Filed under: Gadgets, CES, Safety
CES 2008: CarShield offers telematics on the (kinda) cheap
That little red box contains a lot of electronic goodies that, until now, were only available as options on newer vehicles. Plug that plastic rectangle into your car's diagnostics port and CarShield puts you in touch with your car like never before.
Like most simple telematic systems, it contains cellular capabilities, GPS and Bluetooth. Those technologies allow car owners to open locked car doors with a Bluetooth mobile phone and track where there car is, has been or is going. Got a teen driver? If the little brat ventures outside your pre-determined boundaries, the CarShield will send you a text message to let you know.
Perhaps more useful to the general population, though, are CarShields diagnostic features. It monitors your car's health, and alerts you via text message if your battery is getting weak, if your tires are low or, in some cars, if you need an oil change.
And for those in states requiring smog checks, you may soon be able to use CarShield to avoid the yearly emissions test and the fee usually charged for it. If CarShield detects an emissions problem, it alerts the owner. If the problem isn't taken care of, the module alerts CarShield HQ that will then contact the owner, presumably with something more forceful than a text message. CarShield claims the remote monitoring can reduce non-compliant cars by catching them more than once a year. Californians already have the option of using devices like CarShield to remotely test their emissions, and other states will be added soon, we're told.
CarShield will officially launch Jan. 22 for an MSRP of $300 and a $150 yearly subscription fee that includes roadside assistance. Not exactly pocket change, but if your car doesn't have these capabilities, it's possibly worth it if your speeding teenager rarely checks the oil.
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Unhookt 6:14PM (1/16/2008)
Awesome!
Reply
nick 6:23PM (1/16/2008)
"awesome" hahah so funny.
the only response I could muster and was going to post was going to be "sweet!"
nothing like tracking the kids I don't have and what not. The opening doors with bluetooth, though, is interesting. Can't imagine it works well given the product is universal.
Reply
tankd0g 6:31PM (1/16/2008)
Open doors by bluetooth? Has bluetooth got some sort of security now?
Reply
chop 7:09PM (1/16/2008)
no, but if this thing were really tied to your engine management your bluetooth phone (with the right app) could send the message to the device to unlock the doors or do w/e it wants. not the safest though since you cant realy change the bluetooth security passphrase so anyone could connect to it.
golferal 8:30PM (1/16/2008)
Yes. It's "0000" as the passcode!
How much more security do you need?
tankd0g 11:15PM (1/16/2008)
Man am I going to have some fun my laptop in parking lots when people start buying these. I hope they give them a sticker to put in the window it identify the targets :)
M 11:51PM (1/16/2008)
actually Bluetooth has quite a bit of security. Aside from the 0000 passcode (which can be made more secure) BT hops frequencys many times per second and data and conversations are encrypted.
tankd0g 1:15AM (1/17/2008)
I've had no trouble talking to people in their cars against their will with bluetooth so far. :)
asdfffss8 7:11PM (1/16/2008)
$300 plus $150 a year? Its my car and my phone! WTF am I paying for?! I'll wait until the price drops to $99 and $25 a year. That would make more sense.
Reply
YourStupid 7:18PM (1/16/2008)
Let me get this straight. I get bent over every month by directTv for $80. Verizon, in my case, for $300. My home phone is $30. Add car note and big oils magic liquid called gas. Now carshield wants me to send them $12 bucks a month? A cars resale value drops so fast why should I worry about it? Not to mention the reliability now is through the roof. No thanks. Its easier to just not lock the keys inside.
Reply
Dave 12:22AM (1/17/2008)
What the hell does your directTV bill have to do with this? Is CarShield in league with satellite TV? Regardless, if you don't like what you're paying, I've got a great solution. Cancel it!
You're an angry, angry man. Just read all your comments and it sounds like you need to take some anti-depressants. Is there anything you do like?
Vik 5:39AM (1/17/2008)
YourStupid- (I assume your name implies that you are "our resident stupid person" since you used your and not you're). Anyway, I guess you didn't read the article so I'll paste what the subscription is for:
1. roadside assistance
2. It monitors your car's health, and alerts you via text message if your battery is getting weak, if your tires are low or, in some cars, if you need an oil change.
3. And for those in states requiring smog checks, you may soon be able to use CarShield to avoid the yearly emissions test and the fee usually charged for it. If CarShield detects an emissions problem, it alerts the owner. If the problem isn't taken care of, the module alerts CarShield HQ that will then contact the owner
Richard Warren 4:33AM (1/17/2008)
Right after the teen unplugs the thing, they'll go where they want.
Reply
Vik 5:37AM (1/17/2008)
...and then never use the car again. ;)
Richard Warren 9:42AM (1/17/2008)
Yep, Vic that's the way it should be but we know what happens :)
epilonious 9:54AM (1/17/2008)
You buy them a car so old it doesn't have a diagnostic port or power anything? So old they wouldn't want to venture far lest it break down and strand them, and definitely not something they want their friends to see?
There are still a few Volvo 240DLs out there, I am sure.
Jen 3:01PM (8/01/2008)
The teens could fool you by parking the car at the destination that they told you they were going then unplugging the device. Then they can drive wherever they want. Then they park back in the same spot where they disabled the device and plug it back in. To you it looks like the car was parked the whole time.
The only way to catch it is if you go and check that the mileage matches what the device is reporting online.
However, if the device reads the mileage for you updates itself then you have no way of catching it. Hopefully they haven't engineered it that way or even better if they made it to alert you of a mileage mismatch.
bamboo 9:44AM (1/17/2008)
I was very interested until I saw the $$ per year fee. If it was something like $50, I might be more interested. Or maybe if I had kids.
Reply
Travis 10:34AM (1/17/2008)
yup, same here. thumbs down for the yearly fee... how about they make it so you have to connect your blue-tooth device to it, and they send the diagnostics and information to that blue-toothed device (and that's it). I don't live in an emissions state, so why should I pay for the privilege of having it send me letters in the mail to tell me that I removed the cat and put on a CAI?
HTS 12:45PM (1/17/2008)
"Sorry we do not support Mozilla right now."
Lame. Site is still a mess in IE.
Reply