The ability, functionality and look of OEM in-car technology is unfortunately limited by conservative, litigation-averse manufacturers who make equipment decisions based on price, their own extremely limited understanding of what customers want and their keen ability to avoid anything that might get them sued. All that's a shame because Hughes Telematics currently has the ability to put every in-car telematics feature you've ever wanted, and many you don't yet know you do, into cars right now.

Ever thought of having Mac-style Widgets available through your Nav screen? Hughes envisions users being able to download and use an unlimited number of third-party widgets directly from their nav screens. The example they showed us was of a carbon foot print calculator based on personalized vehicle data and current fuel consumption. Put your foot down and tips for more eco-friendly driving can be made to pop up on the screen.

Hughes also envisions and has created a new archetype for daily navigation and traffic information. Preprogram a list of available routes for your commute and, when you start your car in the morning it'll check the traffic on all of them, then tell you which route is your best option. No need for annoying directions the whole way there either.

That customizable morning report can also do things like check your vehicle's fuel level and advise of the cheapest fuel not within a given radius, but precisely along the route you're going to drive. It can also give stock prices, weather, read from the calendar on your laptop, or perform umpteen other functions that you specify.

That calendar function is really neat and represents the direction Hughes is going with its thinking: friendly technology that can integrate with your vehicle to assist you in your day-to-day tasks. Like Ford's Sync, the Hughes system can receive email and read it to you. They're still working on ways to respond by voice since dictation software doesn't work great at the moment. One option: a .Wav file of your voice sent as an attachment in a response.

The most immediate difference between the Hughes system and rivals like GM's OnStar and Ford's Sync isn't the increased ability but rather how easy the system is to use. Voice commands are natural language, requiring no memorizing of menu hierarchies or specific commands. Want to know if it's going to snow in Buffalo later? Just ask. Want to switch from weather to nav? Just ask for directions, no need to tell the system to switch.

Advanced functionality is built in at every level, integrating each function. For example you can look up theaters showing a specific movie, get times for that movie than get directions to the theater, all by saying "hey, where's ‘The Wrestler' showing? Sure beats iDrive.

Other cool features come in the form of in-car 3G access and a WiFi hub. That means you can park the car in a parking lot, go sit in an internetless café and convince Ray that you're at work. Or, send HD movies to the car's hardrive from your home computer and display each individually on each of the car's video screens.

Hughes is currently working with both Chrysler and Mercedes to bring some of these features to future models. Which exact ones it won't say, but it sure won't be all of them. Features like email display on the Nav screen cause litigation concerns. Which brings us to the systems failing's and its future. In these images, on a double-DIN 8" screen, with these stand-in graphics, the technology has a hard time selling itself. As in-car screens get bigger and their graphics slicker we can see this becoming must-have technology, but until then it's going to be a hard sale, both to customers spoiled by Macbooks and iPhones and the old guys who run car companies. [Source: Hughes Telematics]

Telematics is a fancy coinage that combines "telecommunications" and "informatics." Telematics turns your BMW into a giant cellphone brain that can do all things electronic: tracking, positioning, identifying and more.

What makes the NGTP so special is that the source code of the telematics software is open to everyone. This could allow the convenience of easy software modifications to accommodate new technology as it appears. "Open source telematics"—how's that for a Zeitgeisty pileup on aisle nine?

The entire protocol seems to be build around the idea of flexibility. That X6 won't quite yield HAL 9000, but it's getting pretty damn close. [Press Release]

Fiat Auto, Microsoft and components developer Magneti Marelli whipped up the "Blue & Me" system gracing the Fiat 500's furnishings (along with those of other Fiat models). The tech platform uses Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system to manage a network that integrates voice activation, steering wheel control buttons and the dashboard display and any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. The setup is similar to Ford's Sync system; It reads incoming SMS messages aloud to the driver and incorporates music stored on a mobile phone, smart phone, MP3 player or USB memory into the audio system via console-mounted USB port. For a few extra webdollarz, Blue&Me Nav adds navigation and telematics services like emergency management, service info and as-yet indeterminate insurance services. A next evolution, Fiat says, will include interactive navigation and information services like addresses, weather and traffic forecasts, satellite localization in case of theft. The whole dealy underscores the company's tech-urban positioning of the 500, which will likely squeeze higher profit margins out of the Euroeconobox. Click through for corporate-release details. – Mike Spinelli

