‘Apps’ for the auto are coming

Car makers look to leverage success of mobile phone applications

	Ford Sync, which lets consumers connect almost any mobile phone or digital media player with their vehicles using Bluetooth, will start having its own "apps," or programs, akin to those of the iPhone. One app will allow drivers to navigate Internet radio by favorites and genre using Sync’s voice command capability. View related photos
Ford

By Dan Carney

msnbc.com contributor

updated 8:46 a.m. ET Jan. 4, 2010

Dan Carney

You’re headed to a party but don’t know how to get there, so you decide to follow a friend. It always turns out the same: the lead car makes the light you don’t and then you’re lost, trying to figure out how to get there.

But soon your car could direct you with turn-by-turn announcements to follow the leading car so that you get to the party with no headaches.

Consumers are getting so accustomed to their smartphones performing near-miraculous feats that carmakers have realized that they need to exploit the features of the devices to put some of that magic on wheels.

Ford drivers will be able to run iPhone apps that do things like send navigation instructions from a leading car to the car behind it so that the follower doesn’t get lost if they're separated by traffic or stoplights. Another app lets drivers command an iPhone to select among Internet radio stations using the Sync voice recognition system, developed in conjunction with Microsoft, so they don’t take their eyes off the road to find a station. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Meanwhile, at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, Mercedes-Benz and Hughes Telematics will unveil the “mbrace” service, which will let drivers manage streaming music, locate points of interest or reply to e-mail, all by voice control. Like Ford, the company will create its own app store for mobile applications that run in its cars.

Chevy Volt charging app
Buyers of the all-electric Chevrolet Volt, due out in late 2010, will be able to schedule battery charging through their phone for the cheapest charging times (typically overnight, when electricity use costs less). The car will also send them a text or an e-mail if they forget to plug the vehicle in by a pre-determined time of day.

Ford and GM are exploring alternative paths to the same destination: mobile applications that integrate wireless communications, a portable computer and GPS receiver, a car’s knowledge of its own systems and surroundings, and car-based systems such as voice recognition for input or audio and video for output.

GM is following a path, reminiscent of the old IBM mainframe model of centralized control, reliability and security. Ford is plotting a route more like that of networked PCs, relying on third-parties for contributions. Just as both kinds of computer systems provide valuable benefits to their customers today, so will the two approaches to mobile automotive applications likely survive to give consumers options.

General Motors is leveraging its OnStar telematics network and built-in cellular communications hardware to execute commands sent remotely from a smartphone. GM will launch the Volt with apps for the Apple iPhone, RIM’s BlackBerrys and Motorola's Droid phones. There will also be a Web app that will run on mobile browsers for phones that don’t have their own apps.

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The mobile apps will let Volt drivers schedule charging and receive reminders when they’ve forgotten to plug it the car for the night. It will also let drivers pre-condition the car’s cabin temperature while it is still plugged in to shore power, rather than shortening the driving range by heating or cooling the car on battery power. Drivers can also receive a warning if charging is interrupted, and display vehicle performance data on their phones to compare fuel economy and miles driven on electric power with their friends.
“The first Volt owners can show off to their friends,” said Stephanie Brinley, senior manager of product analysis for market researcher AutoPacific, Inc. “This is a great brag point for these owners.”

OnStar readies apps
Using the OnStar network means that the car has its own phone to send and receive information to the driver when the driver is out of the car, enabling applications that aren’t possible with systems that rely on the driver’s own phone for communications from the car.
For example, popular OnStar services like remote door lock and unlock, light flash and horn blow, currently only available through a call to OnStar’s support center, will be possible directly from the customer’s phone. The ability to manage the car remotely could help consumers who are unsure about the expense of the Volt’s purchase price — still an unknown — to buy it, said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book.

“This will create a lot of hype for people who are on the fence about buying the Volt,” he said. “For those early embracers, this app will knock it out of the park for them.”