Autoblog

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]

Avis is still trying harder, this time offering internet in its rental fleet for $10.95 a day. Called Avis Connect, the service is launching at San Francisco International Airport and will come on line at airports in San Jose, Oakland, Los Angeles and Newark, with airport locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, San Diego and Seattle later this year.

Autonet Mobile is the ringleader behind the effort, developing the system exclusively for Avis. Anything that would hook up to a WiFi network is compatible with the system, making it easy to use laptops from the comfort of the Avis rental to access e-mail, games, music, etc. without a need for a cellular chip or other satellite-based card.

While $10.95 may not sound cheap, it's not uncommon for hotels and some cafes (cough-Starbucks-cough) to charge about that much anyway, and really, how much time do you spend in your hotel room?

Full press release from Avis after the jump.

[via Engadget]

For those of you confined to a movable cubicle, having a wireless internet connection within your mobile office would be a Godsend. Autonet has recognized this need and developed, what the company maintains is, the first in-car ISP, allowing any wireless devices within your vehicle to be hooked up the World Wide Web. The unit will set you back $399 and a monthly fee of $50 will hook you up with Verizon's EV-DO network. Initially, the product will be launched in the spring of 2007 in AVIS rental vehicles for $10.95 per day and, according to the company, will function on 95-percent of roadways within the U.S.

[Source: Engadget, NYTimes]

A decision by the Federal Communications Commission that allows all cell phone companies to turn off their analog networks beginning in February of 2008 means that nearly two million people, or half of OnStar's entire subscription base, will soon find the other end silent when they press that blue button on their vehicle's dash.

General Motors' OnStar service was originally built in 1996 on an analog network owned by Verizon Wireless because digital networks at the time didn't provide enough coverage to outlying and rural areas where many OnStar subscribers are located.

Still, the FCC ruled on the sunsetting of analog networks all the way back in 2002, and for two years General Motors continued selling vehicles equipped with analog equipment that it knew would become obsolete. While the New York Times article seems to cry foul that it took GM another two years to switch from analog-only to dual-mode (analog/digital) hardware, that timetable sounds about right to us. Without knowing which way the FCC was going to rule (many companies that rely on analog networks like ADT Home Securities lobbied the FCC along with OnStar to stay the execution of analog networks), General Motors likely wasn't prepared to pull the switch on its suppliers, and in the meantime equipped many vehicles with analog/digital-ready hardware that could at least be upgraded to dual-mode when the time came. That time is coming at the end of 2007, as all analog networks will be shut off on January 1st, 2008. At that time, any OnStar subscriber with a vehicle before 2002 and some with vehicles between 2002 and 2004 will find themselves all alone in the driver's seat.

OnStar has set up a webpage for subscribers who would like more info on the transition and to find out if their vehicle is capable of being upgraded to survive the switch.

[Source: New York Times]

Related posts:

• Lost? GM making turn-by-turn navigation standard on most 2007 models
• GM tacks on two extra years of OnStar for mobility adapted vehicles
• GM upgrades OnStar with eye towards fuel economy

There are Bimmers that self-park, provide backseat passengers hands-free cellphone service, and, in the future, may be polish-free. But a Bimmer that pays your parking space? That's what the Munich Technical University Applied Informatics/Cooperative Systems and BMW Group Research and Technology groups have developed for the 7-Series. The technology interfaces with the parking garage system wirelessly to calculate fees and pay as you exit the structure.

BMW has not stated if and when it'll roll out such a system. No word on how the system handles a validated parking pass.

[Source: AutoWeb]

Intelligent Mechatronic Systems, Inc. (IMS) has unveiled a new device called the iLane that enables a driver to access his/her email in a hands-and-eyes free way. The iLane is designed to handle all incoming information, including emails, phone calls and even text messages. The voice-based interface means that one can listen to, compose and forward emails just as if they were accessing an email account on a computer. The small device works by interacting with your Bluetooth-enabled phone or email device and can also route the audio into a vehicle's audio system or Bluetooth headset.

Though IMS bills the iLane as a way to safely access and manage emails on the go, undoubtedly people will question the safety of a device that encourages such activity while driving in the first place. Vehicles today, however, are moving ever closer to becoming fully functioning mobile offices, and how long will it be before Windows or Mac OSX are factory installed options? While we can personally wait until we're parked to check our email, the iLane might be helpful for that white-collar up-and-comer on the go. Though not yet available, the iLane is currently being shopped around by IMS to distributors and even automotive OEMs.

(Check out a full press release on the iLane after the jump and the iLane website here)

[Source: iLane]