Press Release:

Blue&MeTM and Blue&Me NavTM:

communicating and travelling without frontiers

Just one year after its launch, the Blue&Me™ system is proving to be a huge commercial success (in fact it is requested by 20% of purchasers of all Fiat Group Automobiles models) and it has won several prestigious international awards. The Fiat 500 will be available with either the first level Blue&MeTM (including a hands-free function with Bluetooth® interface, advanced voice recognition, USB port, MP3 player and SMS text message interpreter) or the latest version of the device, Blue&MeTM Nav, which adds a navigation function at a very competitive price. The Blue&MeTM Nav will be available after the launch and is already wired to enable a range of telematic services such as SOS Emergency, Info Service and insurance services.

Blue&Me™ Nav offers a simple, intuitive pictogram navigation system that features an innovative method of introducing the destination using voice controls.
The destination is located in real time: the map of the country is memorised on the USB pen drive, and this makes access to the data faster and quieter than when a CD is used. And with Blue&Me™ Nav, all the functions are built-in, and the telephone, music and navigation information is available on the instrument panel. What is more, as he navigates, the driver can listen to his favourite music, which he has memorised, together with the map, on the same USB pen drive or media player, or make a telephone call using the hands-free device.

All the strong points of the system
Blue&Me™ was developed in 3 years by Fiat Auto and Microsoft. The partnership was ratified in June 2004, with the long-term goal of designing innovative telematic systems for cars, and it has created a product that has established itself on the market, exploiting a perfectly integrated technology that is in complete harmony with the user, as its name suggests.

Based on the Windows Mobile for Automotive system, this device features an open system that is always in step with the times, updateable, flexible and modular. With the help of Magneti Marelli, Fiat Group Automobiles and Microsoft offer a platform that adapts to most cell phones, music players and other personal devices, replacing current expensive, rigid hardware, with the great benefit of being able to constantly adapt to innovations on the market, remaining perfectly integrated into the car. All at an accessible price.

Blue&Me™ is extremely safe and easy to use. The voice control system, which is perfectly integrated into the controls on the steering wheel and the information on the instrument panel, allows a customer with a Bluetooth® cell phone to use it even if the phone is in a jacket or bag, without taking his hands off the wheel. And the advanced voice recognition system allows immediate interaction, because the voice does not have to be 'learned', even allowing incoming text messages to be interpreted aloud.
Occupants can listen to hours and hours of digital music in MP3, WMA and WAV format recorded on an iPod, a cell phone, an MP3 player or a USB pen drive, by connecting the digital device to the USB port.
The customer who purchases the Blue&Me™ Nav system will receive a navigation kit comprising a USB pen drive with the memorised map, and a back-up CD that can be used to transfer the map onto a personal MP3 player or iPod.

The Nav key on the dedicated control board on the roof panel connects directly to the navigation menu, which can also be accessed via the controls on the steering wheel, or vocally. The USB key is inserted to start navigating, and the driver uses the keys on the steering wheel to choose his destination by selecting the initial letters of the address; he can even complete it vocally.

Like all other information, navigation details can be displayed on the control panel: destination address, pictograms of the directions to follow, information on arrival and the usual vocal suggestions of the manoeuvres to make, reproduced through the speakers. Unlike other navigators, on which it is not possible to navigate and listen to music CDs at the same time without a CD changer, with Blue&Me™ Nav the driver can navigate as he listens to the music saved in the media player.

