Autoblog

It's no secret that our cars are quickly becoming extensions of our data-crazed lives. Everywhere we go, we surround ourselves with electronics meant to make our lives more convenient. Plus, most of these gadgets are just plain cool. Microsoft and Ford started something with the SYNC system and Apple has the market cornered with its iPod and iPhone, with integration of those i-devices now becoming popular options with car shoppers. Don't expect Google to sit back and watch. The internet giant has teamed up with an impressive list of major players, including Intel and Wind River Systems. These companies are actively working on getting their Android open-source operating system integrated into cars as we speak. If we had to wager a guess, it would be BMW that's most likely to roll out a new Android-powered infotainment system first, possibly as early as next year according to John Bruggeman, chief marketing officer at Wind River. For an early look at the first device with the Android OS, check out Engadget's recent feature.

[Source: CNET via Jalopnik]

Thanks to inventions like GPS Navigation and online directions, it's getting harder to get lost by the day. Google Maps has been a big hit for folks trying to navigate to new destinations, and the free service just got cooler with the integration of Street-View into driving directions. Now when you enter a destination and get step by step directions, you can also click on a camera icon on the map to get a street-level view of the roads you'll be traveling.

Street Maps allows you to rotate the view, click arrows to virtually travel the route, and even check out landmarks that you'll be passing along the way. That way you'll have a distinct visual to look out for when you're going to turn, instead of seeing the tiny street sign at the last possible minute. The photo resolution is so clear, you can check out where there are one-way streets, read parking signs, and even keep tabs on speed limits on your route. The only draw-back is that you need to be within one of the 44 regions of the US to use the feature, but most metropolitan areas have the feature.

[Source: Carscoop]

Promising to make automotive navigation systems "easier, faster, and more convenient to use," BMW is (finally) rolling out its Google-partnered "Myinfo" service in North America (Europeans received BMW's similar "ConnectedDrive" late last year). With a click of a mouse from the Google Maps web site on your computer, up to 10 destinations may be automatically sent to the navigation system of the BMW Assist-equipped model (yes, there is no need to use the iDrive controller to painstakingly plug them in). The telemetry may be sent while the vehicle is parked, or while driving if you have shared your Myinfo data with a relative, friend, or co-worker.

BMW is making Myinfo exclusive to the 2008 BMW X6 right now, however it plans to roll it out across the lineup in 2009. Inputting address and destination data into any navigation system has always been grievous, so we welcome any technology that allows remote, one-click, uploading. BMW's system joins the upcoming eNav feature for GM's OnStar service, which works with MapQuest instead of Google Maps.

Hit the jump for BMW's full press release and a brief video of the system in action.

[Source: BMW North America]

Those of you rolling in any new BMW model equipped with sat nav and Bluetooth connectability, save the Z4 and X3, can now integrate Google's useful, albeit sometimes erroneous, route plotting into your Bimmer. The joint effort between ze Germans and the search overlords allow users to log onto Google Maps UK, plan their route and then send the information to the vehicle's sat nav.

While that might seem like a redundancy, the truly sweet feature of the system is the ability to import ten RSS feeds into the BMW's computer, allowing you to check up on the happenings of the automotive world from your go-to obessives at Autoblog. Just try to avoid gawking at galleries while in route to pick up the kiddies.

BMW's full press release is posted post jump.

Mercedes is introducing a feature called Search and Send to that will allow you to send Google and Yahoo! driving directions directly to your car's navigation system. How it works: you get driving directions from either source, and then hit a button labeled Send to Car. If you have a Tele-Aid subscription, when you get in your new Mercedes you can hit the "i" button, and the car will download the directions. Voila and giddyup.

You can even send directions from your PDA, or have someone else send directions to you while you're in the car. However, the unique identifier that gets the directions to your specific car and no one else's isn't spelled out. It also isn't clear if this is only for new cars, or if your 2005 CLK and your woeful sense of direction can ever benefit. The release says it will start off on the S, CL, and new C-Class, and be phased in across the range over time. It doesn't become available until September 5, but you can see a video of it here.

