Car radio of future arriving - Motorola, others bringing Web to your car
CHICAGO, Aug 07, 2000 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- The traditional AM/FM
car radio may be going the way of the Victrola and the eight-track player. The
very company that pioneered radio in cars is among those leading a push to tune
out the old traditional radio and replace it with a paired radio and Internet
product.
Motorola's iRadio prototype and a truckload of competitors, most still a year or
more away from the market, are bringing the Web to your car.
"We're reinventing a product we invented in 1929," says Brian Santoro, a
vice-president at Motorola, whose name comes from motor car plus Victrola. "It's
our heritage, it's our DNA."
While Motorola is among the leaders in this emerging blockbuster category, it
won't be the first.
Clarion last year came out with a souped-up car radio called Clarion AutoPC.
Along with the usual radio and CD player, the voice-activated system offers
personalized Internet data such as news headlines, sports scores and stock
quotes along with e-mail. It also provides directions with a built-in global
positioning system.
Others are scrambling to come out with similar products.
Among automakers, GM and its OnStar service will provide some Internet access in
new versions of 32 of its 54 models this fall. A version of its Cadillac DeVille
will have a screen capable of downloading e-mail and doing limited Web browsing,
but only while the car is in park.
Ford says it will have some sort of e-mail and Internet connection soon in its
luxury models.
The carmakers are betting that millions of drivers will be willing to pay as
much as $30 US a month for Internet-access gadgets, which are expected to become
standard equipment in new cars within five years.
Motorola, a longtime electronics supplier to automakers and the world's No. 2
cellular phone manufacturer, is vying for domination of the burgeoning industry
of telematics - wireless telecommunications in cars and trucks. Demand for
Web-connected cars is projected to help triple the company's telematics sales to
about $1 billion in the next three years.
"Telematics will be the next air bag in the auto industry," Santoro said. "It's
an enormous opportunity."
Its iRadio, unveiled in January, remains a tantalizing prototype that combines
existing capabilities with a few new ones.
After indicating preferences on a Web site from home, drivers using iRadio will
be able to speak a single word and get instant results in the car, according to
the plan.
Say "stocks" and a robotic voice gives the latest Microsoft or Wal-Mart share
price. Say "traffic" and the voice gives an update of conditions on a
preprogrammed route. Drive into a new city and the computer can automatically
reprogram the radio to local rock or classical music stations.
Motorola, while still working out the kinks, says drivers also will be able to
leave voicemail, hear incoming e-mail, send e-mail, page customers or download
audio books with the car computer system.
The company is reluctant to talk about pricing, but industry estimates put the
cost of the first iRadio models between $1,000 and $3,000. Motorola has formed
alliances with carmakers, IBM, technology start-ups and others to speed the
product to market.
Charles DiSanza, an analyst who follows Motorola, said iRadio is well-conceived
and looks "pretty neat," although it remains embryonic.
"It looks like they're doing the right things," but it's still too early to
assess how it will fare in the marketplace, said DiSanza of Gerard Klauer
Mattison & Co.
Another important, unanswered question: Will it distract the driver?
Jim Louderback, who follows technology for cable television network ZDTV, said
that while some of the features "sound great ... others just sound dangerous."
DAVE CARPENTER
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