The navigation program can be used on a personal computer together with the back-up CD, to save the maps of a number of countries, purchased separately, on the USB pen drive. Then the driver can select a whole country (for example Italy, France, Germany, etc.), or part of a country (for example northern/central/southern Italy), or even a region that groups together maps of different countries (for example northern Italy and Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany).

Blue&Me™ MAP 500:
a latest generation portable navigator
Six months after the launch of the Blue&Me Nav™ system, which has attracted a great deal of interest on the international automotive market, Fiat Automobiles now announces the world première of a new development for the Blue&Me™ platform: MAP 500, a multifunction portable navigator with an original design developed for the Fiat 500 that is incorporated in the car using innovative technology.
Available after the launch and developed with Magneti Marelli, leader in the first equipment navigation systems market, the device represents a new frontier in the portable navigation systems market, as a safe user-friendly system that is incorporated perfectly on board the vehicle from both an electrical/mechanical viewpoint and in terms of connectivity.

This new architecture offers numerous advantages via the Blue&Me™ technology, which simplifies the direct integration of the portable navigator and the car: the data from the CAN network on the vehicle improve the accuracy of the navigator and the voice messages are reproduced through the car audio system. This guarantees higher standards in terms of comfort and of safety. In addition to map satellite navigation, the Blue&Me™ MAP 500 system also incorporates a number of multimedia functions that can be exploited in portable mode, such as the reproduction of music and the display of films and pictures.
Another feature of the device is the excellent mechanical and electrical integration on the car, which does not call for loose cables or temporary supports. Fiat Automobiles has taken great care over the incorporation and ergonomic positioning of the new device in the facia so that it is easy to install and to remove, respecting the latest automotive standards.

The new portable navigator uses a wireless connection with the Blue&Me to exchange information, so that it can be used in complete safety and the utmost comfort.

Some advantages for the user:
• More accurate navigation compared to conventional portables; possibility of navigating even in tunnels or areas where GPS reception is poor.
• Simultaneous management of all the audio, radio, CD, telephone and navigation sources.
• All the Blue&Me functions: hands-free, USB port, steering-wheel controls, voice recognition and text message reader.

The radio and the 'Interscope Sound System' Hi-Fi system

The Fiat 500 offers a radio complete with audio CD and MP3 file player, and a choice of two Hi-Fi systems. The radio is part of the design of the dashboard, in an ergonomic position in the upper part of the facia (the best position for the driver), where it can easily be reached by the passenger. The device can easily be connected to the Blue&Me system so that, thanks to the hands-free function with Bluetooth® interface, the driver can use a Bluetooth® cell phone even if it is in a jacket or bag, without taking his hands off the wheel. And because the Blue&Me incorporates an advanced voice recognition function, interaction is immediate and the voice does not have to be 'learned'; the system can also interpret incoming text messages.

The original sound system has six speakers: two 30 Watt tweeters and four full-range (two 40 Watt and two 35 Watt).

The second system is available on request. Known as the 'Interscope Sound System' it is an absolute novelty in this segment, characterised by refined technology, and ideal for the motorist who wants a particularly sophisticated Hi-Fi system, because it was designed and calibrated specifically for the Fiat 500 passenger compartment.

The new Interscope Sound System comprises six speakers (two tweeters, two woofers and two full-range, all 40 W), one 100 W sub-woofer and a 30 W amplifier. What makes the sound experience on board the car really unique is the fact that the Interscope Sound System uses 3 different methods of processing the signal and the related acoustic effects simultaneously: the first (TruBass) extends the perceived frequency field towards the bass without needing a subwoofer so that the listener has the sensation of listening to a system that produces extended, very deep basses.

The second method (Focus) raises the apparent position of the sources of sound to ear level. This gives the sensation of listening to speakers positioned higher than they actually are, and simultaneously the response in perceived frequency goes back to being 'natural', because the 'colouring' caused by the filtering of the head has been removed.