[Source: Foursprung]

While it was much more fun to think of the little hover-droid flying around New York City waiting to snap pictures for you of the surrounding city-scape, the reality is a bit less interesting, although more realistic. The vehicle you see in the picture above is one of Immersive Media's camera wielding cars, a Volkswagen New Beetle to be exact. These are the cars that Google is using to populate their new Street View function with pictures of major cities, or as Immersive Media themselves refer to it: 360° georeferenced spherical video. Ummm... yeah.

Since I just ruined John's fantasy of the little hover-droid, I propose this stunning possibility: Maybe this is the real Bumblebee from Transformers! He's no Camaro, he was a Bug all along. He's come to earth in an attempt to map out possible... alright, nevermind. I'll just go back to thinking of the hover-droid.

[Source: Immersive Media via Engadget]

Google began the latest online mapping craze a couple of years ago when it kicked old school stalwart Mapquest to the curb. Since then Microsoft and Yahoo have jumped into the fray and the gang from Redmond has made a lot of progress with 3-D visualizations of its maps. Google has added features to its maps, but it has largely relied on users to submit 3-D models of buildings using a program called Sketch-Up to supplement its aerial maps.

Now Google has done a deal with Stanford University to use some of the sensing technology from DARPA Grand Challenge winner Stanley and the Urban Challenge competitor Junior to enhance its visualizations. It sounds like Google will be assembling a fleet of vehicles to drive around cities with some of the sensing equipment and feed the information back into Google Maps and Earth. No word yet on whether drivers will be included in the vehicles.

[Source: San Jose Mercury News via Engadget]

Both Volkswagen and Google have responded to criticism that the automaker's web pages were in violation of Google's quality guidelines. The uproar centers around hidden keywords in flash-based pages.

Rather than include the keywords in the meta tag of the HTML page, which is where information about the document is typically placed, VW was hiding search keywords inside the page. Using a div layer, which is a technique of building pages with style sheets, Volkswagen had loads of search terms that would register with web spiders, but not show up to end users. The end result would be the Volkswagen pages would be called up for more searches on Google than they otherwise would be.

The name of this suspect layer, "invisibleContent," seems to clearly register its intent. Since being flagged, Google and Volkswagen's agency had a chat, and the search terms are now properly placed under the Meta description in the page. Oh yeah, the pages now block web crawlers from caching the pages - a total 180 degree turn from spamming search engines with hidden terms. Very weird.

Some webmasters are a little miffed that Google didn't throw the book at VW and kick it from the search engine's index, a particularly devastating reaction for websites that Google often has when a site is found to be violating its quality guidelines. Apparently it doesn't matter, however, since VW's blocked its site from being cached anyway.

[Source: cartoonbarry.com]

So targeted, it's freaky. Google, everybody's favorite search engine, and Google-owned dMarc Broadcasting, plan to use GPS to hook up Google AdWords customers with GPS-based in-car advertising. What does this mean, exactly? As Eric Schmidt, Google CEO described it, if he needs a pair of pants, not only will his radio remind him of that fact, but it will also instruct him to turn left at the strip mall 500 feet up ahead to visit the clothing store to buy new pants.

In addressing a luncheon of publishing execs, Schmidt wasn't clear on how exactly Google would accomplish this, but he did expect to be able to show the industry something in a year or two.

[Source: ZDNet]

Google, Timberland and Bank of America are just a few of the companies out there rewarding their employees for going green. The companies offer cash back to employees who buy hybrid vehicles, though certain conditions apply.

Bank of America, whose headquarters is in North Carolina, is offering $3,000 to employees near its corporate HQ, in Boston or Los Angeles, as a one-time taxable perk. The company says it's trying to do the right thing, considering how many commuters it is responsible for in those locations. Google employees get $5,000 for buying a hybrid and $2,500 for leasing one, and Timberland, makers of apparel and outdoor gear, is offering up $3,000 to its employees, along with a front-row parking spot.

[Source: Edmunds InsideLine]