re Devices in Automobiles........
Surfing from behind the wheel
Joe Wilcox
CNET News.com
1/12/2000 04:00 AM
The car PC has been a staple of trade shows and
technology conferences for years, but now it
appears that these devices may start making
their way in larger numbers to consumers.
IBM and Motorola tomorrow will announce a
partnership under which the two companies will
begin to develop wireless Internet technology
for cars so people can send email, check on
stocks or engage in impulse buying while they
drive. The first IBM-Motorola devices could
appear in cars by 2002, but others are working
on similar projects.
For Motorola, which already makes in-car
wireless and computing devices for
Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and other
carmakers, the move broadens its existing
portfolio of "telematics" products.
IBM, meanwhile, is expanding on a recent binge
of wireless partnerships, such as with Sprint and
VodaFone, that take it into uncharted territory.
Telematics are embedded, in-vehicle electronic
systems used for improving safety. Telematic
devices can provide, among other applications,
navigation information, linkups to service
companies for roadside assistance, protection
against theft, and wireless Internet connections
for accessing email.
Motorola has provided carmakers with telematic
devices, such as global positioning systems
(GPS), since 1996. Interactive Internet devices,
however, constitute a new area for the
communications giant. The company last week
at the Consumer Electronics Show unveiled a
prototype of iRadio, a multimedia, multi-access
device for connecting wirelessly to the Web,
satellites and cellular networks.
Motorola touts iRadio as a next-generation
entertainment system for obtaining real-time
traffic reports, downloading and listening to
digital music and audio books, and accessing
voice mail and email.
"There is also an e-commerce angle that will let
people buy things from their car," said Mike
Bordelon, vice president of Motorola's telematics
computing group. "But to offer that and other
features across that space we need one
end-to-end solution, and that's where IBM
comes in."
IBM will provide many of the back-end
computing systems and services that will enable
iRadio and other concept devices to work.
"There are a lot of things that happen in the
device that are very much tied to the server,"
said Jon Prial, director of marketing for IBM's
pervasive computing division. "We focus on all
that from synchronization, database, messaging
and voice technology--all technologies from IBM
for enabling the devices."
Like Motorola and IBM, Sun, Hewlett-Packard
and other "big iron" server makers plan similar
initiatives using their back-end computing
services for enabling a wide-range of wireless
devices, including those built into cars.
Other companies are also betting in-car wireless
Web devices will appeal to consumers. GM and
Sony last week said they would develop
e-vehicles with Internet access.
Microsoft has partnered with Clarion, Daewoo,
Intel and others on the AutoPC, an
in-dashboard navigation system using Windows
Powered, formerly known as Windows CE.
Technology Business Research analyst Joe
Ferlazzo foresees carmakers taking a more
aggressive role providing these technologies
rather than waiting for Motorola, IBM and others
to deliver them. He pointed to alliances
announced Monday between GM and AOL, and
Ford and Yahoo.
As part of the GM deal, AOL will provide
content accessible through the carmaker's
OnStar communications system. OnStar, which
was designed for GM by Motorola and Delco
Electronics, uses wireless and GPS capabilities
for navigation, cellular phone access and
roadside assistance.
"I don't think you will see devices coming
directly out of Detroit so much as their
partnering with other companies," Ferlazzo said.
"GM and others are moving on their own as part
of a trend to Internet-enable all the areas of our
lives which are not yet Internet-enabled."
IBM and Motorola will co-market the wireless
Web devices, the first of which will go to
carmakers late this year and likely appear in
2002 models. DaimlerChrysler, GM and
Volkswagen are some of the carmakers
considering the devices.
At this point, neither company plans to sell the
products directly to customers but instead
through carmakers. |
