Autoblog

We already know that in-car web browsing is on its way. Both BMW and Chrysler have already revealed that the feature is forthcoming in their vehicles, and more automakers are sure to follow. But telematics provider ATX Group is sticking its nose in to ensure that the web we're one day browsing in our cars is safe to use (read: no fun at all). ATX is working with a group called the Connected Vehicle Trade Association to push a standardized method for getting web content into automobiles. ATX is exploring ways to adapt the traditional web experience to meet the demands of the automotive environment, similar to the way mobile versions of websites target cellphone browsers, nevermind that the mobile web experience pales in comparison to surfing normal websites on a device like the iPhone, which works inside cars last time we checked. One idea is to target automobile surfing through implementation of a standard top-level domain, .car, which would house content specifically designed to work with the to-be-determined vehicular web standard.

With safety in mind, we're guessing that ATX and the CVTA will kick around a text-to-speech function that allows pages to be read-aloud to a driver by the embedded hardware, and possibly a standardization of page size for reliably fast loading. Telematics also opens up another area for targeted services, such as remote diagnostics, parental surveillance via performance monitoring, and dynamic traffic information. Developing a standard also helps automakers avoid duplicating each others' efforts as they all race to deliver E! Online to your dashboard. Ah yes, in-car internet will no doubt be the latest whiz-bang distraction from the task of actually driving one's car.

[Source: ATX]

If your thing is paying to be verbally upbraided by a celebrity, Navtones has you covered. Novelty of novelties, you can now get celebrity voices for your TomTom satnav. I like the way the celebs will bust your chops if you miss a turn, or give you a verbal dope-slap to pay attention, but it might get old fast. If you've got $12.95 burning a hole in your pocket and a fascination with celebrity culture, Mr. T's dulcet instructional stylings can be yours. You can also choose from Burt Reynolds (no quotes from Smokey And The Bandit), Gary Busey, or Dennis Hopper. Amusing, yes, but we feel it's a grave omission to leave out the best nav voice ever, KITT, aka William Daniels (aka George Feeny from Boy Meets World).

[Source: World Car Fans]

Okay folks, we're waiting to see the first hack that has gameplay running on the nav screen, so someone get on it! Cambridge, MA based WAAV has developed a new generation of cellular routers capable of delivering cellular internet at speeds comparable to DSL. Here's the important part, it'll do it in your car. That's better than cruising around neighborhoods with your laptop sniffing around for unsecured wireless networks. Besides, when you're using hijacked wireless, you can't drive around. Public transportation installations are another possibility, especially since the Airbox X2 is designed to serve multiple users. The catch is that you've got to buy the Airbox X2 for $1100 bucks, plus lock in to a minimum two year contract with their cellular data provider before they'll let you have one. That's a lot of scratch just so we can blog while stuck in epic traffic. Of course, getting posts done while languishing on the Mass Pike would convert that time into productivity. Hmm.

[Source: Straightline]

It's like Pandora for your car! Slacker, a new web-based radio website has just launched this week. The channel selection is very similar to what's available on XM or Sirius, and we liken it to Pandora because the number of songs you can skip is limited, but the selection is large and the experience is flexible and customizeable. The website alone is a nice little diversion anywhere you've got a browser and bandwidth, but the exciting news is that there will soon be an iPod-like device so you can take your Slacker with you. That means never having to listen to the angry guy talk channel while stuck in a traffic jam again. It's also better than the four-song playlists each FM genre now spins, too. The portable device will store songs, and later this year Slacker will be unveiling a car dock that will be able to receive music from satellite signals.

Pulling down music from the birds is the same trick that Sirius and XM manage, but they cost money. Slacker is free once you purchase the hardware. How is that possible? Why, the very same way broadcast television and radio are free: advertising. If you're willing to sit through some ads, you get free music. In fact, the music is merely there to keep you interested enough that you'll continue to listen through the spots – of course, many of us are obsessive channel flippers (or worse yet, NPR junkies). You can have your Slacking and no commercials, too. For about half the price of Sirius, your $7.50 per month will keep the music rolling in and offer you unlimited skips and no ads. The price is so much lower because Slacker doesn't have big loans for satellites to pay off. The quality is in the MP3 realm, and sounds decent, which is encouraging. Some of us with finely tuned ears have a hard time listening to SatRad because of the digital compression artifacts. We'll see what happens if Slacker is able to popularize it's offerings, and deliver on the promise they're dangling tantalizingly in front of our noses.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

Fender guitars rock. Even the cheapies are easy to play and sound good in the right hands. Panasonic and Fender are teaming up to create an audio system that will be offered to auto manufacturers. Nigel and Slash have already been snagged by Volkswagen with their First Act package deal (buy a VW, they throw in the guitar that plugs into the car's audio system). We're guessing that the pitch for the Fender/Panasonic system will be along the same lines, though; and aimed at the younger demographic. The working partnership of Fender and Panasonic even trotted out Dick Dale at the NAIAS to promote their idea. Hey, in the right car, this could be magic. You could turn all that traffic-jam time into productive practice! Campers would no longer have to settle for singing "Blowin' In The Wind." With a guitar-enabled audio system, you could, as Bob Dylan told his band at Newport, "play f***ing loud."

[Source: Edmunds]