And finally, the third method (3D) which spatially equalises stereo reproduction, correcting any errors due to the position of the speakers and improving spatial perception. The result is a more embracing sound, which recreates a correct stereophonic effect even for listeners who are positioned further away from the symmetrical axis of the speakers (as in the case of the car).

Related:
More on the Fiat 500; Microsoft And Ford Get N'Sync At The Detroit Auto Show And CES, We Get First Exclusive Hands-On: Part 1 [internal]

A driver calls a number, punches in another driver's license plate (presumably that they see in front of them), and can then carry on a conversation with that driver while at speed. Is this a great country, or what? ... What's next? Instead of being at home where you can whack off in private, now you can do it on the public roads and cause great public mayhem and destruction.

We're with Dutch on this one. Imagine your phone ringing and it's some myopic douchebag claiming you shaved his bumper on that last lane change. Or some meth-addled momma who takes a shine to the back of your head and wants to chat about the Beanie Babies she's named after parts of her body. Of course, vehicles have to be registered with SameLane to receive calls from riders in other vehicles. Still, this really, really can't end well. Can it? [Thanks to Frank for the tip.] – Mike Spinelli

Another driving distraction: Thank SameLane [Automotive News]

Related:
"OMG, I Just Ran Over A Hobo, LOL!" [internal]

Finally, BMW and Google have made that most crucial of connections between our digital and IRL lives. And that's not just more dipshit tech-hype speak. BMW announced a new system that combines Google Maps with its cellular-based Drive Assist system. BMW drivers no longer have to stop and get analog with pen and paper. They can now send locations from Google Maps Deutchland right to their cars. Then they can use the address as their sat-nav destination, or call it from their car. It's part of Google's nascent "Send to Car" service, which is destined to blow up once more automakers and aftermarket suppliers get on board. – Mike Spinelli

In Germany, send Google Maps right to your BMW [CNet]

Related:
Volkswagen, Google Working Together on Nav Systems [internal]

Forget about updating your nav system's software every six months or whatever. Toyota's working on a system it says will provide instant mapping capability, updating roadway conditions at every startup. Using a wireless Internet connection, the system, called Map on Demand, updates info on roadway conditions, including construction and detours within a 50-mile radius of the user's home and destinations. It'll be offered first in Japan, in cars loaded with Toyota's G-Book telematic service. No word on worldwide rollout, but don't expect it in time for the holidays. – Mike Spinelli

Tech Watch: Toyota Revs Up Instant-Mapping Capability for Navigation Systems [Edmunds Inside Line]

Related:
BMW to Offer Real-Time Traffic Info in 2007 Models [internal]

Word came down from Tokyo today that Toyota's developing a cell phone with Japan's #2 wireless carrier, KDDI Corp (in which Big T owns an 11 percent stake). It's not just any throwaway burner, mind you; the handsets — dubbed "TiMO" — which are based on an existing KDDI phone made by Toshiba, will tie in via Bluetooth to navigation and other systems already installed in the company's cars. The service will include downloads of music, games and various manner of digital media, as well as an emergency telematics dealie that may or may not involve a team of unicorns that cascade down a sparkly rainbow to provide 24-hour road service. The phones will go on sale this October in Japan at the company's automotive outlets.

[Reuters via Autoblog]

Related:
Toyota to Offer Upgraded Satellite-Based Communications, Like On-Star [internal]

Mazda is launching its own version of G-Book Alpha telematics service at the Tokyo motor show. It's the second manufacturer to employ the Toyota-developed system (guess who the first is), which provides a number of data-centric driver-assistance functions, including safety and security services, like those GM offers with OnStar, as well as "driving intelligence" (navigation and traffic avoidance) and entertainment features like downloadable music and (good lord) karaoke. If you don't intend to tool around Tokyo anytime soon, you probably won't see the system — which uses Japan's newest third-generation CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network to enables a transfer rate of 2.4 Mbps — in action, though similar systems are likely in the works for the US, possibly by 2007.

Related:
Toyota to Offer Upgraded Satellite-Based Communications, Like On-Star [internal]