction related accidents the article provides a number of anecdotes from law enforcement and paramedics of people injured or almost injured by a driver distracted by in-vehicle technology of some sort.

In April 2008, an emergency medical technician in West Nyack, N.Y., looked at his GPS screen, swerved and hit a parked flatbed truck. The crash sheared off the side of the ambulance and left his partner, who was in the passenger seat, paralyzed.

Apparently in many places the laws against cell phones and texting while driving do not apply to these types of civil servants.  I, for my part, am totally ok with that… What do you think? Should a police officer’s navigation system be locked out when moving over 5mph (assuming he doesn’t have a partner in the passenger seat)?

Click through to the NYT for the full article.

Related posts:

1. Sprint Offers Android Based Distracted Driving App err… App to Reduce Distracted Driving
2. Texting Bans, Can They Work?
3. LaHood Still Looking at Cell Jamming Technology for Cars

Los Angeles tops the list of cities where users are more likely to use GPS to reroute around traffic which is in line with Inrix’s Traffic Scorecard which placed LA as the most congested city in 2009.  LA was also the city where the most GPS searches occurred, but, strangely (to me anyway), Maryland and DC topped the list of areas where users most frequently used GPS navigation.

Users in the state of Maryland were the most frequent users of GPS guidance in the US, using it for twice as many trips per month than the national average.

All these searches add up to pretty good data about business and habits, but there are no big surprises… Walmart and Starbucks are the most searched business and Pizza and Chinese the most searched foods.

Click through to the Telenav Blog for the full writeup…

via [Telenav Blog]

Related posts:

1. INRIX 2009 National Traffic Scorecard
2. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
3. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up

Now when you come across that police blockade you’ll be able to search near your location for relevant tweets and find out why the police have surrounded your building (or, more realistically, find out how far that blackout you’re stuck in reaches).

As this functionality is integrated into applications like Foursquare and Waze and others yet to be developed I believe it delivers that final necessary layer of information to make Twitter a true potential leader for in-vehicle information.  Without the added value of 3rd party applications Twitter + geo-location information could be an extremely powerful tool for the transfer of data to and from the vehicle.  I can already think of at least 3 ways to take advantage of the power of Twitter’s real-time information stream to improve real-time traffic data (if you’d like to discuss them, e-mail me).

I have already talked about how Twitter’s platform has the potential to become a major player in real-time incident data and the addition of this geo-location information combined with some voice commands will lend a great deal of credibility to the use case for in-vehicle tweeting.

As with all the socially networked location based services there are significant concerns about the safety of letting the world know where you are.  Sites like PleaseRobMe.com shine a light on some of the potential negatives of all this location based information.  Twitter seems to be taking the necessary steps to put the decision to share information in the hands of the user (and at that point it’s up to the user not to be an idiot…I know, not something easily relied upon).

Your Privacy and Tweet with Location

We want you to have control over how and when your location information is shared. Tweet With Location is off by default, and as a user you need to opt-in to the service. You can turn Tweet With Location on or off at any time, as well as clear your location before you Tweet. You can also delete all your past location data with a single click (the How to Tweet With Your Location help page has instructions to do this).

It’s already a good idea to be cautious and careful about the amount of information you share online. There may be some updates where you want to share your location (“The parade is starting now.” or “A truck just spilled delicious candy all over the roadway!”), and some updates where you want to keep your location private. Just like you might not want to tweet your home address, please be cautious in tweeting coordinates you don’t want others to see.

Remember that when you’re opted in to Tweet With Your Location, you can still select to not share your location for individual Tweets, or choose to share a more general location level if your application allows. Please familiarize yourself with our general location settings and the settings of any applications and devices you tweet with so that you are always aware of the information you share. Remember, once you post something online, it’s out there for others to see.

Overall a Twitter enabled 3rd party application with ties to real-time incident data is amongst the first apps I would want to download to my car.   I have no doubt that by the time in-vehicle apps have hit their stride that there will be a plethora of options to choose from.  The question is what will differentiate one app from an another and will a clear leader emerge… Apps like Foursquare provide the added value and engagement of offering rewards to users while Waze provides turn-by-turn navigation based on user submitted traffic updates.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, but mark my words… Twitter’s engine for real-time information sharing has the power to make a huge impact on automotive telematics.

You can click through for the full post from Twitter here.

Related posts:

1. inTELEMATICStoday.com Weekly Round-Up
2. Twitter Is Poised to Lead Real-Time Incident Data
3. Location Awareness Keeps On Rolling